Mr. Scot

For one, the bullsh-t that a guy who had only coached at places like Temple and Baylor (and hadn't even won so much as a conference championship at those places) deserved to have full control of an NFL operation. Don't care how hot a coach anyone thought Rhule was at the time. That was one of the stupidest decisions I've ever seen, and that comes from someone who watched fifteen seasons of Marty Hurney running the team.

Yeah, he did.

Worth remembering that he didn't just bring coaching staff. He also brought in people that he installed in the front office. Granted, one of them left under suspicious circumstances (Sean Padden, Vice President of Football Operations) but he still has allies and at least a potential ally in Pat Stewart.

I mean...it was pretty clear he didn't. Remember when Marty was "one of the best evaluators of college talent" in the league?

Ouch

No, they shouldn't. But does Rhule being a douche here really surprise anybody?

4. Vastly different audience. Motivating adults who are paid (significantly) is a very different skill than motivating college kids. Add in that the level of competition is hugely superior. Meyer was right (for once) when he said being an NFL coach is like playing Alabama every week. And because that level of competition is so high, you need the best coaches available. Your buddies from Baylor and Temple probably aren't gonna get that job done.

Should we all chip in $174.00 each? (I'm down)

Everybody looking up to him as the center of the Panthers universe. That's basically the picture Rhule painted of his ideal NFL job when he was in college. Rhule and Tepper are both the kind of guy who believes they're the smartest guy in the room, even when they're far from it.

I'm not certain Tepper even had a clue that Hurney was a bad GM until Rhule came along. (for whatever else you can say about Rhule, we do at least have to thank him for that) Does he get that Rhule is bad? Don't know. He fell for Rhule's bullsh-t when he hired him. Does he still believe it? Who can say? I'll give him that he did fire Rivera. Here's hoping that same clarity applies to Matt Rhule.

Yep. Also correct. Said at the time it happened that I didn't blame Newton for trying. I've seen plenty of quarterbacks try crazy sh-t like that and sometimes it works. When it doesn't, they look like the bad guy but they really shouldn't.

This season...

I hope he's right, but over the past few years I've seen an awful lot of speculation based on "well ya see, David Tepper thinks like this" that didn't pan out.

The ultimate truth though is that while Rhule may know what he's doing at the college level, all indications are that he's in over his head at the pro level. Building and running an NFL team is a massively different project than doing the same for college.

Don't really care whether or not Matt Rhule sees that he's terrible. I care a lot about whether or not David Tepper sees it.

Pretty sure the next time Brown gets introduced he's gonna hear it from the fans.

I don't like asking the question "Is he really that stupid?" I've found that all too often, the answer is...disappointing.

I'm not so sure. In his time here, Rhule has parted ways with two staff members. Both came from outside his circle, and both were replaced with people from inside his circle. Regarding Brady, Rhule said his hire was "out of his comfort zone". And even though he says he doesn't regret that, it's not hard to imagine him using that as justification to not go that route again. If he stays, and there are staff changes, I imagine the finished product will have more Rhule influence rather than less.

Rhule is a huge control freak (he turned down the Jets over staff control) so trying to force him to let someone else choose his assistants likely means he walks... ...which I'm fine with.

I'm afraid this is probably correct. For one, if Rhule is still in charge, I can't see him moving on to a different OC. Remember he said that he "went outside his comfort zone" to hire Joe Brady. Jeff Nixon, on the other hand, is well within his comfort zone so it's difficult to think he'd make a change there.

What you see within this article is the basic framework of the argument Rhule will be using to explain to David Tepper why he should keep his job. Mind you, this assumes Tepper is even asking that question. He should be, but I don't know if he is or will.

I have a really tough time picturing either of those things happening. If Rhule is still head coach next year, I'm guessing Jeff Nixon remains the OC.

"Nothing beside remains..."

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings..." Seems like an appropriate reference for the current state of the Panthers.