Evil Hurney

But does Vrabel want Carolina? He just started interviewing so it's possible there is still time to figure that out. I think it's pretty clear there isn't mutual interest with Belichick or Harbaugh since they are both taking second interviews at this point.

Yup, that would be a good example. Thanks.

I also keep coming back to Macdonald since I feel he is one of the safest candidates. I never choose him though because it seems like Evero has a similar resume and they both have the same issue of "Who coaches the offense?"

Zac Taylor is an interesting comp since he went from position coach to HC. He still had 2 years of prior OC experience on his resume before being hired though; Slowik only has this year which is what gives me pause. Are there examples of a successful offensive minded head coach with only a single year as coordinator?

He's in the 1st poll. I just don't see how he would get preference over the in-house candidate (Ejiro) in the 2nd poll ... especially after the previous retread coach flamed out in less than a year.

For me Slowik and Ben Johnson are more realistic this week than they were last week, but I still sense the team doesn't have a high chance at either (as explained in the OP). Also, if either is included in the second poll we don't get to see how people divide amongst the hard choices.

Went Ben Johnson as my first choice. Almost went Slowik since the Shanahan tree has a high hit rate; Only one year of OC experience gives me pause with Slowik. For the second choice I went with Frank Smith (again). He checks a lot of boxes for me.

To get a pulse of the Huddle Community and document how we are feeling, I'm putting together a 2nd weekly poll for the head coaching search. The previous week's results can be found here: Good news for fans of Ben Johnson or Bobby Slowik, I'm including them, and all candidates who took interviews, in the 1st part of the poll this week! However, I'm going to exclude them in the 2nd part of the poll since our beloved team is consistently considered the least attractive option. Here are the candidates removed from the "realistic" options with reasoning: Ben Johnson, assuming Washington is the favorite for his services Brian Johnson, likely a Rooney Rule candidate Raheem Morris, retread and defensive-minded ... why not just retain Ejiro Evero Dan Quinn, see Raheem Morris Bobby Slowik, assuming he returns to Houston Chris Tabor, likely a courtesy interview Please note that I have also excluded Mike Vrabel, who is a fan favorite, as well as Harbaugh and Belichick from both polls. This is because there haven't been any reports showing interest from either party. However, if we make it to week 3 without a Head Coach and there are reports of interest, I will them to the mix.

2010 to 2023 using data from 2023 NFL Coaches | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Considering the average NFL coach only lasts 3 seasons that's not really a damning indictment of Tepper. Since I was curious, I went ahead and approximated the expected shelf-life of an NFL Head Coaching hire based on coaching data from 2010 to 2023 (I omitted any interim HC from the data). What this shows is how likely is it that a random HC hire will make it to the end of season X.

Was not expecting to get that news.

This sounds like part of the culture used by successful hedge funds. Example from Business Insider: I'm not saying it's right or wrong for a football team; coaches (at least the ones I've talked with) tend to be macho types that are used to giving and receiving harsh criticism.

It looks like a pair of large dominos just fell. Both McCarthy and Siriani seem like they will be back meaning Belichick to the Falcons should quickly follow (he has no other "good" options).

Slowik has yet to accept an interview. There is no indication he will actually take any this cycle.

Seems like Falcons are nearing the end of their search if they know they don't need to keep Nielsen on staff.

Not the worst outcome. Callahan's stock is a bit depressed since the Bengals missed the playoffs. Otherwise he checks a lot of the boxes: multi-year OC, young, history developing a young QB.

Candidates employed by other teams cannot interview in person until January 22.

Here is a current summary of completed, scheduled, and requested interviews for the Panthers and the other teams. A few things of note: Aaron Glen and Bobby Slowik have yet to accept a single interview. Mike Vrabel's name has yet to surface as a candidate for any team. Washington and Seattle look like they are just now getting started on their HC search. Las Vegas completed their only two reported interviews in person, meaning they can hire AP (or someone else) whenever they want. The Panthers were the first (or only) interview for most of their candidates. The lone exception is Brian Callahan who saved the Panthers for last.

Looks like the Raiders have cleared the way for making a hire as soon as tomorrow. Gotta think it's AP, unless Harbaugh is taking a visit.

Possibly missed in this is those are the ONLY two teams he has agreed to interview with thus far. Every team except the Raiders have requested; although the Raiders appear to be keeping things quiet.

Relevant to the GM search.

Agreed. The writer essentially presents this as a ranking of ownership: but then proceeds to put Mark Davis and Dean Spanos above Robert Kraft. An AI could have written a more well thought out article IMO.

The in-vogue thing is to sh!t on the Panthers for some easy laughs so obviously at the bottom. The GM search is a whole different animal than the HC search. The idea that Tepper is firing GMs left and right is laughable. Fitterer was literally the first GM he hired, and he gave him 3 years and 2 coaches; he even waited until the end of the season to quietly let him go.

The Panthers are not the only organization that is blocking lateral moves. It is in fact quite common. A quick search will turn up multiple other teams doing the same thing. It's like ya'll just need something else to be upset about. For the lazy, here are the first three that popped up: TL;DR Find something else to be mad at Tepper about.

They still have Mr. Irrelevant as their poster child.