ProcessBlue2

Brian Johnson, OC- Philadelphia Eagles I am not going to write a ton about Brian Johnson because he barely made it out of the Honorable Mentions. He barely edges out Kafka in the main 12 and only because he does actually call plays in Philadelphia. The 36-year-old was born in Barrett Station, TX. He played QB for the Utah Utes where he backed up Alex Smith and had a fairly successful college career once Alex moved on to the draft, finishing with a 26-7 record which made him the winningest QB in Utah’s history. Johnson spent time as QB coach and Offensive Coordinator for a few different schools since 2010: 2010-2011- University of Utah- QB Coach 2012-2013- University of Utah- OC & QB Coach 2014-2016- Mississippi State- QB Coach 2017- University of Houston- OC & QB Coach 2018-2019- University of Florida- QB Coach 2020- University of Florida- OC & QB Coach In 2021, when Sirianni took over as the Eagles HC he hired Johnson as his QB Coach. Johnson worked under OC Shane Steichen in 2021 and 2022 before taking over as OC in 2023. Despite being ranked 8th in total offense, 14th in passing, and 6th in rushing, he is quite disliked by the fan base… like a lot. There were high expectations for Johnson and the first-year play caller has been criticized for his situational play calling and blocking schemes. Many attributes the Eagles offensive success to OL Coach Jeff Stoutland and Passing Game Coordinator Kevin Patullo (Who I think is a major OC candidate for teams this year). Johnson’s stock has definitely fallen since the start of the season, but it’s difficult to see how much of it is actually his fault and how much of it is just teams understanding the Eagle’s offensive tendencies better. Eagles fans are known to be a bit dramatic. Unfortunately for this guy, I feel like he will get many false interviews just to satisfy the “Rooney Rule” for many teams. While I don’t think he is hottest or most likely candidate on the list, I do think he gets an interview and that’s call Kellen Moore needed with this front office to move all the way to runner-up last year, despite losing his job weeks earlier.

Macdonald was originally going to be one of my honorable mention candidates but after climbing up to 2nd on the betting odds for the next Panthers HC, I pushed him into main 12. Mike Macdonald, DC- Baltimore Ravens At 36 years old, Macdonald is the youngest candidate in this group of 12 (Bobby Slowik is a whopping 2 weeks older). He was born in Boston, MA but attended High School in Roswell, GA where he played football and baseball. He attended the University of Georgia and obtained a degree in finance and graduated summa cum laude. While in college, he coached football at Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, GA during his Junior and Senior year at Georgia. In 2010, he was a Graduate assistant for the University of Georgia (Mark Richt’s tenure) and would later serve as a Defensive quality control assistant from 2011-2013. In 2014, he was hired by the Baltimore Ravens as a coaching intern. In 2015-2016 Macdonald was promoted to a Defensive assistant role. He would earn his first position coach role in 2017 taking over as Defensive Backs coach for that season. During this season the Ravens’ secondary would finish 2nd in the NFL in best Defensive Passer Rating and finished with 22 interceptions. In 2018, Wink Martindale was promoted to Defensive Coordinator and the Linebackers Position coach role was given to Macdonald. Macdonald stayed in this role until 2021 when Jim Harbaugh (John’s brother for those that never put that together) offered Macdonald the Defensive Coordinator role at the University of Michigan. During this season Michigan’s defense became the nation’s 8th best scoring defense, it finished 20th in ypg- allowed, and 11th in redzone efficiency. (Before you scoff, remember there are a lot more than 32 teams in the NCAA). The group finished with a National Ranking of 3rd in total defense. In 2022, Martindale and John Harbaugh “mutually” agreed to part ways after the Ravens finished 25th in total defense and Martindale joined Daboll as DC for the New York Giants. Macdonald was brought back to the Ravens as DC for the 2022 season. In 2022, the Ravens finished 10th in total defense, ranking 26th against the pass and 3rd against the run. Currently in 2023 the Ravens rank 12th in total defense, ranking 6th against the pass and 12th against the run. All together I think Macdonald will be hired this cycle. I am unsure why Macdonald has shot to the top of the Panthers betting odds, not because he isn’t a good coach or something but because he is a young defensive coordinator with not many offensive connections. The Panthers have a pretty decent defensive coordinator on staff now that could be a head coach, so I don’t know why they would go this direction. To be fair, Evero’s defense is concealed well behind a stat curtain. While it ranks 5th in the NFL that is mostly due to the success against the pass. Evero’s defense ranks 21st against the run, 32nd (last) in sacks, 32nd (last) in takeaways, and 30th in points allowed. So perhaps the Panthers aren’t as afraid of losing Evero as originally thought. I have a hard time seeing a scenario where the Panthers hire Macdonald. The only way I see it happening is if Tepper is being guided to do so by a consultant or advisor and it is a move for a full-blown culture reset. Harbaugh has had one of the most consistently successful teams in the NFL for the last 16 years so it would make sense to bring somebody in who has been there for majority of it. I don’t really know what the plan for the offense would be in this scenario unless it was to keep Caldwell/Brown out of the sake of familiarity with Bryce or attempt to scoop up a Kellen Moore type who likely will fall through the HC search cracks. Perhaps they would be able to convince a coordinator who is not a play caller to join the staff or grab Bienemy from Rivera’s dispersed staff. (Although he has been quite unimpressive away from Reid this season). I don’t think Macdonald to Carolina would be a terrible hire, but a head scratcher for sure. We have seen weirder things like oh I don’t know- camping out in a Big 12 coach’s driveway and hiring him while Mike McCarthy has interviewed twice. Or you know that one time an interim coach brought you one game away from the playoffs after you fired your coach mid-season and you replaced him with a coach that just got fired mid-season. So on second thought, maybe this is possible.

