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Reich's style of leadership


Mr. Scot
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Jeremy Chinn and Shy Tuttle...

The common denominator is the listening, and you hear it from every player you ask about Reich, the young and the old, the get-along guys and the hard-asses, the new and the entrenched.

"I remember we had real conversations," defensive back Jeremy Chinn said. "And he told us it would be a player-led team. You know, our trust for him is just as important as his strength for us. And that's really how it has been approached. This is our team, and let's build it together."

"He's one of the coaches you want to put your best foot forward when you're playing for," new defensive tackle Shy Tuttle said. "And he takes care of you. So you want to take care of him."

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17 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:


Among his first moves was to get the former players back into the building, and on the walls. Panthers legends became staples on the practice fields of OTAs and training camp, and not just the ones who live in the neighborhood. But in the blank spaces in the locker room, there are now huge photos of Sam Mills, of Julius Peppers and Jordan Gross, of Jake Delhomme and Greg Olsen, and more. There's a huge Steve Smith in the team meeting room in full flex, next to the words: "Stay ready so you don't have to get ready."

So maybe it wasn’t Tepper trying to erase the teams past after all. 

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JJ Jansen...

Jansen has an interesting perspective on this, and not just because he's the player closest in age to Reich or because Reich's the fourth Panthers coach he's played for (of the six total). He's gathering some intel because he sometimes gets to eavesdrop.

In practice, the long snapper serves as the center for 7-on-7s since the actual linemen are usually working on the other side of the field. So Jansen gets to hear the conversations between Reich and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown (whom he went out and found from a different offensive pedigree rather than bringing along another familiar face) and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and rookie quarterback Bryce Young and Thielen and the rest of the offense.

"I think a sort of camaraderie and relationship starts in these periods of time," Jansen began. "So maybe we're in Week 7, and Adam comes to the sideline, and he says, 'Hey, Bryce, I see this,' and it's a quick conversation with Thomas or with Josh or with Frank, and they make the adjustment, and they go because there's a trust and a relationship that's been built over eight months as opposed to 'We do it this way, or we do it that way.'

"There's a level of calm on the practice field. I think there's a good understanding of on the practice field, we're trying to rehearse, but we're also trying to play game situations and make adjustments based on personnel or who the other team is because that's what happens in the game. And when I stand in there, and I snap in 7-on-7, I listen to quarterbacks making a few adjustments. Hey, if we get this coverage, run this route, and it's a little bit off-script. I just see that there's an element of freedom in trying to get the team into the best play. It's not freelance, but there is a calm, and then there's a conversation with the coach, hey, this is why I saw that. And now we get on tape, and we can all have a conversation about it later. It creates some levels of freedom that I think is really important when you play the 60 snaps or so on an NFL game day, you're more ready for it."

But Jansen also remembers one of his first conversations with Reich, in which the former backup quarterback talked to the long snapper about how he used to hold for field goals.

"Coach kind of brought up his time as a holder, his dad being a long snapper," Jansen said. "So immediately, I now know, hey, he has a little bit of understanding of what I'm doing. I can tell that he has a respect for what I do and the role that the specialists play on the team.

"And so it just begins to build a relationship that when we finish OTAs, and when we go to training camp, and in the season, you know that there's a relationship already forming, as opposed to, 'I'm in charge. I'm the coach; I'm telling you what to do.' Yeah, I think that stuff helps."

...

Side Note: The "actual linemen" comment is a pretty obvious dig from Gantt to Jansen 😆

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1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

JJ Jansen...

Jansen has an interesting perspective on this, and not just because he's the player closest in age to Reich or because Reich's the fourth Panthers coach he's played for (of the six total). He's gathering some intel because he sometimes gets to eavesdrop.

In practice, the long snapper serves as the center for 7-on-7s since the actual linemen are usually working on the other side of the field. So Jansen gets to hear the conversations between Reich and offensive coordinator Thomas Brown (whom he went out and found from a different offensive pedigree rather than bringing along another familiar face) and quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and rookie quarterback Bryce Young and Thielen and the rest of the offense.

"I think a sort of camaraderie and relationship starts in these periods of time," Jansen began. "So maybe we're in Week 7, and Adam comes to the sideline, and he says, 'Hey, Bryce, I see this,' and it's a quick conversation with Thomas or with Josh or with Frank, and they make the adjustment, and they go because there's a trust and a relationship that's been built over eight months as opposed to 'We do it this way, or we do it that way.'

