Mr. Scot

You sure of that? Don't think that's how those incentives work

I have a hard the imagining Matt Rhule drafting any quarterback that isn't an "immediate starter" type, and Willis is definitely not that.

He wants to be a GM and was given an opportunity to interview for what would be a far superior situation than the Panthers have. I can't really fault him for that. At the same time, I'm not going to read too much into it.

There's also reason to question whether he could have kept it going in San Francisco given the number of stories that came out suggesting he was losing the locker room. There are those coaches who make it to the Super Bowl once and then pretty much disappear. It could be argued Harbaugh is one of them.

Well to be fair, Rhule can't coach at the NFL level sooo...

I don't want to lose Morgan or Fitterer. Given their respective skill sets (Fitterer with the college draft, Morgan with pro personnel) they're potentially a very effective combo. One thing to remember though: The Steelers have interviewed approximately half the planet for their GM job. They also have some pretty strong internal candidates in Brandon Hunt and Omar Khan. I'm not too worried...yet.

It's probably worth asking the question in a broader context. Among the revelations that have come out in recent months about the Panthers locker room was a note that this team’s roster is considered by many to be the least “merit based” in the NFL, including on it players who likely wouldn’t make any other roster in the league but are here because of Matt Rhule. In a similar vein, prior to this year, the majority of Matt Rhule’s coaching staff was made up of either guys who’d followed him from place to place or guys with whom he had some prior familiarity directly or through connections. This offseason though, Rhule was forced to chose to hire assistant coaches with actual NFL experience. So what happens when the guys who just joined up start giving honest opinions about those non-merit based roster spots?

I can't help wondering what happens if at some point during the offseason Ben McAdoo just goes over to Matt Rhule and says, "Hey Matt, you know this Walker guy that you're keeping on the roster for heaven only knows what reason? He really sucks. What the hell are you thinking with this guy?"

Castillo is a guy I'd have loved to have as our line coach, but I'm equally pleased with James Campen.

Pretty much. People fall in love with exciting plays and highlight reels. And while those are fun, accurate passing and consistency in making reads are the traits that win the most ballgames. If the first thing you're looking for in a quarterback is mobility or athleticism, you're doing it wrong.

Oh, he's on the list. Ranked 52nd out of 62 to be specific. For the record, number 62 is Jake Fromm.

Not that I'm a fan of taking Pickett at six, but to be fair, didn't people use the "one year wonder" criticism on Joe Burrow too? As to Strong, I don't really give a sh-t about a quarterback's athleticism if they can make the reads and get the ball out fast. I swear it's like people never watched Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Drew Brees play (or didn't pay attention to just how long their careers lasted).

Here's an update I wasn't expecting to see... Okam joins Josh McDaniels staff in Vegas (gotta wonder if maybe Jason Simmons put in a good word for him) So at this point, three of the four coaches Matt Rhule fired have found new jobs. Only Chase Blackburn remains unemployed.

Followed shortly thereafter by the "watching it collapse into pieces when somebody sits on it" stage.

My worry with Tepper is that he seems to believe he's one of these guys who can just big ball his way through the world, do things any way he wants and still be successful. Obviously, that's not working as an NFL team owner. Nor is it likely to. When I see him turn over the reins of the team to somebody that actually knows what they're doing, that's when I'll believe he's learned from his mistakes.

Balls, or lack thereof, isn't the problem with this team. It's a lack of brains that's at the heart of the issue.

Yeah, a bot posting stories doesn't mean they care what we think. Maybe if they had an actual person, you'd have an argument. They don't. Hell, if they really cared what we thought, Matt Rhule would probably be done by now. As to Newton, he was on the roster for six games, and didn't even start all of those. When Darnold was healthy they put him back in, even in obvious short yardage situations. So as far as Newton coming back, a few things: One: Sources, including some who would very much like to have Newton back, think the Panthers probably don't. Two: Newton isn't what he used to be, and while he did okay for a few games, he might not have a full season in him. Three: Perhaps most important, Newton has said that he's "not coming back for 5-12", and it's not real hard to figure out what he meant by that. I get that you want Newton back, and prime Newton back, but at some point you'll need to start accepting reality that it's likely not happening. And no wacky scenario your brain can come up with is going to change that.

My honest thoughts are that I worry a lot less about the process than I do about the people in charge. Put smart people in place and let them do their jobs.

It'd probably help if the interview process actually looked into issues like this and asked questions related to how a head coach approaches adversity, failure, etc. I mean, I'd take that over "He sounds smart, I've got good feelings and these meatballs are delicious. Let's hire him!"

If the biggest concern with Deshaun Watson were that he was getting older, I don't think too many people would have a problem. There's...other issues.

I prefer the "hand it over to somebody who knows what they're doing and get your dumb ass out of the way" approach myself.

Interesting choice of words I don't believe we're tanking. I think Tepper is indeed giving Matt Rhule a legitimate shot to turn it around. Mind you, I think it's a bad decision, it's going to fail and we may have missed out on a chance to get a far better head coach in place for the future, but hey...

Know how I know you haven't read their job histories?

Newton didn't get signed because someone from the Panthers read the Huddle and thought "Hey, that's a good idea". The whole notion is stupid and delusional. Not to mention that if any team official was dumb enough to go on the internet looking for ideas, we'd be even more screwed than we are now.

No, it didn't. And no, they're not. Nor should they.