Sure thing. I had him as an honorable mention but with the recent movement, I think that pushes him into the Top 12.

I haven't forgotten about him. Shane Waldron, OC- Seattle Seahawks Waldron received some HC candidate attention after Geno Smith’s break out year. He is a 44-year-old Oregon native who played college football at Tufts as Long Snapper and TE until his graduation in 2002. After college, he served as an Operations Intern and then Operations Assistant from 2002-2004 for the New England Patriots. Following this, he spent time as a Graduate Assistant on Notre Dame’s coaching staff from 2005-2007 (you guessed it, Charlie Weis). In 2008, he was hired as an Offensive Quality Control Coach for the Patriots and promoted to Tight Ends coach in 2009. However, his career would hit a ditch and in 2010 he was shipped to Europe where he coached the Hartford Colonials before falling to the high school ranks at BB&N as Offensive Coordinator. He would spend 2012-2015 at UMASS coaching TEs a couple of years followed by the Offensive Line for a couple of years before finally getting another shot at the NFL in 2016 when Redskins’ OC Sean McVay gave him a shot as Offensive Quality Control Coach. McVay liked Waldron enough that he brought him to LA the following year to serve on his staff after being named the new HC of the Rams. In LA, Waldron served as Tight Ends Coach in 2017 and Passing Game Coordinator from 2018-2020 before getting his current role of Offensive Coordinator with Seattle in 2021. During his time in Seattle his units have ranked and are currently ranked: 2021 Overall-20th Pass-23rd Run- 11th 2022 Overall- 12th Pass- 12th Run- 18th 2023 Overall-22nd Pass-15th Run-29th It was reported that Wilson wanted Waldron due to his success with McVay’s system in LA following the termination of former Seahawk’s OC Brian Schottenheimer. However, Wilson would be catapulted out of Seattle the following season. One potential positive from Waldron is that he does have experience calling plays, this will be his 3rd consecutive season. Some Seattle fans want him to take the reins once Carroll retires. Others would enjoy running him out of town yesterday and consider his success with Geno last year a fluke. I imagine his stock has went down some from last season, but I think he will still get a fair amount of interest from a HC needy cycle. He doesn’t have any overlap with Fitterer in Seattle (which is a good thing) and coached alongside Ejiro Evero in LA which may convince him to potentially stick around on his well-paid DC contract should his HC search not yield results. Overall, I don’t view Waldron as a horrible candidate. I have him ranked in my “tier two” section. There is just a lot of gray with Waldron. For example, he could have HC consideration, he could sit in place and take over for Carroll (should he retire), he could be cast away if Carroll’s team is dissolved following retirement and need work as an OC- just a lot of gray. Regardless of here or somewhere else, I’ll be interested to see just what his next 2-3 years look like. He gives me the impression of a guy who can be an overnight sensational HC or a guy coaching TEs again somewhere. Hi all, I have 3 posts left. Parts 11 and 12, and then I will finish up with an Honor Mentions/Predictions post. I have been out of work on medical the last few weeks and doing this has kept me sane. I appreciate those of you that have taken the time to read these and collaborated. I obviously don’t do this for a living, but with my ability to move being temporarily limited I have needed this to occupy my mind and I appreciate you all letting me do this. Thanks Again.

