Coaching and GM Candidates (Broad List)

[Davidson Deac II]

I want Omar Khan as our GM, just so I use the Kirk Khan meme when we have a bad game.  

[ncfan]

No for Roman for me.

 

49ers fans were excited to see him leave.  Bills fans didnt like him.

Lamar Jackson isnt coming with him to Carolina to prop him up.

 

 

Would be like people getting excited for Shula after the 2015 panthers offense.

[Mr. Scot]

2 hours ago, Icege said:

None of the coaching candidates make me feel more confident than Rivera (who should probably still be let go).

GM candidates tho...

Every successful head coach you see in the NFL now was at some point, an unknown quantity just like these guys are.

It's no different than what we did moving on from an established coach in John Fox to hire an unknown quantity named Ron Rivera.

And like I said before, I'll take an unknown over somebody that I know isn't going to get the job done.

[Mr. Scot]

2 hours ago, trueblade said:

Isn't this one of the major criticism of Hurney, that he was a contract negotiator and not a talent evaluator? 

It is, and it's a reason why Khan isn't my favorite candidate.

Plus he's interviewed for GM jobs several times and always been passed over. That reminds me of Ron Rivera.

I wouldn't mind having him here in a contract negotiation capacity, but I'm iffy on putting him in a role to evaluate talent.

[cmichd]

13 hours ago, 4Corners said:

Next coach will be Mike Tomlin. That is 100%. 

I hope not.  I never liked him that much and the last couple of years his teams haven't been that productive.

[cmichd]

13 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Not a whole lot of research involved here, just some names I pulled from recent articles about hot head coaching and GM prospects. Some of them have links attached if you wanna do your own reading.

Consider this just a general list for the moment. There won't ultimately be anywhere near this many serious candidates for either spot but there's not enough info available yet to accurately narrow the lists. What you've got here is basically pretty much anyone who might be a possibility next season.

Let's start with the coaches. I've put 'em into categories to be helpful and added my own thoughts and analysis in green.

GUYS WITH PANTHER CONNECTIONS

GREG ROMAN
Offensive Coordinator, Baltimore Ravens; Age 47

Roman would be a popular choice. He's also going to be a popular candidate, so if the Panthers want him, they may have to move quickly and be ready to pony up some cash. He spent several years working his way up with the Panthers but that was under Jerry Richardson. While he has no connection to David Tepper that I know of, Tepper may know him by reputation from his time in Pittsburgh.

ASSISTANT HEAD COACHES

DAN CAMPBELL
Assistant Head Coach / TE Coach, New Orleans Saints; Age 43

DAVE TOUB
Assistant Head Coach / Special Teams Coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs; Age 57

Campbell and Toub have both had multiple head coaching interviews and it's generally only considered a matter of time before both get jobs. Campbell is my top choice. I've read plenty on him. He has good coaching philosophies and his time serving with guys like Sean Payton and Bill Parcells certainly helps. Toub would be an outside the box hire as an ST coach, but so was John Harbaugh.

OFFENSIVE COACHES

BRIAN DABOLL
Offensive Coordinator, Buffalo Bills; Age 44

ERIC BIENIEMY
Offensive Coordinator, Kansas City Chiefs; Age 50

KEVIN STEFANSKI
Offensive Coordinator, Minnesota Vikings; Age 37

NICK SIRIANNI
Offensive Coordinator, Indianapolis Colts; Age 38

Daboll has a "sort of" Panthers connection in that he works with Sean McDermott and Brandon Beane in Buffalo. Bienemy is a popular guy right now though possibly waning somewhat. Personally, I'm not a fan of Andy Reid assistants. Stefanski and Sirianni strike me as reaches in the "next Sean McVay" mode.

DEFENSIVE COACHES

ROBERT SALEH
Defensive Coordinator, San Francisco 49ers; Age 40

KRIS RICHARD
Passing Game Coordinator for Defensive Backs, Dallas Cowboys; Age 40

MATT EBERFLUS
Defensive Coordinator, Indianapolis Colts; Age 49

Saleh is arguably the top candidate in the league at the moment but I'm not up for another defensive coach.  Ditto Richard and Eberflus. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

So those are the coaches. Let's look at the GMs.

FYI: Many teams don't have online bios for front office staff. I've added other links for a few that had them.

Starting with...

