Mr. Scot

Surprise! A new candidate... One thing: Raye is currently unemployed, so he could be hired for any role if they so desired.

Fitterer is definitely making this group his own.

This...we can agree on.

Person suggested in his Q&A today that might be a possibility.

Shocked me too.

FYI: Per Schefter, McCain and recently released Bears tackle Charles Leno are both visiting Washington in the next few days.

Very possible.

I suspect that has a lot to do with why he's now employed elsewhere.

They're the ones that keep banning you so you have to choose a new screen name.

Also on the former colleague front, the Lions fired three scouts today. Two of them are former colleagues of Pat Stewart from their time with the Patriots (though neither for very long).

Ehlinger was somebody I previously thought might be a potential candidate for Panthers quarterback, but he never quite rose to the elite level. He was good, just not necessarily great. I'll be rooting for him to succeed in Indy. He and his family have definitely been through it.

Speaking of Scots... Fitterer's former colleague Scot McCloughan was fired from his role as Washington GM in 2017 after reports of excessive drinking affecting his job performance. He hasn't worked directly for an NFL team since. These days, he's doing draft consulting for around a half dozen teams. When the Panthers named Fitterer GM, McCloughan praised it as a great hire. We don't currently have anyone with the title of college scouting director. Word is that Richardson holdover Jeff Morrow is actually working in that role, even though his title is Executive Director of Player Personnel (odd given that Pat Stewart's title is the same, minus the word "executive"). Can't help but wonder if an old friend might think of giving McCloughan a shot at working in the NFL again.

On that topic... Family should be celebrating right now, but this...

Found a little info on our new scout from the Patriots media guide... Jonathan Howard is in his seventh season with the Patriots and his fifth as a scout. He joined the Patriots organization in May 2013 as a scouting assistant. Howard came to the Patriots from the University of Massachusetts where he spent the 2012 season as a volunteer defensive & recruiting assistant. He played safety and linebacker at Washington University in St. Louis, where he graduated in 2012 with a degree in economics & strategy and marketing. He earned his master’s degree in sport management from the University of Massachusetts in August 2013. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Howard graduated from St. Xavier High School where he was a member of the 2007 Division I state title team. If St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati sounds familiar to you, it should. That's where our old buddy Luke Kuechly went to school. Kuechly and Howard were teammates on that 2007 state championship team.

Official per Aaron Wilson... Also, for older folks like me, Blount is the son of former Steelers standout Mel Blount.

They like turkey, and chicken, and eggs. (that last one does disturb me a little bit)

I don't necessarily think Trent Scott getting the nod at LT is a weird idea. He might not keep it, but hey...

The whole thing of people attaching their personas to past failures like Hurney and Bridgewater is really kind of weird. I guess the next step is somebody on here wailing that we never should have fired John Fox or parted ways with Kerry Collins. (dear mods, if these should appear please ban them immediately)

That one's a little too bold for me.

To be fair though, at least none of those viewpoints were universally held. My biggest question going into the draft was whether or not Tepper would keep his word and let his football people do their jobs rather than inserting himself into the process. When push came to shove, he did indeed keep his nose out of it, and I'm happy about that.

Looking forward to our first look... Don't know if it's been specified, but I'm guessing next week is also when they'll have the tryout players in.

Given the source, I wouldn't bet on it

Here are some actual answers, and there honestly is some good info in here: Person describes Scott Fitterer and Dan Morgan as "cooking burgers and having beers in the backyard" close, so he believes the assistant GM job is Morgan's to lose. Regarding Justin Fields, Person confirms that the Panthers interest in him was largely a smokescreen trying to bait other teams to trade up. That David Tepper wanted him was true, but he wasn't going to force it. Also as previously suggested, Fitterer and Rhule weren't sold on anybody other than Trevor Lawrence and Zack Wilson. And yes, they do have a lot of confidence in Sam Darnold, more than they did Justin Fields (which is kinda obvious at this point). Said that the Panthers brass had really zeroed in on Jaycee Horn over the last few weeks leading up to the draft, but that if Penei Sewell had dropped to eight it would have made things very interesting. Mentioned that the Panthers don't appear to be interested in former Bears tackle Charles Leno, or in signing a veteran for the backup quarterback role. Regarding last year, said he doesn't believe Marty Hurney ever really embraced the rebuild (and given that he was on an expiring contract, that's not surprising). The end result wound up being kind of a partial, half ass rebuild that included signing guys like Bridgewater. While attempting to trade up, the Bears didn't offer the Panthers as good a deal as they did the Giants (which doesn't make a lot of sense, but it's the Bears). A few quick hits: Believes there's a good chance the free safety spot could be manned by Jeremy Chinn... Sets the over under for wins this season at 8.5... Doesn't believe that Darnold failing would get Rhule or Fitterer fired... Thinks the team could have "real competition" at the kicker spot... Rookie minicamp will be next weekend...