Other than reminding me of Jon and Jay Gruden’s potentially lost cousin, Tabor reminds me of my uncle. So happy-go-lucky and positive, I really miss seeing him around holidays like these. While I think his chances are slim, I think there is a fraction of a chance. So let’s look at it. Chris Tabor, Interim HC/STC- Carolina Panthers Chris Tabor was born in 1971 in St. Joseph, MO. He was the son of a high school football coach and would play QB for Benedictine College just a few miles from his hometown. His brothers: Donnie, Matt, and Michael would also play football for Benedictine College. He would coach a season at his alma mater, Benton High School and then Hutchinson Community College for a year each. He would then go to Central Methodist for two years as OC before a 4-year stint at Missouri. In his time at Missouri he would spend 3 years as a Graduate Assistant before moving to Running Backs and Special Teams Coach in his final season. In 2001, he would be named Head Coach for Culver-Stockton College in Canton, MO where he would lead them to a 6-5 record. From 02-05 Tabor called Utah State home, where he coached various positions along with Special Teams and would serve as Assistant Head Coach for a stint. In 06 and 07 he would coach Running Backs and Special Teams at Western Michigan before getting his NFL break. He was hired in 2008 by Lovie Smith to be the Assistant Special Teams Coach under Dave Toub for the Chicago Bears. For those unaware, Dave Toub is arguably one of the best ones to coach STs and has spent the last 10 or so years in Kansas City with Andy Reid. He would spend 3 seasons with Toub in Chicago before getting hired by Pat Shurmur in Cleveland as Special Teams Coordinator. During his time in Cleveland he would be retained by 3 new Head Coaches following his initial hiring by Shurmur in 2011- Rob Chudzinski, Mike Pettine, and Hugh Jackson. In 2018, he left Cleveland to return to Chicago as Nagy’s Special Teams Coordinator until the staff was fired following the 2021 season. During the 2021 season he served as interim HC for Nagy during a loss against the 49ers. Matt Rhule hired Tabor going into 2022, and he was retained under new HC Frank Reich going into 2023. With 6 games left in this season, he was named Interim HC after Reich’s firing. The thing about Tabor is there has been a noticeable change. Almost immediately the offense was opened up some and there is somewhat of a run game. After this past week, Bryce looks like he is getting the guidance he needs and there are some signs of growth. I would dare say the team itself appears to be more motivated at 2-13 than it was at 0-0. So, what are his odds at HC? Well... there’s a small shot. In a few other write-ups I have talked about the scenario where the good candidates get missing early in a cycle with more teams than usual needing a HC. During this scenario where you have to pick between Kellen Moore, Bobby Slowik, or a guy on your staff already. Do you just go with your guy? Well, I think so. Most of these coaches are still under contract, there may be another season of Scott Fitterer, and there isn’t a 1st round pick to look forward to. If you finish the season with some momentum, why not give your guy a shot going into a year with depleted resources? I know, I know- you’re thinking well why wouldn’t you give it to Evero? Well, who’s to say he wants it, especially in some Tepper gamble year where he has Fitterer walking hot coals inside the halls of BOA stadium each day. Besides, Tepper may just choose Tabor anyways to let the coordinators focus on their jobs and redeem their sins from this past year. I never said it was likely, but it is an option and I’m not shocked if he gets an interview out of respect at the least. I am also not going to be surprised if he stays in his same role for a new coach. I debated on whether or not to include him in the 12, and after thinking on it I decided to add him. Simply because I think he has about the same odds as Evero.

Yeah we got a Patriots practice squad guy there now with Thurman and Tuttle is just a rotational guy really.

Yeah we are gonna talk about him, and too be fair.. It's probably not that unrealistic if a lot of good candidates are gone fast. Ejiro Evero, DC- Carolina Panthers Ejiro was born in 1981 in Colchester, England. His family would later move to California where he would grow up and play football. Ejiro and his brother Nero would both play football as Safeties for UC Davis (with Ejiro a few years older than Nero). Ejiro would be signed as an UFA by the Raiders in 2004 but wouldn't garner much interest once released that season. Ejiro would go back to UC Davis where he would serve as an assistant coach for the next two seasons. Evero got his break into the NFL in 07 working under DC Monte Kiffin for 3 seasons as a Defensive Quality Control Coach. When some of Gruden's staff was let go in 2008, Ejiro and some others were retained under new HC Raheem Morris who had worked closely with Ejiro the previous two years. At the end of the 2009 season Ejiro along with many other defensive coaches would be fired by Morris. In his time at Tampa, he would rub elbows with quite a few interesting defensive minds such as Monte Kiffin, Todd Wash, Joe Barry, Jim Bates, Gus Bradley, and Raheem Morris. He would spend the 2011 season with a DIII school in California (University of Redlands) where he served as STC and Safeties Coach. The next year he would be scooped by none other than Jim Harbaugh who would add him as a coaching assistant on Special Teams and later into various assistant roles under DC Vic Fangio but never gaining a position coach role. After Jim Tomsula took over as HC in 2015, Ejiro was retained but would be dismissed at the end of that disappointing season with the other coaches. This would lead to him spending a year in Green Bay in 2016 where he would work under Dom Capers for the first as a Defensive Quality Control Coach. The following season he would join rookie HC Sean McVay's staff in LA. He served as Safeties coach from 2017-2019 under Wade Phillips and then in the same role in 2020 under Brandon Staley. In the seasons of 2017-2019 the Rams combined for 49 interceptions which are the second most in that time period. In 2021, the Rams would hire Raheem Morris as DC and Ejiro would be moved to Secondary/Pass Game Coordinator where his unit ranked 3rd in Passing Yds Allowed/Game and Tot. Yds Allowed/Game. This performance would inspire Nathaniel Hackett to hire Evero as DC in Denver going into the 2022 season. Despite the dysfunction on offense and Hackett being fired before season end, his defense finished 7th overall. In 2023 Frank Reich brought Evero in as DC for the Panthers where the defense is currently 3rd overall in the NFL. At 42 years old and 17 years of coaching, 15 of those have been spent at the NFL level. Evero has certainly demonstrated that he deserves a shot as a HC in the NFL. Despite all of the injuries this season, he has still managed to piece together a Top 3 defense. However, there are some sins hidden in that statistic. That ranking is for total yards allowed. The Panthers still rank 24th in rush defense, 29th in points allowed, and 32nd in turnovers. (The Panthers only have 11 turnovers all season, the 49ers and Jaguars are tied for 1st with 25 per). Now to be fair, I understand that may from all of the injuries mentioned before and the poor positions the offense has put them in. Rumors have started heating up that the Panthers may want to keep Evero as DC and pair him with a 1st year HC. I could see this happening, the only flaw I see is the inevitable accusations of Tepper being too involved again. This will likely only lead to conversations about pulling strings from his office again and setting up the new HC to fail. I can see where the Panthers run out of good candidates early and just go with Evero during the interview process. This would allow them to hire a possible borderline HC candidate like Kellen Moore or Eric Bienemy who are on lame duck teams at the moment. We will know in a few weeks. I probably would be sad to see him go, but if keeping him prevents the Panthers from finding the right candidate in the search search, I wouldn't blink about moving on.

