NanuqoftheNorth

Meh, seems like if Anderson was going to go to all the trouble to change his name he would have been more accurate. Not Chosen R. Anderson seems about right. or Once Chosen (but not anymore) Anderson. That works for both job status and QB targets.

The 2023 Carolina Panthers Coaching Staff, aka The University of Professional Football.

Most teams likely realized Carr had no intention of approving a trade.

Derek had no interest in cooperating with the Raiders once they benched him with two games remaining in the 2022 season and he didn't have to w/a no trade clause in his contract. Also, there is virtually no doubt that Carr will be signed to a substantial contract by one of the better teams in search of a QB during the next month or so. He's in the driver's seat w/no need to rush.

Considering the recent experiences of Tepper, Fitterer and Reich, I'd be surprised if all three of them weren't in favor of moving up to draft the Panthers next franchise QB. Now, if they don't view at least one of these guys as a franchise caliber QB, chances for signing Carr (or some other vet) go up immensely.

At the same time, let's not forget that Hurney attempted to give away the Panthers future #1 draft pick in order to move up for Clausen. Fortunately, there were no takers and Hurney still got Clausen. Had Marty had his way, the Panthers wouldn't have owned the pick that got them Cam. What a heart breaker that draft night would have been!

Reich's history with QBs suggests Carr would have career numbers in Carolina. There is little doubt that the Panthers would also improve their W/L record substantially. On the other hand, Panthers would likely have to designate Carr as the team's long term solution to get him to sign. Also, his pay would be substantially more than any other Carolina QB. I'm not sure the Panthers would be prepared to do that.

I'm sure these coaches understand the draft and free agency are rather fluid, so there are no guarantees as to the outcome. However, I'd expect there would have been discussions about how far the organization was willing to go in order to secure the team's next starting/franchise QB. For instance, if the team is "all in on QB in 2023" how would that impact me as the DC when I'm looking to build out my defense during the next few seasons?

I'm sure Tepper and Fitterer had discussions with the head coach candidates, but in this case I was thinking more about the discussions with potential coordinators and support staff. Considering the Panthers recent history, I'd imagine Tepper, Fitterer and Reich would have to be more forthcoming than "Trust us, we got this".

QB is the Panthers biggest need and everyone in the league knows it. I can't help but wonder, what did the Panthers organization tell these high profile coaching candidates about the team's QB plans to secure their commitment? Gotta figure it was a solid plan. I doubt it was "We're re-signing Sam Darnold, we're convinced we can fix him!"

Yeah, if the guy they want is at #3 and this what it will cost to seal the deal, do it.

20/20 hindsight: During the 2020 draft, Panthers should have prioritized going after a franchise QB. That having been said, Rhule's coaching staff would have likely ruined the career of whatever QB they managed to draft.

Yeah, Chicago could really parlay the #1 into a boatload of draft picks. Possibly doing a deal with Indianapolis and turning around and doing another with Las Vegas, Atlanta or Carolina. But they're the Bears so they'll probably just screw themselves in the process.

If only Rhule had been qualified to be an NFL head coach, then he could have mentored Brady. As it was, Brady was on an island by himself, doomed to fail and ultimately be made a scapegoat for Rhule's ineptitude.

Looking at the teams in front of us: Moving up to #1 or even #3 might require more draft capital than the Panthers are willing to give up. However, depending on how the first few picks fall, I could see Fitterer making a deal with his former associates in Seattle @ #5. The Panthers might also make a deal with Detroit @ #6. If neither of those organizations are going to select a QB, dropping back to #9 might be an option for additional picks. https://www.tankathon.com/nfl

Something the glass half full people might appreciate: Tepper, Reich, Rhule, Wilks and Panthers fans all appear to be in a better situation today than they found themselves in at this point last year.

That's what makes the NFL superior to the other professional sports leagues. All the restrictions that prevent one owner from simply buying championships. Organizations have to be smarter than their competition on and off the field. Hopefully, what we've witnessed these last few weeks is an indication that Tepper has finally figured this out.

Every team (including the Panthers) wants a franchise QB on a rookie contract. I have no doubt that if the Panthers see a QB they're high on in this year's draft, they'll do what they have to to get him. Just know, the Panthers aren't one player away from greatness and that a vet QB will almost certainly be part of their plan.

Also, many fans seem to forget, these prospective QBs aren't fully formed ready to go out of the box. They aren't plug and play, nor do they exist in a vacuum. These guys need to be supported, coached, surrounded with talent and placed in the proper schemes that make the most of their abilities. Even Mahomes might have failed to find success under someone like Matt Rhule.

Yeah, I was curious about Patrick's draft critics the other day and in my search came across this article... https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/patrick-mahomes-chiefs-2017-nfl-draft/i880cg6p8xumjacoqmb8i0v5

As DC at Rhule's last three stops, Phil should have a nice bank account to ease his sorrows. Plus he was at the point in life where retirement is not unusual.

Congrats to Eric! It has been a long time coming. Many have questioned who was primarily responsible for KC's offensive success. One thing is for sure going forward, if the Commanders are successful on offense no one is going to believe Ron Rivera is the man pulling the strings. Best of luck Eric!

Man does dumb stuff and gets criticized. Man does good stuff and gets praised. Welcome to the world we live in.

To Dave Tepper's credit, he has learned from his past mistakes. He's leveraging one big advantage he has over almost every other owner, more money, applying it to build the best coaching staff possible. This is reminiscent of assembling an Olympic team from the best professional superstars available. Dave's going large. Can't wait to see what free agency and the draft have in store for us.

Tepper has demonstrated to fans that he is serious about winning with this new Panthers coaching staff. Now the biggest question mark going forward is QB.