Mr. Scot

From Joe Person in The Athletic (subscription required) Shaq Thompson: Players want to help Wilks get the full time job Excerpts: Wilks booted Anderson from the game and would have been justified in cutting him had general manager Scott Fitterer not persuaded Arizona to send Carolina a pair of late-round draft picks in exchange for Anderson. Three days later, the Panthers traded All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey to San Francisco in a blockbuster deal that netted the Panthers four draft picks. All the Panthers did after dealing McCaffrey was hang a 21-3 loss on the Bucs — nearly two-touchdown favorites — and finish with their highest rushing total in a year and beat Tom Brady for the first time in five meetings since he signed with Tampa Bay. ... “Wilks is a Charlotte guy. He has nothing but respect from this team and this city,” Thompson said. “We’ve gotta go out there and get it done for him.” Thompson likened Wilks’ interim tag with the Panthers to his one-year stint as the Cardinals coach in 2018, when Thompson said Wilks was “f—ed over” by getting fired after a 3-13 finish. “We’re not trying to let that happen here,” Thompson added. ... The thinking in league circles is that Tepper will try to hire an experienced offensive coach after the Rhule experiment failed. Tepper has interest in Sean Payton and enough money to outspend other interested teams for the former Saints coach, who is still under contract with New Orleans. But the Panthers don’t have a franchise quarterback — something Payton is believed to want — and it seems unlikely the Saints would trade him to a division rival. Several up-and-coming offensive coordinators have been mentioned, including Philadelphia’s Shane Steichen, the Giants’ Mike Kafka and Buffalo’s Ken Dorsey, who was the Panthers’ quarterbacks coach under Rivera from 2013 to 2017. Fitterer has ties to Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn from their time in Seattle. Quinn went to a Super Bowl with the Falcons, but that was with Kyle Shanahan as his offensive coordinator. Could Wilks force his way into the conversation by keeping the Panthers in contention in the South, or by getting into the playoffs, even with a losing record? ... Nickelback Myles Hartsfield said players were walking to the practice field last week when Wilks pulled up a track on his phone from Major Nine, the Miami rapper (whose given name is Chad Thomas) who was a Browns defensive end when Wilks was the Browns defensive coordinator in 2019. “All you see is coach Wilks start rapping,” Hartsfield said. “So it’s those little moments … you’re like, ‘OK, coach Wilks, we see you.’ It was kind of cool to see that experience of him joking around, being loose before practice. I know there’s probably a lot going on, but (he’s) able to show that he’s still coach Wilks.” ... Keith Taylor, a second-year cornerback from the University of Washington, wasn’t familiar with Wilks when he came to Carolina in January as part of Rhule’s efforts to add experienced coaches to his staff. But Taylor said he was impressed with Wilks’ work with the defensive backs, and — like Thompson — is glad Wilks is getting another shot. “I didn’t really know about him that much,” Taylor said. “But when I read about him, he only had that one year in Arizona. So I’m glad he’s getting the opportunity — a real, good opportunity. So as long as he’s taking advantage, we’re taking advantage of our opportunity, as well.”

Extremely likable guy, and has always come off as a real leader. Looking at the staff, Holcomb and Don Johnson were both part of his staff in Arizona so I'd expect them to stay. Also think we'd likely keep Campen (and Kugler), Tabor, maybe even Ben McAdoo if he does well between now and the end of the season. Other "maybes" I could see possibly staying include Sean Ryan Jeff Nixon, Kevin M Gilbride and Paul Pasqualoni.

I missed that, but good point.

Looking at his history, a couple of possible names would be Freddie Kitchens and our old buddy Rob Chudzinski. But I also have to wonder, if McAdoo does actually do a good enough job to help us win games, are we certain that Wilks replaces him? I mean heck, this past Sunday's offensive game plan didn't look bad at all.

Even just qualifying for the playoffs might satisfy the "incredible job" requirement. With head coaching candidates, I always look at what kind of staff they might build. Haven't looked at Wilks' work history, he could actually build a decent one. And I don't necessarily think he'd have to turn over the entire group to do so.

Same, although if we could get something for Erving in trade, that'd be kind of impressive. As to Anderson, it's reasonable speculation. He just has to get over his "illness".

The parts I find most interesting... There’s an internal belief the roster is in a spot where you could drop a good quarterback in and the team could really take off. The team braintrust seems to share the notion some fans have expressed that the roster is good, just in need of a quarterback and the right coaching. PJ Walker's performance this past Sunday could be considered evidence to that effect. Also of note... In the interim, Fitterer, in conjunction with owner David Tepper, assistant GM Dan Morgan and cap chief Samir Suleiman, huddled to come up with a blueprint for what they wanted out of a deal, and the first-round value was central to that, in giving the team a piece of capital it could use to get a quarterback and augment the existing young core. The deal was discussed among a group that included Tepper but not Pat Stewart or Steve Wilks. When asked, Wilks did say that he was kept informed of what was going on. Stewart was at least somewhat tied to Matt Rhule (they had worked together before). Don't know that this necessarily means anything regarding his position but you never know.

The way I read it, sounds more likely about Rhule since he had roster control and thus, the power to cut people. But Snow could be a valid option as well, especially given that he had pretty significant influence over Rhule.

Nick Carboni weighing in as well...