Sorry to whoever asked for Anarumo, I already have a list of candidates written out 1-12, it's just ironic this one was next. I'm not trolling you. Brian Callahan, OC-Cincinnati Bengals Brian is the son of longtime coach and OL guru, Bill Callahan. For those that still can’t put a name to the face, he was the guy who lead the Raiders against their former coach (Jon Gruden) in 2002 and then ran off to Nebraska for a while. Anyways, his son is the subject of this write up today. I personally think Brian Callahan can be a successful coach in the NFL and may be one of the Bengals’ best kept secrets. The 39-year-old was born in Illinois and partially raised there before later moving to California. He would play QB for the UCLA Bruins as a walk on from 02-05 not putting together much playing time. His biography literally states he played in 13 games as a holder on PATs over 4 years. After graduating he worked in Football Operations for UCLA and later coached Wide Receivers. He got his first shot in the NFL in 2010, serving as an offensive assistant for Mike McCoy during Josh McDaniels’ stint with the Denver Broncos. After McDaniels was fired, John Fox was hired to lead the Broncos in addition to their new QB- Peyton Manning. Mike McCoy was retained as OC and a number of his staff stayed as well including Callahan. Callahan held the role of Offensive Quality Control Coach in 2011 and 2012. He would be given the role of Offensive Assistant from 2013 to 2015 often bouncing around to different roles and duties. He would be hired by Jim Caldwell in 2016 as Detroit’s QB Coach but would be dismissed with Caldwell’s staff at the end of 2017 following his firing. Jon Gruden would pick up Callahan for his first season back in the NFL. Callahan would fill the QB Coach role on Gruden’s staff for the 2018 season but would be picked up by Zac Taylor the following year as OC for the Cincinnati Bengals. Since Callahan and Taylor took over the offense in 2019 the Bengals have finished the following in total offense each season: - 2019- 26th - 2020- 29th - 2021- 13th - 2022- 8th - 2023- 21st * Season in progress. Now, same as some other candidates out there- Callahan is a coordinator that is not a playcaller. The HC Zac Taylor (a McVay disciple) calls the offense. But, like I mentioned in the Frank Smith thread, does it matter? Mike McDaniel didn’t call plays in San Francisco and Zac Taylor didn’t call plays in LA. If I were to hire Callahan, the one thing I do like is even though he doesn’t call plays, he has been coordinating the offense and working with the same play caller for 4-5 years straight. Poking around in the minds of the Bengals’ fanbase, none of them really seem to have an opinion on Callahan. The ones that did would prefer to see him call the offense than Taylor. Many of them believe they have too many key offensive pieces to not have a consistent Top 10 offense. If you think about it-Joe Burrow, Tee Higgins, Jamar Chase, Joe Mixon, and Tyler Boyd is quite a bit of fire power to not have consistent results. Overall though I have to say I think Callahan is one of the more interesting candidates whose name really isn’t coming up much. While I am sure he used his father’s connections at some point he has never worked on the same team as his dad or under his dad unlike other candidates mentioned here previously. He was a part of a SB winning team. He got to witness the brilliance of Peyton Manning firsthand. He worked with seasoned offensive minds like McCoy, Kubiak, Caldwell, and Gruden. Yet still has had exposure to the “young offensive minds” like Taylor who learned from McVay and Philbin. I doubt the Panthers and Callahan end up agreeing to a contract. If they do, I don’t think it would be the Panthers' worst choice, probably not their best either. It would probably be the worst choice Callahan could make. I can’t imagine the pressure of stepping into this job without the last name Johnson, Belichick, or Harbaugh after the fanbase has been force fed those names for 3 months.

