More insight from Dianna Russini

[Mr. Scot]

From The Athletic...

There is one thing that money can’t buy. Peace of mind.

With rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud tearing up the NFL and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young struggling, there’s no peace in Carolina.

Panthers owner David Tepper has been desperate to see improvement on offense and hasn’t seen it. Not even an ounce.

“Stroud’s early success 100 percent played into Tepper’s decision to fire (head coach) Frank Reich. We all felt the pressure and frustrations,” a Panthers source shared over the phone this week. “It’s hard to step in and carry the weight of a franchise, and Bryce has it harder than most here.”

• Despite the team trading up to draft Young No. 1 overall in April, a team source said that by Week 5 multiple Carolina coaches wanted to bench the rookie for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. Some believed the team needed a change and that Young required more coaching. The team decided this wasn’t about trying to get wins in the short term but to stay on task with teaching and developing Young in the offense. From all my conversations this past week, the Panthers still believe Bryce Young can be an incredible quarterback. Another team source texted, “He needs better protections and weapons. He has ‘it.’ We do not protect the middle of the pocket. He needs it most in this area because he’s 5-10.”

• Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was never approached by Tepper to take over the interim head coach position, a league source said. If you recall, when Evero was asked to take on that role in Denver after the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, he turned it down. He later explained he didn’t believe it was a good situation. He was fired at the end of the 2022 season and hired to call the defense in Carolina. There are people on the current staff who believe Evero will have some head coach opportunities outside Carolina in a few weeks.

• The expectation in the Panthers building is Tepper will try to lure Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to Carolina after trying to hire him last season. Johnson decided to stay in Detroit last hiring cycle, but a league source told me Johnson is ready for a head coaching job now.

Some in the Panthers organization, per a league source, have been texting Johnson about how complicated it has been to work in Carolina this season. Johnson is expected to be the top coaching candidate in 2024.

That last part...

[methodtoll]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

From The Athletic...

There is one thing that money can’t buy. Peace of mind.

With rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud tearing up the NFL and No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young struggling, there’s no peace in Carolina.

Panthers owner David Tepper has been desperate to see improvement on offense and hasn’t seen it. Not even an ounce.

“Stroud’s early success 100 percent played into Tepper’s decision to fire (head coach) Frank Reich. We all felt the pressure and frustrations,” a Panthers source shared over the phone this week. “It’s hard to step in and carry the weight of a franchise, and Bryce has it harder than most here.”

• Despite the team trading up to draft Young No. 1 overall in April, a team source said that by Week 5 multiple Carolina coaches wanted to bench the rookie for veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. Some believed the team needed a change and that Young required more coaching. The team decided this wasn’t about trying to get wins in the short term but to stay on task with teaching and developing Young in the offense. From all my conversations this past week, the Panthers still believe Bryce Young can be an incredible quarterback. Another team source texted, “He needs better protections and weapons. He has ‘it.’ We do not protect the middle of the pocket. He needs it most in this area because he’s 5-10.”

• Panthers defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was never approached by Tepper to take over the interim head coach position, a league source said. If you recall, when Evero was asked to take on that role in Denver after the firing of Nathaniel Hackett, he turned it down. He later explained he didn’t believe it was a good situation. He was fired at the end of the 2022 season and hired to call the defense in Carolina. There are people on the current staff who believe Evero will have some head coach opportunities outside Carolina in a few weeks.

• The expectation in the Panthers building is Tepper will try to lure Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to Carolina after trying to hire him last season. Johnson decided to stay in Detroit last hiring cycle, but a league source told me Johnson is ready for a head coaching job now.

Some in the Panthers organization, per a league source, have been texting Johnson about how complicated it has been to work in Carolina this season. Johnson is expected to be the top coaching candidate in 2024.

That last part...

Duce Staley comes to mind instantly 

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, methodtoll said:

Duce Staley comes to mind instantly 

Good call. That makes a lot of sense.

He and Johnson are certainly well acquainted.

Conceivable that Tepper and company might have just screwed their shot at getting Johnson.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Mr. Scot

[Mr. Scot]

 

[Bear Hands]

Yup, can't forget, these dudes don't lose touch the second they're with a new team.  The friendships and connections are all still there. 

Even in this day and age where so many coaching trees have fused and intertwined over the years -- I doubt we're going to be getting a swell of coaches from the whole Pederson umbrella that Reich came from or others in Dan Campbell's offshoot orbit. 

I hope we do right by Thomas Brown and maybe the McVay/Shanahan crew still seems like a viable crowd.  Slowick, Waldron, Phillips, Frank Smith, etc.   I do think there's somewhat of a mini audition for Thomas Brown right now to show the league if he can make this a bit more tenable.  He's a type that you could use to help get better word out there, and he could help landing a guy from the tree I think makes a lot of sense for Bryce.    

[Judo Thoreau]

20 minutes ago, methodtoll said:

Duce Staley comes to mind instantly 

Definitely sounds that way since the article described it as a league source. Can’t be described as a Panthers source if you don’t work here anymore.

Gotta hope it is a coach, someone in the front office doing that would be so much worse.

[Cavscout]

Yeah Johnson isn't coming here, lol

[Mr. Scot]

16 minutes ago, Judo Thoreau said:

Definitely sounds that way since the article described it as a league source. Can’t be described as a Panthers source if you don’t work here anymore.

Gotta hope it is a coach, someone in the front office doing that would be so much worse.

Could be a Lions source too, someone associated with Johnson.

Any way it goes though, this is an absolute sh-t show of a situation

[ThrillzforthePils]

[ickmule]

42 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Conceivable that Tepper and company might have just screwed their shot at getting Johnson.

Tepper is a clown of the highest level. He had no clue whatsoever about how to go about things. He’s impatient and a hot head. He’s fired 3 NFL coaches and 2 Charlotte FC coaches due to his unrealistic views.  I for one, will never root for the guy until he openly admits he’s the problem.  

Edited December 2, 2023 by ickmule

[ickmule]

15 minutes ago, Cavscout said:

Yeah Johnson isn't coming here, lol

Nope. Harbaugh either. 

[Mr. Scot]

Others have come to a similar conclusion...

Staley's not exactly what you'd call "shy", and he came here to be closer to his mom.

If he starts talking...

[Jaxel]

6 yrs 70 million is hard to pass up.

Edited December 2, 2023 by Jaxel

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, Jaxel said:

6 yrs 70 million is hard to pass up.

Unless you're getting a good offer from another team whose owner is less likely to meddle and potentially derail your career.