Mr. Scot

There are some pretty good head coaching options available this offseason. Bypassing those guys in favor of giving Matt Rhule another year would be a very Panthery thing to do.

Tidbits of coaching related info from around the league... Raidable Staffs: This time of year, I like to look at which coaching staffs appear most likely to be fired and what assistants might be available from them. SI's Conor Orr did a write-up of that sort, listing the Bears, Raiders, Texans, Broncos and Jaguars as strong possibilities. General speculation is that the Vikings now might also be on that list after their loss to the Lions. The Bears staff in particular has a guy that I've coveted for years in OL coach Juan Castillo. Coaching Free Agents: Mentioned before that Doug Pederson isn't currently on staff anywhere so he wouldn't require permission to interview for an OC job or anything of that sort. Pederson isn't the only one though. Turns out that Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy and quarterback coach Mike Kafka both have contracts that expire at the end of this season. If they're not renewed, they could conceivably be available for lateral moves. Mind you, this would require that they want to leave Andy Reid and the Chiefs organization. Carroll Vulnerable? Might sound shocking, but there is some speculation on this front, with owner Paul Allen's widow reportedly unhappy with him. Talk is more than he might retire than be fired. If he does leave, maybe Scott Fitterer could reach out to OC Shane Waldron. Stewart in an Odd Spot: Panthers VP of Player Personnel Pat Stewart is one of the Panthers top front office decision makers, but he could be in a little bit of an odd spot right now because he was brought aboard as a Matt Rhule ally. If Rhule winds up on the outs, what does that mean for Stewart? Other Front Office Options: Upheaval in Seattle might also give Fitterer the option to poach his old co-worker Trent Kirchner from the Seahawks. Kirchner would be equally familiar to Dan Morgan and actually got his start working in Carolina. Also among guys with former Panther connections, Bills assistant scouting director Lake Dawson once interviewed for the GM job here and is a guy I'd love to see Morgan lure away from Buffalo.

Brady is like a lot of other young offensive minds in that he benefited greatly, but not necessarily deservedly, from the success of Sean McVay. Ever since McVay hit it big, you've had teams throwing jobs at young guys with little experience and or seasoning hoping that lightning will strike again. Nine times out of ten it hasn't, but we've still got people advocating that same MO.

Panthers fire Brady, but Rhule could be the next to go Excerpts... It’s crazy how quickly the brightest, shiniest object can lose its luster. We were reminded of that Sunday afternoon when Matt Rhule fired offensive coordinator Joe Brady not long after the 1 p.m. ET games had started during the Panthers’ lone off-weekend of the season. The next bright, shiny object to go will be Rhule if he can’t replicate the third-year success he had at Temple and Baylor, the latter of which just won a Big 12 championship under Rhule’s successor. ... The Panthers (5-7) have lost seven of nine games since their 3-0 start, but the sense here is that Rhule will be back for a third year. That said, owner David Tepper is not long on patience, and the Panthers haven’t been to the playoffs since 2017, the year before the $16 billion hedge fund manager bought the team. The clock is ticking on Rhule, and loudly. ... Rhule’s decision to hire Brady — who was college football’s “it” coordinator after helping lead Joe Burrow and LSU to the 2019 national championship — will go in the loss column for Rhule when Tepper is making his pros-and-cons list. Rhule gave Brady a three-year contract — believed to be worth about $2 million annually — to call the Panthers’ offensive plays, despite the fact he’d never worked with him and the then-30-year-old had never done so in a full-time capacity at any level. ... Bridgewater and Brady were close, although that didn’t stop Teddy Two Gloves from throwing Brady under the bus. Bridgewater indicated Brady was late getting a play called during a critical moment at Minnesota last year, then dumped on Brady last offseason by telling the “All Things Covered” podcast the Panthers didn’t practice the two-minute or red zone offenses. ... By all accounts, Brady is a smart, hard-working coach. But he seemed overmatched on game days, from his inability to make effective halftime adjustments to poor game management. The Vikings’ example cited by Bridgewater was far from the only time the Panthers seemed to be struggling to decide on a play, while Robby Anderson was livid when Brady didn’t start running double moves when the Eagles’ defensive backs were sitting on routes in a Week 5 loss this season. ... Brady was the rare Rhule assistant who didn’t work for him at Temple or Baylor. Rhule was trying to make a splash hire while working for an owner who loves such things. It didn’t work out. But if Rhule can’t figure out the quarterback dilemma, fix the offensive line and start winning, the next splash hire to get fired will be him.