Kellen Moore, OC-LA Chargers Kellen Moore, the man who almost got the job last season after just getting fired by the Cowboys. Last season, Kellen Moore was the runner up for the job in Charlotte. Kellen Moore was one of the final interviews and he managed to make a strong case as to why he should be the top candidate. The Panthers even decided keep Kellen Moore in Charlotte overnight following his interview. The group discussed different possibilities, scenarios, and ideas with Moore, and made their decision the following day-preferring Frank Reich’s staff building connections instead. So, who is Kellen Moore? The 35-year-old is a native of Washington state started 4 seasons at QB for Boise State. Moore would finish his college career with a 50-3 record, throwing for over 14,000 yards, 70% completion rate, and 142 TDs to 28 INTs. Moore won multiple awards while at Boise State including 2x WAC Offensive Player of the Year, MWC Player of the Year, and 2X QB of the Year. Despite this he would still go undrafted in 2012 and sign with the Detroit Lions. He spent 3 years with Detroit never seeing the field. He spent an additional 3 years in Dallas only playing in 3 games and starting in 2- losing both. Over 3 games, Moore threw 779 yards, 4 TDs, and 6 INTs. In 2018 he retired from playing and joined the Cowboy’s staff as QB Coach. The following year, Jason Garrett would promote him to Offensive Coordinator. He was retained by new coach Mike McCarthy in 2020 and stayed in Dallas as OC until McCarthy and Moore mutually agreed to part ways at the end of the 2022 season. During his time in Dallas, his units would rank 1st, 14th, 1st. and 11th. Currently, his unit in LA ranks 15th. Critics say that Moore was carried too much by his Head Coaches in Dallas and has always had a loaded roster to work with. While the first part is speculation, he has always had more weapons than most at his disposal. With all the speculation of Evero being retained and the Panthers not exactly being the most sought after job, I think the chances of Moore coming to Charlotte are high. I could see where Evero is retained as HC and Moore is given the coordinator role or Moore is hired as HC and Evero is retained as DC.

I know, I know. He is still going to be a candidate this cycle.. Dan Quinn, DC- Dallas Cowboys Again, I know. Half of you are ready to punch your phone or computer in disgust right now. As a person who is married to an Atlanta Falcons fan, I understand. So, once you are finished with your temper tantrum, go get some water and come back and let’s talk about this. The Panthers aren’t going to be competing anytime in next 3 years minimum. The team and fan base are going through a cultural crisis. A few seasons at or around .500 would do this team good to build a foundation for something. What this team needs is stability and direction. While I agree that there are better candidates to bring that here, let’s look at why Quinn could be that guy to at least stop the bleeding; something Tepper should have done by hiring Steve Wilks a year ago. Wilks may not have been the guy to lead the Panthers to the promised land, but he could have been the guy to make them competitive enough to bring that guy to Charlotte. 53-year-old Dan Quinn was born in Morristown, NJ. He was a 4-year starter on the Defensive Line for DIII Salisbury University from 1989 to 1993. From 1994 to 2000 he would serve as DL Coach at William & Mary, VMI, and Hofstra, serving as DC in his final year with the latter. In 2001 he was brought to the NFL by Steve Mariucci who hired him as DL Coach for the 49ers. He would join Saban as DL coach in Miami in 05’ and 06’ and the same role for the Jets in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, Jim Mora Jr hired Quinn as Assistant HC and DL Coach and he held the same position in 2010 during the transition to Pete Carroll. In 2011, Quinn left Carroll and the Seahawks to serve as DC for the Florida Gators that year and the following season. In 2013, Carroll hired Quinn to return to Seattle as DC after the departure of Gus Bradley to the Jaguars. The two would win back to back NFC Championships and a Super Bowl together with Quinn’s defense ranking 1st in the NFL both seasons. In 2015, Dan Quinn would accept the role of Head Coach of the Atlanta Falcons. Quinn would start with an 8-8 season, and the only team to beat the 15-1 Panthers in the regular season. This would be followed by a 11-5 that would take the Falcons to a Super Bowl loss in one of the most infamous blown leads in NFL history. The following year the Falcons would go 10-6 but would lose a heartbreaker 15-10 to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Eagles in Philadelphia. The following two seasons would end in 7-9 records as injuries and close losses piled up. After a 0-5 start in 2020, Dan Quinn and GM Tom Dimitroff were fired during the season. Quinn would finish 43-42 with a 3-2 post season record, 1 conference championship and 1 divisional title over nearly 5.5 seasons. Despite his Defensive acumen, the Falcons would never finish Top 10 in Total Defense from 2015 to 2019 but would finish Top 10 in Total Offense in every one of those years. A lot of credit for that is given to OCs Kyle Shanahan, Steve Sarkisian, and Dirk Koetter. In 2021, Quinn joined Mike McCarthy in Dallas as Defensive Coordinator after McCarthy fired Mike Nolan. In 2021, Quinn improved the Dallas Defense from 23rd the season before to 19th. In 2022, the Defense would improve to 12th, and currently it sits at 6th in the NFL in 2023. Its unclear if Quinn’s fate had been different with just a few close games in 2018 and 2019 but the 2020 start sealed his fate. Many believe that Quinn deserves another shot. He helped Carroll turn a mess around in Seattle and would point the Falcons in the right direction after two terrible seasons from Mike Smith in 2013 and 2014. Many people point to his coordinators and GM Thomas Dimitroff for his real source of success. (Speaking of Dimitroff, he is apparently looking to get back into a GM role somewhere and has ties to Quinn and Belichick- wink-wink. Right now, he is running a Sports Analytics Firm- extra WINK-WINK). Either way, I think Quinn’s name will come up in a conference room or two. His experience and his connections will get some people’s attention. If he could bring the leadership and experience and have the connections to bring in an OC like Chris Foerster in SF who is currently Shanahan’s OL Coach and Run Game Coordinator or another similar candidate, like the beloved Kellen Moore whom he worked with in 2021. He could also bring in a guy like Darrell Bevel an experienced OC who he worked with in Seattle. Bevel was credited with a lot of Wilson’s development and is currently the QB Coach for and Pass Game Coordinator in Miami working with Tua- Two QBs with similar style of play to Bryce Young. I’m not lobbying for Quinn, but I am taking the biased Panther opinions out of my head. Whether he turns out to be a successful McCarthy style retread, the Defensive version of Frank Reich, or a transitional guy who hovers at .500 is yet to be seen. However, he will likely land a job with somebody this offseason.

