Different takes on the resignations

[Mr. Scot]

Gantt: Things we think and things we know

Basic summary: The business side of the Panthers may change, but the football side will not. Gantt believes heavily in Jerry Richardson and doesn't buy the notion that sibling rivalry played any part in this. He does, however, believe that both sons may wish to escape their father's sizeable shadow.

Chandler: Richardson sons exit in Panthers shocker

On the flipside, Chandler thinks family infighting is the root of the whole affair. He believes that Mark and Jon had very different ideas about how the team should be run and essentially butted heads a little too often for their dad. In the end, Chandler believes Jerry made the Solomonic decision to remove both sons from the scene and will now guide the team by the force of his own will.

Reed: What do the resignations mean to the Panthers?

Reed deals mainly in the bare facts and doesn't offer as much of his own opinion as either of the other guys. Like the rest, he believes Richardson is now firmly back in charge, but he has concerns for what happens the day he is no longer able.

So here you have the three heavyweights among Panther beat writers weighing in on the story, with fairly divergent takes.

Interestingly, not a single one of them seems to subscribe to the idea that this was a move to prepare for a transition where either son would be fully in charge. they all seem to believe that the "hands off" status of the Richardson boys will be a long term thing rather than short.

One of my initial thoughts on this was to wonder whether Marty Hurney might get the team president role with salary cap guy Rob Rogers moving into the GM title. None of the beat writers have that take at present, though Gantt has advanced the notion that ticket manager Phil Youtsey might take over the business end of the team.

All in all a very odd day in Panther Fandom. When we woke up yesterday morning, the daily team operation was firmly in the hands of the Richardson family. Now everything is on its ear, and no one truly knows exactly what will happen next.

Let the speculation fly...

[Kevin Greene]

Dad ain't too happy with how things were done while he was "away".

[Kyle82]

Man I would hate to see a civil war in our organization.

[Matt Foley]

Jon was already leaving. This is between Dad and Mark, or this is simply a tax thing. One of the two.

[Darth Biscuit]

Thanks for the summary Mr. Scot... saved me a lot of time...

[Kurb]

Dad ain't too happy with how things were done while he was "away".

This was my first thought.

[jpniner]

seems like bad timing though, you'd think they'd get run out/quit during the offseason.

I'm thinking something happened recently to cause this to happen right as season is beginning.

[CanadianCat]

hmmm, good summary - food for thought

[Panthers_Lover]

seems like bad timing though, you'd think they'd get run out/quit during the offseason.

I'm thinking something happened recently to cause this to happen right as season is beginning.

Remember that "off season" in football is "off season" really only for us fans. For organizations, it's the time to be working on putting together the right team, coaches, etc. It's high-time, in a sense, for them.

[jpniner]

true, but from a PR point of view its bad timing.

unless you take the view that any news is good marketing for selling tickets? creating buzzz...etc

[Fireball77]

Perhaps JR wasn't up to doing much about this healthwise until recently too.

[Panthers_Lover]

true, but from a PR point of view its bad timing.

unless you take the view that any news is good marketing for selling tickets? creating buzzz...etc

I'm not sure any time is a good time, but think about it ... this small window between "off season" and "the season" may be the best window. With JJR's heart transplant on literally the last day of the last football season, with time for him to recuperate, time for the draft, time to put our team together, etc., etc., suddenly, the season is upon us again ... it just may have been the best time, the only time.

PR-wise, while from the outside, I might do things differently, I know that the organization has operated on its own agenda. They are professionals and I think are about as savvy as they come. They have their reasons for handling things exactly this way, I think. We may not understand, but it kind of reminds me of my former boss -- very smart man, but sometimes I thought he was crazy for some of the things he did and said ... but there was always method to his madness and when you saw it, it was like a light-bulb moment.

[Squirrel]

I'm not sure any time is a good time, but think about it ... this small window between "off season" and "the season" may be the best window. With JJR's heart transplant on literally the last day of the last football season, with time for him to recuperate, time for the draft, time to put our team together, etc., etc., suddenly, the season is upon us again ... it just may have been the best time, the only time.

PR-wise, while from the outside, I might do things differently, I know that the organization has operated on its own agenda. They are professionals and I think are about as savvy as they come. They have their reasons for handling things exactly this way, I think. We may not understand, but it kind of reminds me of my former boss -- very smart man, but sometimes I thought he was crazy for some of the things he did and said ... but there was always method to his madness and when you saw it, it was like a light-bulb moment.

I have always heard the front office was screwed up. Maybe JR noticed that when he came back from surgery.

[Wither]

I just think it sucks that the business won't be ran by a family. Even though families may have disputes, you can (generally) rely on them. However, as long as the right people replace them, there should be no problem.