Soul Rebel

If AR had stayed one more year at Florida, I think the comparisons in college would be more aligned. Cam was unstoppable at Auburn and won a chip that year. Richardson needed more reps and impose his will consistently all year to be compared. I think AR destroys the combine and pro-day and will go top-7 before Levis. If we want any QB not named Levis, we need to get to 6. I think the Colin Kaepernick comp is a good one. AR has a prettier release and looks more fluid with his delivery, but has some messy footwork and he will need to improve reading defenses more. Stroud could start later in '23. Richardson can not.

I can see a scenario where Stroud, Young and Levis are all gone by the time Vegas picks. Everyone knows Carolina is looking for a QB and if only one is left, I could see another QB-hungry team jump us to get the last of the 'big 4'. It's a win-win for ATL at 8....gain assets and keep your I-85 rival away from landing their QB1. If we want a QB, I think we're going to have to get up to 6 at the least. Vegas and ATL lurking with Jets, Bucs and potentially Seattle's second FRP behind us.

I wonder Flores' thoughts on us not hiring Wilks. On principle, I think Flores would not come here based on the lawsuits.

Musgrave will be a guy to keep an eye on for R2. Seeing guys like Kelce, Goedert, Kittle, etc. help an offensive meld, I want one in the second round this year. Great year for it too.... Mayer, Musgrave, Kincaid and Kraft are all solid TEs that will thrive in the NFL. I also like the DL from GA Tech....could be a decent grab on day two.

Based off of Reich's style and comments, I think they are looking at two QBs in the top-10.... Stroud and Richardson. Stroud will cost ya a pretty penny while Richardson will not nearly as much. I do think by the time the draft rolls around AR goes ahead of Levis. We still may need to jump Vegas to get 'our guy' and everyone in the NFL knows Carolina is looking at a QB at 9. We cannot get leapfrogged. Young to Houston seems like a lock and Levis scares me. For me, AR > Levis. Richardson is two years younger, played in the SEC has less reps in the collegiate ranks and is more dangerous of an athlete. A 24-yr old Levis opting out of the Sr. Bowl is also a key indicator for me that Levis is going to try and get drafted based on mystique and pro-day/underwear olympics.

Levis is already 4 out of 4 for me, but now he's not playing in the Senior Bowl either. I understand the Bowl game more than a post-season game primarily made to raise your draft stock. Dude had an underwhelming year and is already considered older than most draftees. He needs every opportunity to improve on a rough, rough year.

Unpopular opinion: Fortify our offensive arsenal around a soon-to-be 23 year old Lance with a QB whisperer HC (and hopefully Johnson or Patullo) without gutting our draft capital. R1: Quentin Johnston R2(CAR): Dalton Kincaid/Luke Musgrave/Tucker Kraft R2(SF): Trade #61 + '24 4th round pick for Trey Lance R3: McIntosh/Vaughn RBs - Rookie RB/Hubbard/Blackshear WR1 - QJ WR2 - DJ WR3 - TMJ WR4 - Shenault TE - Rookie TE

Move up for Stroud. Bring in Brissett on a 1&1 deal and let Stroud either win the job or sit until he's ready. I think Brissett with a re-signed Foreman and Bozeman can take us to the playoffs. Guys like TLaw, Mahomes, etc. were not good in year one, so Stroud wouldn't have to play immediately, but does have the potential later in the year.

Happy with keeping Campen/Tabor and letting go of Holcomb....3-for-3 so far for Reich. I am hoping that he's met with the current staff and can now move on to hiring our DC. I understand Philly still being active that we can't officially hire from their staff, but Richard and Manuel are open to hire ASAP. The longer we wait, the more Bradley could be the potential hire.....which would be a big mistake, IMO.

CJ-2-DJ would make me happy.

1- Richard 2- Manuel . . . . . . Bradley If we are fully trying to hit a reset on our style, coaching and schemes, Richard or Manuel would be aligned with Reich. Hiring Bradley is a lot of what we've seen already for the past two decades. Reich/Brian Johnson/Richard would look nothing like what Panthers fans are used to.

Richard is my new #1 fave, but Manuel would easily be a fan fave and my 1B option. We have some talent in the DB room that could use someone with a focus on DBs. CJ, Taylor, Hartsfield and Franklin. A couple of excerpts that stood out to me: https://www.atlantafalcons.com/news/meet-marquand-manuel-the-fiery-falcons-defensive-coordinator-who-knows-only-one-

Welp, on to Kris Richard. Bradley has the Reich's connections, but I fear that Gus' system is too soft and "bend but don't break" style. From what I've read on Colts/Raiders boards, he does not like to blitz, a bit vanilla for opposing OCs to pick apart and would appear to have a hard time getting off the field. Richard and Manuel seem more aggressive and can keep up with today's offenses.