...all in his latest MMQB (link) Up first, why there's no fire sale going on... The biggest reason the Panthers aren’t conducting a fire sale hasn’t been raised much. And it’s there in plain sight: There’s an internal belief the roster is in a spot where you could drop a good quarterback in and the team could really take off. Now, as Carolina itself has shown, that’s far easier said than done. That said, let’s look at the guys who have trade value on that roster. Brian Burns, Derrick Brown and Jeremy Chinn are 24; D.J. Moore is 25; Jaycee Horn is 22; and Ickey Ekwonu is 21. Say you’re the next coach—would you rather have those guys, who are established building blocks on your roster, or a hollowed-out team with a bunch of draft picks? And, sure, Christian McCaffrey is only 26, but it’s fair to look at the position he plays, his mileage and injury history, and trade him from that group because it’s hard to say what he’ll be when the next rebuild is done. Speaking of McCaffrey... Here's more on how, and why, the McCaffrey trade went down like it did … • The 49ers were the first team to call, on Friday, Oct. 14, when they made their first offer. The Bills checked in later on that day, too. At that point, the Panthers told San Francisco, Buffalo and other teams that would subsequently call, that a first-rounder alone might get it done, and that a first-rounder and a later pick would get it done. • Last Monday, GM Scott Fitterer pulled McCaffrey aside to give him the landscape, tell him that he planned to listen to offers and also that he’d be comfortable hanging on to him. The talk lasted about five minutes, and McCaffrey told Fitterer that he appreciated the heads-up. • More calls poured in Tuesday, with some teams just fishing—offering a third-rounder or a fourth-rounder to see whether a discount was in the offing. The Broncos and Eagles were among those teams (both have GMs who like to investigate pretty much everything). The day clarified who was really in and who wasn’t. • In the interim, Fitterer, in conjunction with owner David Tepper, assistant GM Dan Morgan and cap chief Samir Suleiman, huddled to come up with a blueprint for what they wanted out of a deal, and the first-round value was central to that, in giving the team a piece of capital it could use to get a quarterback and augment the existing young core. • By Thursday, the 49ers and Rams had emerged as leaders, but neither had a first-rounder in 2023, which would force those two to be creative and find a way to generate a return that would satisfy the Panthers. • Coming to the final price required compromise. The Panthers’ initial proposal used the draft value chart by slotting the 49ers’ pick in each round as the 32nd pick. Conversely, San Francisco was using the chart with its picks slotted 14th, which is around where it is now (with the team 3–3 heading into Week 7). Obviously, that created disparate proposals. So they found a middle ground in the 20s. • That’s how the Panthers and 49ers came to the final deal—second-, third- and fourth-rounders in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in ’24. In the end, the tiebreaker between the 49ers’ and Rams’ offers was the fact that the Rams didn’t have a fourth-rounder in ’23. That one’s gone, thanks to last year’s Sony Michel trade. And the final point value of the package, as the 49ers and Panthers calculated it, wound up between 31 and 34 (very low first- and very high second-round picks). • The Rams’ final offer: second- and third-rounders in 2023, fourth- and fifth-rounders in ’24 and Cam Akers. The Bills were also in it until the end—sort of. Buffalo called early, as we said, and kept tabs on the situation throughout, which was easy enough with the strong ties between the Bills’ and Panthers’ front offices. In the end, the asking price never came down to the point where Buffalo was compelled to make a hard offer. • The 49ers are now without their slotted picks in the first four rounds of the 2023 draft. But they have one third-round comp pick coming in April for Mike McDaniel’s hire in Miami and comp picks for the hires of Robert Saleh by the Jets and Martin Mayhew by the Commanders. And they should have later comp picks coming for a couple of departed ’22 free agents, too. • Obviously, the 49ers’ connections here made them comfortable. And they run deep. John Lynch and Ed McCaffrey were teammates at Stanford in 1989 and ’90 and, at one point in that second year, hooked up for a long connection in a game when Lynch was still playing quarterback. And Lynch’s nephew actually plays for Ed McCaffrey at Northern Colorado. Which, of course, only adds to all the links you’ve already heard about. Again, the Panthers are positioned nicely now to finally find a quarterback and keep building on a pretty good young core of players. Carolina has more than made up picks lost in trades for Matt Corral (third-rounder), Stephon Gilmore (sixth-rounder) and Laviska Shenault (seventh-rounder) over the past year. And lastly, this regarding Brian Burns... There’ll be a lot of trade talk, and rightfully so, over the next eight days, and it’s worth paying attention to how the market’s changed. And specifically in a case involving the Panthers’ Brian Burns. When I mentioned this week that it’d take multiple first-round picks, baseline, to pry Burns from Carolina, some scoffed. But that just reflects the change in how young, star vets are valued by teams. Jalen Ramsey commanded two first-round picks, and so did Khalil Mack. Minkah Fitzpatrick netted a first-rounder, a fourth-rounder and a seventh-rounder. And all those players, if you go back and see how the picks shook out, were worth the price. Burns is similar to Ramsey and Fitzpatrick, and he’s only 24. Good luck getting him.

Haven't seen anything else...

I don't really look for a lot of rushing yards from my quarterback.

He's not the only first round quarterback though...

You might wind up with the same quarterback.

We've talked about it before but it bears repeating. Rhule never stopped thinking like a college coach. He treated Corral more like a college freshman than an NFL rookie. And the whole "earn your position / quarterback competition" stuff was just stupid at the pro level. I remember hearing him brag about how the quarterback competition "brought the locker room together" and thinking "yeah sure, it showed everybody you were a dumbass"

Matt Rhule's two quarterback system was ahead of it's time.

Thought's crossed my mind

He was a terrible coach. I think that sums it up best.

I wonder who he's referring to

I wouldn't bet on anybody else outside of maybe Shaq getting traded off.