Mr. Scot

It does confirm that Johnson is interviewing with more than just us and the Commanders.

Not a whole lot of new info, but some "fill in the blanks" type things from Joe... Excerpts: Big names absent from the Panthers’ list Tepper has always been one who enjoyed taking the big swings, from jumping into the Matthew Stafford and Deshaun Watson sweepstakes to interviewing Sean Payton for the head-coaching vacancy last year before Frank Reich was hired. So it’s been a bit unusual to see the Atlanta Falcons, the Panthers’ division rivals, connected to Bill Belichick and Jim Harbaugh while the Panthers have — at least to this point — sat idly by. ... In the wake of Rhule’s firing, Tepper said he’d made a mistake in hiring a “CEO-type head coach.”... Some who know Tepper believe he would be reluctant to give the 71-year-old Belichick full roster control, which he had in New England. ... As for Harbaugh, who has a quirky personality but a winning track record, it just seems like he and Tepper would be strange bedfellows. ... Where things stand with Ben Johnson It’s a big weekend for in-demand Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has virtual interviews scheduled with four of the six teams that want to talk to him — followed by the Lions’ divisional playoff game Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I’m hearing Johnson is scheduled to meet with the Panthers and Washington Commanders on Friday, before interviewing with the L.A. Chargers and Seattle Seahawks on Saturday. Johnson is still believed to be Tepper’s top target, as he was last year before the North Carolina native and former UNC quarterback withdrew from consideration. The 37-year-old Johnson, who went to high school in Asheville, has done little to hurt his candidacy in the year since, overseeing an innovative offense that finished in the top five in the league in both yards (394.8 per game) and points (27.1). ... Brown out in Charlotte? Offensive coordinator Thomas Brown was in Chicago on Wednesday interviewing for the same position with the Bears’ staff, which would seem to indicate he won’t be in Charlotte next season. ... With seven of the Panthers’ head coach candidates coming from an offensive background, it makes sense Tepper would let Brown explore other opportunities. ... It was a tough year for Brown, the former Rams assistant who was given play-calling duties in October only to have Reich reclaim them three games later. Brown took over play calling again after Reich was fired. And while he did a nice job establishing the run game behind Chuba Hubbard, the Panthers ended the season by being shut out in back-to-back games, the first time that’s happened since 2008 when the Cleveland Browns were blanked in consecutive weeks. ... Like Tabor, Brown was ranked second among offensive coordinators in the NFLPA survey, an impressive showing given that the Panthers finished 2-15 and were last in total offense. It speaks to the respect players have for Brown, who — similar to former Panthers offensive coordinator Joe Brady — figures to find success elsewhere after leaving Carolina.

FYI for after the hire is made...

General comment from Jeremiah...

Understood. Flipside question though would be, given the outcome of big money paid for bad results, why lock them in?

Might be what we want but I'm not so sure the timeline is cooperating, especially if we're hoping for Ben Johnson.

Payton was in his late 50s when he did that though. Bill turns 72 in a few months.

In fact...

That's a real possibility.

Luckily it's not the same person making the deci...aaahhh, sh-t!

He referenced what we already knew from the Graziano story. No new info, just these guys' spin on the report.

I know in recent years, lot of ESPN's best behind the NFL scenes articles have been co-authored by Graziano and Jeremy Fowler.

News on one former Panthers assistant... Staley took the job here to be close to his ailing mother. Really hate how things worked out for him.

Meanwhile... With all due respect Baker, this may not be the best idea

Not anymore...seeing as I'm pretty sure she's dead (no, she didn't die from being put through a table...that I know of)

Lemme add this here since I posted it in the wrong thread... This is what Top Dawg mentioned Schuyler Callihan talking about in regards to Kelly. For what it's worth, Callihan is of the opinion that the leading GM candidate at the moment is the Chiefs Brandt Tilis.

I like that he's the son of a successful coach himself, though objectively speaking that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Sure, he could be another Kyle Shanahan. He could also be another Jim Mora Jr.

My question would be why. He doesn't really have ties to the area or anyone In the organization that I know of. For what it's worth, in the podcast where he talked about the tidbit on Kelly, Schuyler Callihan said that based on what he's hearing, he believes the current leader in the clubhouse for the Panthers GM job is Brandt Tillis of the Chiefs. He acknowledged somebody else could potentially overtake him as more interviews happen, but that's who he sees in the lead right now.

Basically the same thing that's happening here with Dan Morgan. It kind of implies a foot in the door but might not turn out to be meaningful.

Lots of folks think that would be the smart move. And maybe it would be, but it's also possible it's just an overreaction to screwing up the last time.

An evil little part of me is curious what happens if we get one of those two right but the other wrong

I think the list is big enough as it is. Don't know that we really need to add anybody else. Hell, I'd have probably preferred a smaller list.

From the writer... If that's true, damn

With Brown, we decided that we didn't want to be meanies and block him from a chance to work somewhere else. I'm sure it's out of kindness 🫥

So remember that news item about the Panthers blocking guys from interviewing for lateral moves? Apparently it doesn't apply to everyone