Bobby Slowik, OC- Houston Texans Slowik has risen to fame this year with the impressive performance of CJ Stroud. In 2020, I predicted Tepper would hire Mike McCarthy he instead hired Matt Rhule. I predicted in 2022 he would go after Shane Steichen and he instead hired Frank Reich. I can see Slowik earning the job in Charlotte simply because I can visualize David Tepper at the podium talking about replicating what happened with CJ in 2024 with Bryce in 2025. (Despite their different style of play) Slowik isn’t exactly a bad candidate. I don’t think I would be ready to pull the trigger on a HC job just yet, but he is definitely on his way. He is the son of longtime Defensive Assistant, Bob Slowik who spent time in Green Bay, Denver, and Washington among other places. 36-year-old Slowik was born in New Jersey but would later be raised in Wisconsin before playing WR at Michigan Tech. Bobby got his start in 2011 with the Washington Redskins. At the time Mike Shanahan was the Head Coach. Bobby’s father was the DBs coach under Jim Haslett and he was given a job as Defensive Assistant. Bobby would be fired with the rest of the staff following the 2013 season. Bobby would not coach again until 2017 where he would be hired by Kyle Shanahan who had taken over as HC of the 49ers. In 2017 and 2018 he would serve as a Defensive Quality Control coach before being moved to Offensive Assistant in 2019 and 2020. He would be promoted to Offensive Pass Game Specialist in 2021 and Passing Game Coordinator in 2022 where the 49ers would finish 13th in passing. In 2023, the Defensive Coordinator (Demeco Ryans) would accept the Head Coach role for the Houston Texans and Bobby would follow as Offensive Coordinator. Currently with rookie QB CJ Stroud at the reins, the Texans are 6th in total offense, 2nd in passing, and 24th in rushing. Perhaps Bobby has learned how to be a HC after spending time with the Shanahans. Perhaps he just happened to be in the right place at the right time with his Dad’s NFL connections. Time will tell, especially if he is given the reigns of an NFL team. Out of the “young offensive mind” candidates, I feel like he is the biggest risk.

Not calling Mike Tomlin a scrub my no means. But, I do wonder what his career would be like without that Pittsburgh Steelers front office he has had all these years. Yeah Tomlin is a good coach but that front office has been legendary at finding talent until the past few years.

I wouldn't be shocked. It would allow Tepper to keep a lot of his staff and probably Tabor too. Then you would only have to rebuild your offensive staff. The question is who do you bring in as OC? Kellen Moore who could have some trouble finding a HC gig after attaching himself to Staley? Somebody like Greg Roman, Bill O'Brien, or Eric Bienemy? Sure you could probably get EB from Ron's fired staff but he ranks 12th in passing and 24th in rushing. If that really an offensive guru?