Texans are only a game out from the #1 pick and look terrible.

It wouldn't surprise me to see him back with the Saints in some capacity. He was well liked there and taking a step or two back down the ladder would probably be a good idea for his long-term career prospects. Also, while I would agree he had some deficient players, the truth is Brady wasn't very good at what he did either. For example, remember Robby Anderson pointing out that he had some obvious opportunities for adjustments and didn't call them. Coming up with a scheme is relatively easy (hell, Mike Shula can do that). It's knowing how to implement it and adjust on the fly that makes a truly great OC. Brady wasn't up to it. Truthfully, Brady was a case of getting a job too fast too soon and winding up in over his head, which is ironic given that the same can be said of the head coach who hired him.

Also saw where someone pointed out that going into just his third game since returning, Newton now has a different coordinator.

Similar thought from Josh Klein (via Zack at Roaring Riot)...

Also requires us beating the Bills

My big worry with Harbaugh is that I'm not sure you can maintain his style of coaching at the professional level for very long. On the flipside, the things I've read about how he teaches and connects with today's players have made me a big fan of Nathaniel Hackett.

There are...were five coaches on staff who had no direct or indirect connection to Matt Rhule. Brady was the highest ranking of them. The others are Meyer (OL) Angelichio (TEs) Blackburn (ST) and Don Johnson (Pass Rush Specialist, the only defensive coach). Johnson probably survives. I seriously doubt Meyer does. Blackburn is probably about 50-50, maybe less given that he's got a Baylor guy in line behind him. Angelichio has Gilbride waiting in the wings too so...

Tepper didn't make the decision to move on from Bridgewater. What he did do was make disparaging comments about Bridgewater that made it extremely difficult to keep him.

Same as it is with every other team in the NFL.

I have zero problems with head coaches hiring guys they like or who have worked for them before if those guys are also qualified for / good at their jobs. When the head coach isn't good at his, that lessens the likelihood that the assistants will be.

Marty stuck around here for the same reason Howie Roseman stays in Philly. Both Marty and Howie are guys that are willing to let the owners dictate moves and then act like a scapegoat when those moves fail. Richardson valued loyalty over ability. How do you think a cheerleader wound up Chief Operating Officer? And that's the thing: Even if Richardson miraculously were to let go of Marty, you're gonna get another guy just like him. The one guy who wouldn't do that got fired despite the fact we were winning more consistently than ever. So no, having Jerry back wasn't an option. Nor should it have been. Is Tepper better? Not yet, but at least there's a chance.

The Jerry Richardson who oversaw three winning seasons from 2002 to 2012, then fired the guy who produced that many winning seasons and division titles in five years in favor of bringing back the prior guy, only to watch that guy not produce even one more? That's the guy you're saying wouldn't tolerate mediocrity? Yeah...no, dude. As to the thing with his sons, Richardson didn't exactly fire them "for performance reasons". It was because of family issues. Hell, Jon didn't even have anything to do with team performance. He was in charge of stadium operations.

Don't really know that much can be learned from a single game sample where the words "under head coach Matt Patricia" are applicable. Regardless, I don't know whether Sean Ryan would make a good OC. I don't know whether Jeff Nixon is going to make a good OC yet either. I just know that if you're going strictly by resumés, Ryan's is better.

Gantt said on numerous occasions that Marty was GM for life if he wanted to be. The only reason he was let go in the first place was because he volunteered in order to save Rivera's job. And then a few years later, he was back.

Beat me to it...

Oh Lord, no. We'd still have Marty Hurney as GM.

It's not.

From a profile of Matt Rhule by Joe Person in The Athletic... Rhule also liked the friendships that were forged on a football field, some of which last a lifetime. Jeff Nixon, State College’s star running back and Rhule’s best friend, is the Panthers’ running backs coach on Rhule’s first NFL staff. Link

One other thing to consider... If we do draft a quarterback next April, whoever is in charge will not only be the ones that choose who that is. They'll also be the ones in charge of his early development. Who do you trust to do those things?

If you search "NFL head coach hot seat" articles, you'll find Matt Rhule's name in every one.

Building an offensive line around "versatility" was a massive mistake.