Richard would be a great hire for our DC. He made the rounds in HC interviews a few years back and was a hot commodity for a minute. He's slid back into less-popular mentions a la Bieniemy. I like Fangio and think he's #1 on the market, but Richard would be a helluva get. Also stealing a Saints talent to bring here would be great. Brian Johnson or Duce Staley for OC Kris Richard for DC

As we all know, Tepper and the org was leaning towards an offensive mind over defense. I also feel that if you swap their respective disciplines and put Reich in Carolina this past year at 6-6 with a defensive background, and place Wilks as the offensive mind coming from Indianapolis, we would've hired Wilks. That's not to say that there's not some unfortunate biases in play potentially as well as throughout the NFL.

I think this is more because Ryans played most of his career in Houston. It would be like Kuechly being a hot candidate and choosing us over Denver. That's not to say that the Broncos current situation is a dumpster fire, but I don't think that's the case with Ryans.

Nothing but love and respect for Wilks. He exceeded what was asked of him and rallied this Team from the trash heap that Rhule left burning behind him. He embodied Keep Pounding and made this team watchable all year. I hope he lands on his feet elsewhere (preferably not in the NFCS) and eventually is coaching a team.

This is the dream. Fitts calls his buddies in Seattle to move up to 5 and take Stroud without gashing our draft capital.

His 2022 staff was underwhelming because Sirianni, Gannon and others bolted for promotions. Make no mistake, Reich will pull talented coordinators and coaches on his staff. I think this was one of his more positive traits over other candidates.

This tweet is unfortunate. Wilks did a lot for this team and was on the precipice of the playoffs. If he wins that TB game, we're in the playoffs and I think there's no way he isn't being announced as HC before January 26th. He didn't, there were true concerns that even most fans can see pretty easily.

100%. From a humanitarian standpoint, I feel the same. As a Panthers football fan, I'm happy for Reich and think he will be the better hire of the two. Now..... go get Bradley or Fangio for DC, bring in a competent OC, sign Brissett this offseason and find your QB1.

Not to kick the can down the road nor subscribe to the classic "oh just wait on next year's QB crop....it's so much better than this year" bs, but what if we wait on our QB1 until 2024? We draft Johnston or if someone like Murphy falls to 9. Get our WR1 this year, save our draft capital from moving up and wait on next year's talent. Lots to like there and they are not Ohio State, 'Bama or UF QBs. Plus, we can see what our new HC/OC can do with Corral for a year, while bringing in a bridge QB. If it is Reich, a Brissett reunion + Corral would be interesting. You would have Johnston-Moore-TMJ-Shenault. Maybe snag Kincaid or Musgrave in R2 and then maybe Charbonnet/Evans/McIntosh at 61. Let's deck out the offense around our already top-10 OL add pieces for either Corral or next year's QB and let Reich/Wilks have a year to assess the roster. Truth is that Williams/Maye/Penix/Sanders/Ewers are as good....actually more tantalizing to me than Stroud/Young/Levis/Richardson.

This is my favorite style of offense. I assume great window dressing, no huddle to optimize matchups and seize control vs. plodding along. Have we ever had this in Carolina?

The TLDR 2023 coaching cycle for us summarized....."choose your poison". Wilks - you know what you're getting. Physical, ground and pound football with a suspect DC. Who does he bring in for OC? Turned the culture around, has the locker room and a great local story. Is it not more of what we've experienced for the past 20 years? Reich - Teppers ideal cross of HC experience-offensive background. Very solid coaching tree and won a SB as an OC. Did he fail in Indy or was it a similar situation to Carolina's sh!t show of QB carousel and suspect ownership? Steichen/Johnson/Moore - young up and coming OCs that have had success calling plays, though not for very long. Can they be "thee guy" running the show, gaining respect and buy-in from players...much different than a playcaller. Payton - the most experience, winning history with a ring as a HC and brings a culture with him that players are drawn to. Cost and control is the issue. For Tepper to give up draft capital, top $$ for salary AND control from Fitts/Morgan....no dice. Kafka/Dorsey - just not there yet. Some highs and lows....still a year or two out from HC consideration, IMO. Bottom line is that there is no "homerun" lock HC in this cycle. Hope for the best...be happy that Rhule is no longer here and that Payton & Harbaugh are not coming in to seize control, cost us assets and bring in veteran QBs and players, vs. building a long-term answer. Whoever it is at HC/OC/DC/QB, I will root for. There's reasons to be happy and concerned about all candidates. There is no Tomlin or Belly out there that you can hang your hat on to bring SBs to the Queen City.