Mr. Scot

In a lot of ways, our current head coaching interview process feels reversed. We're trying to convince somebody to come take the job because it doesn't exactly sell itself. So how do you do that? The most obvious selling points are big money and control, but what team with an opening doesn't offer those things? Might Tepper pay a few million more than another guy? Sure, but at the NFL level of competition, that doesn't really guarantee anything. What, then, are the other selling points you use to try and convince someone to throw their future into the Panthers? ... Commitment to total no ownership interference absolutely must be one of them, of course. That's non-negotiable. Here's one that I doubt everyone would agree on, though... You gotta sell Bryce Young as a current positive. It's likely impossible to pretend Young isn't the team's commitment right now, so don't try. Let the candidates talk to Young and see whether they click with him. If they don't, then c'est la vie, but the reality is you can't trick somebody into taking a job and then expect them to be passionate about doing it. So don't try... These are my thoughts. I'm interested in hearing what others have. And yeah, I know there are some who will say there's not a single thing we can offer. But I gotta ask

If I were making a prediction, I'd probably say the same thing. Since I'm a fan of course, I'm hoping for a different outcome.

I want someone who wins. Honestly don't give a rat's ass whether they do so while acting like John Wayne or Jerry Lewis.

Ditto. Don't care about their personality. Their skill level is what matters. That said, I do want someone who demonstrates the kind of commitment that the guys who currently work with the Lions are showing.

I'm not in the habit of making any clams about my own knowledge. I'm comfortable and confident in what I believe, but I'm not my own source and have never claimed to be. To be clear, the story in The Athletic wasn't focused on Halaby, but did have a lot of info about him. The primary issue there was the environment created by Lurie and Roseman. Kapadia was familiar with it because he spent years covering the Eagles. You can find a lot of corroboration to that story in one by another longtime Eagles writer, Jeff McLane. He wrote what amounted to a small novella back in March of 2021 that described all the goings on in Philly. These days, it's only available via subscription that I've found, but at the time I had the full text of it downloaded from somewhere. mcLane does have a podcast titled "Uncovering the Birds" that has more recently detailed problems in the locker room / front office and such. Whether any of that mentions Halaby specifically? Don't remember. Possible that it did, but Halaby wasn't a name relevant to Panthers discussion back then. The thing that's most important about those stories right now though is that the dysfunction found in them very much appears to be ongoing. What's quite possibly the biggest evidence of that for me? That here just a few years later, they're back in the same spot, set to fire a successful coach. And hell, Sirianni was only in the Super Bowl last year so he went from the penthouse to the doghouse even faster than Pederson. That's a huge red flag. To explain it another way though, let me ask you this: Given what's known about the Panthers dysfunction right now, If you were a fan of another team, would you look to this organization as an ideal place to hire from? I wouldn't. Hell, I'd likely say keep away at all costs. The Eagles do have a much better track record of success, but they also have an argually worse record of turning on the people who've helped bring about that success. For a team that's looking to rebound from its own toxicity, do I really want to import anybody from that environment? I'd call that the question that most needs to be answered, especially when you consider that there are other candidates with equally good or better resumés that don't have those red flags.

NBC had a story pregame about a lady whose dad had been a Lions fan all his life but passed away before he had the chance to see them make it to the playoffs this year. She went to the game with his personalized Lion's jersey and his ashes as a memorial sort of thing. Thought that was pretty cool...

Hell, building up a lead and sitting on it was our MO for most of the 2015 season I get it, but it's also fair to say they were facing a playoff quality team. Likewise, there'll be more than one game to judge by.

I remember my high school football team losing the first game of my sophomore season. I was bummed, but a little ways away from me in the locker room there was a junior friend of mine bawling. He'd played in that game, and played his heart out. I hadn't because it was my first year. We had different perspectives, but he was somebody that I liked and respected outside of football anyway. People are just different...

Analytics guys vs personnel guys is probably its own discussion. My issues with Halaby though go way beyond him just being an analyttics guy. That story from Kapadia is deeply concerning. Even if Halaby was a thirty year scouting pro, having those things in his history would steer me away. Knowing that we've already had similar drama here in our own front office just makes it worse.

I think some of the play designs were next level. One particular screen in the first half had me rewinding my DVR three or four times to try and make sure I caught it all. (and annoying the hell out of my wife in the process, but hey...) Mind you, it's still true that plenty of great coordinators fail as head coaches. There's more to it than just the X's and O's knowledge. Most people seem to think we're not going to be able to get Johnson anyway so it may not matter.

So does Brandon Hunt, but without all the bullsh-t attached as well as a history of success with a more stable organization. Likewise, a guy like Mike Borgonzi has a longtime record of great personnel management, but we're interviewing Brandt Tilis rather than him because analytics. Same story in Detroit, where you've got a guy like Ray Agnew who was also successful with the Rams, but we're ignoring him in favor of another analytics guy, Mike Disner. I know some folks have tried to use the logic that a seasoned personnel guy didn't work for us the last time, so maybe we should try analytics. That logic is kind of like saying your prior dentist made a mistake with your teeth so in the future you'll get all dental advice from your optometrist. This isn't because we're looking at an angle that's proven successful anywhere else. It's because David Tepper wants somebody who thinks like he does. And heck, since the last GM was willing to go to the owner and undermine the head coach, why not also hire somebody who's already taken part in an operation like that somewhere else? But hey, he worked for the Eagles so it's all good. Hiring from a successful organization is always a great idea. Take the Seahawks, for example...

Well, history tells me you'd probably be okay with us hiring somebody who'd run the organization completely into the toilet as long as it was somebody I disliked. I seem to play a large role in your football decision making...specifically that you pretty much always want the opposite of whatever I do because... reasons

FYI for those wondering...

I was dealing in hypotheticals... They were talking about a guy on TV, I thought. To be fair though, every fanbase has people like that (ours included).

Maybe not yet, but we do seem to be working on it

I mean, I do give him credit for the filming workouts thing. That was kinda smart

You don't think there'd be Panther fans doing the same if we won a playoff game just next year?

Yards don't matter if you don't score

Nothing against Detroit fans, but I'm okay with the Lions losing if it means we get Ben Johnson (it's the only real rooting interest left for me)

You didn't read the stuff reported about Halaby, did you?

Didn't read the article, did you? Behind the scenes, yeah you would. They've had some success of late, but they turned around and fired one of the guys who led them to it and now they're set to fire another. Not exactly what I'd call a model organization.

See above... Throw in that we just fired a head coach in part because of internal politics and toxic behavior. In the wake of that, so we really wanna risk bringing in a guy who's been part of a similar issue in the past...and could conceivably be part of a current one?