GUYS WITH CONNECTIONS TO DAVID TEPPER

KEVIN COLBERT
General Manager, Pittsburgh Steelers; Age 62

OMAR KHAN
Vice President of Football & Business Administration, Pittsburgh Steelers; Age 42

BRANDON HUNT
Pro Scouting Coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers

Colbert is reported to be a close Tepper confidant, as is Khan.  The situation in Pittsburgh may have both men on the outs though. Colbert is speculated to be on the hot seat due potentially to differences with Mike Tomlin, who is said to now have more power in Pittsburgh than Colbert (a possible reason why Colbert declined the last extension offered). It's generally believed that Tepper would offer him absolute power to remake the Panthers as he wished.  As to Khan, he's been a "bridesmaid" in several seasons and many expected if Colbert retired that Khan would ascend, but that's changed. Word now is that the Steelers are looking at Brandon Hunt as Colbert's heir apparent (though he could be available if that doesn't pan out). The problem with Khan is that he's not really a talent evaluator but more of a contract negotiator. In that role, he's generally considered the best in the league, and would be an asset if he were to follow Colbert to Carolina.

GUYS WITH CONNECTIONS TO THE PANTHERS

RYAN COWDEN
Vice President of Player Personnel, Tennessee Titans
Panthers Area Scout, Assistant Director of College Scouting, 2001-2016

TRENT KIRCHNER
Co-Director of Player Personnel, Seattle Seahawks
Panthers Pro Scout, 2002-2010

LAKE DAWSON
Assistant Director of College Scout, Buffalo Bills; Age 47
Previously interviewed twice for Panthers GM job

DAN MORGAN
Director of Player Personnel, Buffalo Bills; Age 40
Panthers player, 2001-2007

KEVIN ABRAMS
Assistant GM, New York Giants
Works under prior Panthers GM Dave Gettleman

Cowden and Kirchner were believed to be candidates for the Panthers GM job when Marty Hurney was only the interim (more on that later). Dawson actually did get an interview (and a second one, when Hurney was embroiled in a scandal thanks to his ex-wife) and is currently a colleague of former Panthers exec Brandon Beane. Morgan is considered something of a rising star in the personnel world. Abrams, like Omar Khan, is more contract negotiator than talent evaluator and his Panthers connections are really only "shirttail".

PRIOR PANTHER INTERVIEWEES

JIMMY RAYE
Senior Personnel Executive, Detroit Lions; Age 51

MARTIN MAYHEW
Senior Personnel Executive, San Francisco 49ers; Age 54

GEORGE PATON
Assistant General Manager, Minnesota Vikings

Along with Lake Dawson, Raye and Mayhew were interviewed to satisfy the Rooney Rule. Team owner Jerry Richardson had intended to simply leave Hurney with the "interim" title perpetually so that he wouldn't have to interview anyone else. When complaints were lodged that Richardson was violating The Rooney Rule, the Panthers went overboard to make a show of interviewing minority candidates. It was generally believed to be a sham, confirmed when Hurney got the job anyway. Paton was interviewed during the cycle theat eventually saw Dave Gettleman hired. In recent years, he's been known to turn down interview offers, with speculation being that he's waiting to take over the Vikings from Rick Spielman once he retires.

POPULAR CANDIDATES

ED DODDS
Assistant General Manager, Indianapolis Colts

MIKE BORGONZI
Director of Football Operations, Kansas City Chiefs

JOE HORTIZ
Director of College Scouting, Baltimore Ravens

SCOTT FITTERER
Co-Director of Player Personnel, Seattle Seahawks

Fitterer shares an odd "co-chief" arrangement with Trent Kirchner.  Dodds is a name on the rise thanks to his work under Colts GM Chris Ballard.  Borgonzi and Hortiz are also risers in their respective team offices. Borgonzi is said to be a guy who gets promoted almost annually and Hortiz will likely be popular thanks to the Ravens success (among other things with choosing Lamar Jackson). Truthfully, these are guys that I'm including right now for the sake of being thorough. They might be worth a deeper look if they materialize as real possibilities.

LESS LIKELY CANDIDATES

NICK CASERIO
Director of Player Personnel, New England Patriots; Age 43

WILL MCCLAY
Vice President of Player Personnel, Dallas Cowboys; Age 53

TERRY FONTENOT
Director of Pro Scouting, New Orleans Saints

ELIOT WOLF
Assistant General Manager, Cleveland Browns

ANDREW BERRY
Vice President of Football Operations, Philadelphia Eagles

LOUIS RIDDICK
ESPN Commentator, Former NFL Executive; Age 50

Caserio was said to have the Texans GM job before the Patriots apparently blocked it.  It's believed he'll join the Texans in some capacity next season after his contract expires.  McClay and Wolf are longtime candidates whose stars may have faded somewhat with their teams taking a downturn.  Fontenot and Berry are "future" prospects. Riddick is a source of speculation on an annual basis but nothing's come of it yet.
 