"There's a level of calm on the practice field. I think there's a good understanding of on the practice field, we're trying to rehearse, but we're also trying to play game situations and make adjustments based on personnel or who the other team is because that's what happens in the game. And when I stand in there, and I snap in 7-on-7, I listen to quarterbacks making a few adjustments. Hey, if we get this coverage, run this route, and it's a little bit off-script. I just see that there's an element of freedom in trying to get the team into the best play. It's not freelance, but there is a calm, and then there's a conversation with the coach, hey, this is why I saw that. And now we get on tape, and we can all have a conversation about it later. It creates some levels of freedom that I think is really important when you play the 60 snaps or so on an NFL game day, you're more ready for it."

But Jansen also remembers one of his first conversations with Reich, in which the former backup quarterback talked to the long snapper about how he used to hold for field goals.

"Coach kind of brought up his time as a holder, his dad being a long snapper," Jansen said. "So immediately, I now know, hey, he has a little bit of understanding of what I'm doing. I can tell that he has a respect for what I do and the role that the specialists play on the team.

"And so it just begins to build a relationship that when we finish OTAs, and when we go to training camp, and in the season, you know that there's a relationship already forming, as opposed to, 'I'm in charge. I'm the coach; I'm telling you what to do.' Yeah, I think that stuff helps."

...

Side Note: The "actual linemen" comment is a pretty obvious dig from Gantt to Jansen 😆

Stop making me actually look forward to Sunday! Damn I’m about ready for some football. 

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Adam Thielen...

Thielen recognized it from a distance. He had only played in Minnesota, but word travels fast in NFL locker rooms. He didn't know Reich personally, but he had heard about the person inside the former Colts head coach.

"So, to rewind a little bit, the main reason why I came here, even just on a visit, was just for the respect I had for him from afar," Thielen said. "There was no interaction before that meeting, but just from playing against him, knowing guys that have played for him, just having a lot of respect for how he's treated this profession and this job and his players.

"And then, you know, having those first moments, those first couple of meetings with him, you know, I really just felt like again, this was a perfect fit for me just because of the type of person he is, the type of coach he is and then, you know, his schemes and his coaching staff and things like that.

"I think he just kind of has a unique ability to create relationships and to really respect and, and then really, . . . I think the biggest thing is how he empowers guys. You know, he really gives them the ability to be at their very best by the way that he treats them, the way that he talks to them, and the way that he coaches them. And that's what I've seen. Not just for me personally, but for other teammates, just the way that he empowers guys, they appreciate it."

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1 minute ago, Mr. Scot said:

The more I read, the more I think that was Rhule.

Rhule wanted his "Brand" stuff to be front and center.

If that meant minimizing what the team already had, well...

That’s one of the biggest reasons I couldn’t get on board with Rhule from the get go. You can’t bring a premade “brand” to a team. Yes you can bring your coaching style, your play style and all that. That comes with the territory. But a team(and by team I mean the current iteration of players, coaches, etc.) identity/brand has to be found by the team during its progression. 

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Just now, Wolfcop said:

I think he will be successful if we get him the players. Next offseason is vitally important. You’ll see some glimpses this year, but we need more pieces. 

On that front...

Star outside linebacker Brian Burns and Reich don't have all that much in common other than a shared workplace. But when Burns' desire for a new contract led to some recent uncomfortable days, Reich made it clear it a press conference that he understood the business realities, but he also drew a line between himself and the front office. The organization makes decisions about money, but Reich has to coach Brian Burns. So he doesn't get involved in the money part because he wants to build that relationship with the Brian Burns part, for now and the future. The easy stance would be to draw that line between labor and management. But Reich found that small opening in which he can run a team, but also in which he builds on a common background as a player who probably once wanted a raise too.

At this moment, no one knows how the Burns situation is going to turn out. But Reich walked that tightrope, showing a sensitivity to the players' perspective as well as the entire team he has to coach, which is obviously better with Burns on it.

This is smart. Reich's not going to be antagonistic towards the front office because he also has to work with them, but he can speak from the perspective of the players as well.

If you've ever had a manager or supervisor who understood what you do because they'd done it themselves, then you know it makes a huge difference as opposed to someone who has no clue what your job is like.

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6 minutes ago, Wolfcop said:

I think he will be successful if we get him the players. Next offseason is vitally important. You’ll see some glimpses this year, but we need more pieces. 

I’m in that boat. I just want to see us win some close games, make progress. Enjoy watching 

jennifer lawrence film GIF
 

and hoping our defense isn’t going to be as ass as I think it’s going to be this season. And that’s not offense to our new DC, I just don’t think we have the pieces to execute this year. 
 

And yes from everything I’ve heard about Bryce I think his nickname should be Cerebro. 

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