I made a post on this earlier today. I have a hard time seeing Johnson coming to the Panthers for his first HC job regardless of money. If the kid is as smart as everyone thinks he is, he will go somewhere with a more patient front office and a few key pieces already on the roster. I don't imagine he ties his reputation to Tepper (and maybe still Fitterer's) dysfunction so early in his career. Furthermore, do you expect a 37 year old first time HC to stand up to Tepper and fix this culture? That's a big expectation for anyone. Ben Johnson, OC- Detroit Lions The 37-year-old play caller seems to be the fan favorite- but is also one of the top candidates in a cycle that Adam Schefter reports there could be 7-10 HC openings. After the article from The Athletic, I imagine there will be much more desirable places that contain much less “dysfunction” than Carolina. It is argued that Johnson who was born in Charleston, SC and raised in Asheville, NC may elect to return home. Johnson was a walk on QB at UNC before becoming a graduate Assistant for Boston College. Personally, I don’t find that argument that strong for a guy so early in his career. I don’t think he would turn down a better organization with a better roster and front office leadership to come back “home”. He has obviously not cared about living in Miami and Detroit as he has built his career thus far. After his time at Boston College he was hired by the Miami Dolphins in 2012 as analyst. He would serve in many different position coach roles under HC Joe Philbin, Interim HC Dan Campbell, and HC Adam Gase. He would not be retained in Miami after Gase’s staff was let go in 2018. The following year he would be brought into Detroit by Matt Patricia as a QC Coach. He would be retained by Dan Campbell in 2021 as Passing Game Coordinator after Patricia’s firing. In 2022, he would officially become the Offensive Coordinator. In 2022, Detroit would finish 4th in total offense and are currently 3rd in the NFL in total offense as of Week 15. Personally, I think Johnson would be a perfect fit somewhere like LA or Seattle (should Caroll retire). Both have rosters that have many key pieces that are lacking in Carolina. Neither owner is known for being impatient and the same can’t be said for the owner of the football team in Charlotte. I think Johnson has a bright future and he knows that. He will have plenty of options this offseason and I don’t see Carolina near the top of his list. Is Johnson all hype or is he the real deal?

PB2’s Prediction: The Panthers take advantage of the Packers weak run defense early on for a steady lead. After Green Box loads the box, Carolina can’t capitalize in the pass game which leads to multiple failed conversations and stalled drives. Green Bay manages to pick apart Carolina’s gassed defense and ties the game as regulation expires. Carolina gets the opening possession in OT but goes 3 and out and gives Green Bay good field position on poor punt coverage. A few solid throws and a defensive holding penalty places the Packers in FG range where Green Bay Kicker Anders Carlson nails a 39 yarder for the win. Final: Packers 19 Panthers 16

We continue today with the most popular choice among fans... Ben Johnson, OC- Detroit Lions The 37-year-old play caller seems to be the fan favorite- but is also one of the top candidates in a cycle that Adam Schefter reports there could be 7-10 HC openings. After the article from The Athletic, I imagine there will be much more desirable places that contain much less “dysfunction” than Carolina. It is argued that Johnson who was born in Charleston, SC and raised in Asheville, NC may elect to return home. Johnson was a walk on QB at UNC before becoming a graduate Assistant for Boston College. Personally, I don’t find that argument that strong for a guy so early in his career. I don’t think he would turn down a better organization with a better roster and front office leadership to come back “home”. He has obviously not cared about living in Miami and Detroit as he has built his career thus far. After his time at Boston College he was hired by the Miami Dolphins in 2012 as analyst. He would serve in many different position coach roles under HC Joe Philbin, Interim HC Dan Campbell, and HC Adam Gase. He would not be retained in Miami after Gase’s staff was let go in 2018. The following year he would be brought into Detroit by Matt Patricia as a QC Coach. He would be retained by Dan Campbell in 2021 as Passing Game Coordinator after Patricia’s firing. In 2022, he would officially become the Offensive Coordinator. In 2022, Detroit would finish 4th in total offense and are currently 3rd in the NFL in total offense as of Week 15. Personally, I think Johnson would be a perfect fit somewhere like LA or Seattle (should Caroll retire). Both have rosters that have many key pieces that are lacking in Carolina. Neither owner is known for being impatient and the same can’t be said for the owner of the football team in Charlotte. I think Johnson has a bright future and he knows that. He will have plenty of options this offseason and I don’t see Carolina near the top of his list. Is Johnson all hype or is he the real deal?

I really don’t give a poo. I would honestly rather go back to just wearing black/silver at home with the occasionally black/black at night. I’m also tired of the white/black, it looks like complete ass and we need to go back to white/white. Tired of not wearing blue socks either. The same old same old uniform combos were better years ago. Whoever does it now spins a fukin wheel each week. More than all that, I’d rather have a team that wins.