RETREADS

JOE DOUGLAS
General Manager, New York Jets; Age 42

JEFF IRELAND
Assistant General Manager / College Scouting Director, New Orleans Saints; Age 51

JERRY REESE
Former General Manager, New York Giants; Age 56

REGGIE MCKENZIE
Senior Personnel Executive, Miami Dolphins; Age 56

Douglas is an interesting case in that he technically has a job but might not at season's end because the Jets are performing poorly. He was speculated to be a potential candidate for the Panthers job last year also but it didn't come available (his time with the Ravens and Eagles hold him in good stead). Of the rest, Ireland is still remembered as the guy who asked "that question" of Dez Bryant. McKenzie was actually doing a half-decent job in Oakland but was forced out by Jon Gruden. As to Reese, it's said that several league executives really want to see him get another shot as a GM. That's fine, but I''m not up for it happening with us.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Reminder: The jobs still aren't officially available just yet.  There's that expectation, but these things are very, very fluid, and even if both jobs are open the ultimate candidate lists will be significantly smaller.

But for now, speculate away

I see you didn't mention Beane the GM in Buffalo as a candidate for the GM since he has Panther connection.  He was being or was suppose to be being groomed to take Gettleman's place before heading North.

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, cmichd said:

I see you didn't mention Beane the GM in Buffalo as a candidate for the GM since he has Panther connection.  He was being or was suppose to be being groomed to take Gettleman's place before heading North.

I don't really see much chance of him losing his current job. 

That, plus a lot of the people he used to work with here were under Jerry Richardson. David Tepper doesn't know him from Adam.

Kevin Colbert and Joe Douglas are the only current GMs that I included because there's speculation they'll be looking for work next year and both have been tied to Tepper in the past (though with Douglas it's only a shoestring connection, if that).

[cmichd]

10 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

I don't really see much chance of him losing his current job. 

That, plus a lot of the people he used to work with here were under Jerry Richardson. David Tepper doesn't know him from Adam.

Kevin Colbert and Joe Douglas are the only current GMs that I included because there's speculation they'll be looking for work next year and both have been tied to Tepper in the past (though with Douglas it's only a shoestring connection, if that).

No I don't think Beane would be losing his job and Tepper might have to buy his contact out with Buffalo.  I just remember how the Team felt after Buffalo grabbed him from us.  Just mentioning him since he is young and proven himself while he has been in Buffalo.

[Davidson Deac II]

3 hours ago, rodeo said:

even Roman? turning Lamar Jackson into a damn star. imagine what he can do with Cam. i want that guy so bad. i want to lay in bed next to Greg Roman and just be comforted knowing that he's near me.

Did he, or was Lamar a star and Roman just knew how to use him?  One could argue that Shula did the same thing with Cam.  

Personally, I would prefer we hire a Coach who took an average player and made him look better than Average.  

[rodeo]

4 minutes ago, Davidson Deac II said:

Did he, or was Lamar a star and Roman just knew how to use him?  One could argue that Shula did the same thing with Cam.  

Personally, I would prefer we hire a Coach who took an average player and made him look better than Average.  

knowing how to use him is what made him a star. i would argue that Shula really didn't know how to use Cam, if Roman had a hold of him from his rookie year we'd be having GOAT discussions. in my opinion.

[bigdog10]

No mention of Jim Harbaugh?

49-22-1 as an nfl head coach. 
 

He’s a bit of a character and could potentially want more power than Tepper would be willing to offer, but this franchise has been so vanilla for so long that it’s time to take a chance. 
 

I realize his college coaching tenure has been an up and down affair but the college game is so different from the pros. Bad and mediocre coaches are propped up by the brand name of their universities.  He inherited a mess at Michigan and has managed to turn that program around. 
 

He’d be at the top of my list. 

[CMAC22]

13 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

I think you have a better chance at getting Brady if you hire Dan Campbell as the head coach. They've worked together before.

I forgot about Dan Campbell that would make sense to get Joe Brady!

[Davidson Deac II]

29 minutes ago, rodeo said:

knowing how to use him is what made him a star. i would argue that Shula really didn't know how to use Cam, if Roman had a hold of him from his rookie year we'd be having GOAT discussions. in my opinion.

You may be right, I am just hesitant to say that Roman made or had a big impact on Jackson becoming a star.  

Of course, the real questions we would need to ask are.

Who would Roman want as Offensive coordinator?

And could he get Cam back to stardom assuming Cam is healthy, or could he make Kyle Allen a star, or could he make whomever we draft a star?

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, Davidson Deac II said:

You may be right, I am just hesitant to say that Roman made or had a big impact on Jackson becoming a star.  

Of course, the real questions we would need to ask are.

Who would he want as Offensive coordinator?

And could he get Cam back to stardom assuming Cam is healthy, or could he make Kyle Allen a star, or could he make whomever we draft a star?

Roman was working under Marty Mornhinweg before he got promoted to be his replacement. Not a name I'd be a fan of, but you could argue that he's had good moments as an OC.

I could take a look back at Roman's coaching history for a few other ideas. I've done that with Campbell.