Mr. Scot

It wasn't "fairly productive". They were on pace to shatter the record for points scored in a season, and that with Jared Goff at quarterback.

I was wondering when he got his doctorate

Nearly every source I've seen has said pretty much the same thing. They'll listen to offers like they always do, but they're not looking to unload a bunch of guys. Wilks mentioned having discussed trade options with Fitterer and his presser.

I thought you might be. My word, I'm happy he's gone.

I can relate

As far as connections to the team, Johnson was a coaching assistant at Boston College for the exact same three years that Luke Kuechly went there. I'd have to imagine there at least acquainted. There are others, but that's the one I'd consider the biggest.

When the stories were coming out about how they were running camp, I said at the time that Rhule was treating him more like a college freshman than an NFL rookie.

It means he'd want to be here. Heck, given the time frame of his youth, he may well have grown up as a Panther fan. That doesn't necessarily make him a better candidate, but it could make him more likely to want the job.

From Charles Robinson, in a Twitter thread talking about the market for Christian McCaffrey... So who are "Rhule's guys" in this context?

Robinson (continued)

One thing I vividly remember from this offseason was just how much Fitterer talked about the best approach being to draft a quarterback and build around him. He kept doing so right up to draft day. At times it almost felt like he was pleading a case. Really made me wonder what was going on behind the scenes. Heck, right after Corral was drafted (but before the Mayfield trade) he was talking about building around Corral as the future. And then camp happened, preseason happened, injury happened, and here we are.

After I spent so many years being Scott Fowler...

Dallas also has Tony Pollard on top of Zeke Elliott.

He stole that from me. He's reading the Huddle

A little more...

I'd agree.

First thing he'll need to do is bounce back from their last game. I prefer guys with more experience, but among the "young offensive minds" set, he and Steichen stand out to me.

That's why I research more than just this year. And the thing about Johnson is how he did it. He spotted something other coaches were missing and knew how to exploit it. That shows the kind of intelligence a head coach should have.

We just hadn't really heard it from other sources till now.

Belichick did it, though that was in a specific situation. To be clear though, it's not an excuse for what happened. It's an explanation why it did. And to be fair, Wilks didn't choose to have PJ on roster. That was Rhule.

Waldron is getting results with Geno Smith. Aside from one game, Johnson is scoring at a near record pace with Jared Goff. As to Rhule, it was mostly media driven buzz. It's definitely not the same.

Johnson (Lions) is a kid from the Carolinas whose childhood / high school years coincided with some good Panther seasons. He's also got all kinds of connections to the area and some to the team, including having worked with Luke Kuechly in college. It wouldn't surprise me if he really wanted the job here and had his agent contact us about it.

The thing about "scouting helmets" is there's typically a reason why it happens. Take Florida State DEs for example. Their system has tended to use undersized "tweener" types who ended up drafted by 4-3 teams and looking bad in that role. Likewise, some schools use a very limited route tree for their wide receivers (actually kinda common these days). As a result, you wind up with super productive college guys who can't understand their pro level assignments. Basically, sometimes there's a reason for those reputations. You have to look deeper.