As we continue our look at potential candidates over the next 11 days we now discuss one of the most controversial in the talent pool... Jim Harbaugh, HC- Michigan University Quite frankly, I only see Harbaugh getting beat out by one dude if he really wants the job in Charlotte and we will get to that guy tomorrow… Jim is a winner. Known for weird quirks and being an asshole. An Ohio native, he would be the QB for Michigan before going into the NFL and bouncing around as a journeyman (once playing for the Panthers like somebody else we know). He started coaching in 2002 under Bill Callahan and would have his first HC job in just 2 years at San Diego University where he would go 29-6. In 2007 he would join Stanford turning their program around. In 2007 Stanford would go 4-8 followed by 5-7 in 2008, 8-5 in 2009, and 12-1 in 2010 while claiming an Orange Bowl victory. In 2011 he was hired by the 49ers. He took a 49ers team that had not been to the playoffs since 2002 to 3 consecutive NFC Championship games including 1 SB appearance. Finishing 13-3, 11-4-1, and 12-4. Rumors circulated that his relationship with owner Jed York soured in 2014 and he would be fired at the end of an 8-8 season. He finished with a 49-14-1 regular season record, 5-3 post season record, 2 division titles and 1 conference title over 4 years. He returned to the NCAA as HC of his alma mater (Michigan) where he has compiled a 60-17 record over 9 years and 3 consecutive conference titles. The 59-year-old is known for his strong personality and odd quirks. He has been rumored to love milk. Even being photographed drinking a tall glass of milk at a restaurant with his steak. He can usually be seen walking up and down the sidelines of the Michigan games with his famous khaki pants and large chunk of tobacco in his jaw. He has even been rumored to appear at practice and coach shirtless or climb trees in his recruits’ back yards and sleep over at their houses. In one interview it was noted that he met executives at a hotel bar. Once he arrived, he removed his jacket, loosened his tie, emptied a can of soda, placed a fat dip in his mouth and used the can as a spittoon while he talked. If Tepper wants to win, this is the guy that will do it. However, it will require control. He will have to step back and let Harbaugh work his ways. Harbaugh has the personality to tell Tepper and whatever figurehead GM is put in place what he thinks. Money is not going to be a motivator for Harbaugh, a championship will be, and he will want everyone out of his way. It is reported that Harbaugh called Tepper multiple times last season to “discuss” the job but neither seemed interested at the time. Would Harbaugh come to Carolina? Well maybe under the right circumstances. Would Tepper hire Harbaugh? Well maybe under the right circumstances. I feel like Tepper is at the point of wanting to win where he doesn’t care about another ego in the room. Harbaugh is this year’s Sean Payton which seems to be working out well in Denver. The only thing that worries me about Harbaugh coming to Charlotte, is what the inevitable break up will be like.

Over the next two weeks, I will be posting a brief synopsis each day of the likely Head Coach candidates for the Panthers. Most probably won't care but maybe some will actually learn something or bring some interesting perspective. Starting with.... Frank Smith, OC- Miami Dolphins The 42-year-old Miami Dolphins OC has gained popularity this year. Smith was born and raised in Wisconsin and went to school at Miami (Ohio). He would stay there a few years as a graduate assistant before joining Butler's coaching staff and eventually working his way up to OC. He would work for the Saints under Sean Payton from 2010-2014 as the Assistant OL coach before taking a role in Chicago as TEs coach under John Fox from 2015-2017. After Fox’s firing Smith would join Jon Gruden in Oakland at the same position for the next 3 years. He would earn a lot of credit during his time with the Raiders for the development of TE Darren Waller. In 2021, Brandon Staley would hire him as Run Game Coordinator and OL Coach. That season the Chargers would rank 4th in total offense and 21st in rushing. In 2022 Mike McDaniel hired Smith to be his Offensive Coordinator in Miami. In 2022 the Dolphins ranked 6th in total offense and are currently 1st in 2023. Hiring Smith seems interesting to me. If Smith could pull off for Bryce what McDaniel did in Miami for Tua that would be ideal. The offensive scheme in Miami is one that Bryce would likely thrive under. So, what are red flags? Well Smith has never been a play caller. Many worry that the offense is so micromanaged by Mike McDaniel that Frank Smith is nothing more than a figurehead. After all it was rumored among the Dolphin's community that McDaniel neglected the Defense almost entirely last season, infuriating the front office and motivating them to pay Vic Fangio a ridiculous amount of money to manage that side of the ball. But just dismissing Smith for not calling plays? Eh, you could have said the same about Mike McDaniel in his years under Kyle Shanahan. My biggest concern about Smith, even going back in time before his press conference where he teared up at the notion of becoming a head coach is his reputation for being such a nice guy. No, I’m not bashing him for being nice. The Carolina Panthers may be the softest and most undisciplined team in the entire league, I don’t feel that Mr. Humility is going to be the guy they need to get things right- maybe later but not now. Besides, there have been enough “good guy” yes men in the role and I think it will take a strong personality to hold his ground against this front office- mainly the owner. Smith is well-liked among Chargers fans and many would like to have him back now that Brandon Staley is unemployed. What are your thoughts about Frank Smith?

Only way I could see him coming here would be if he didn’t have any other option. The Panthers are in such shambles I wouldn’t be opposed to somebody like him coming in for 2-3 with very low expectations and showing the Front Office what they are supposed to do and setting some type of foundation of culture for the team even if we sit a .500 a few seasons. That would be an improvement and would attract better candidates and players.

Falcons fans

I wish we the Panthers had a similar leadership structure as the Packers where the team was publicly owned with a CEO.

It’s almost as if he’s a ………

Colts DB or John Fox pet WR that lingered on the team in the late 00s?