Mr. Scot

Haven't done a real thorough look there but based on past connections here are some possible options among coaching staffs likely to be dismissed: - Juan Castillo, OL Coach, Bears (one of the best in the league at that spot) - Patrick Graham, DC, Giants (he's getting head coaching looks himself) - Ed Donatell, DB Coach, Broncos (he's also been a DC before, and a good one) - Adam Zimmer, LB Coach/co-DC, Vikings (if theyclean house, dad Mike might be available too) As far as potential promotions, there's Jaguars QB Coach Brian Schottenheimer (possible OC) Bills LB Coach Bob Babich (DC option) Chiefs QB Coach Mike Kafka (no connection but a hot name and reportedly not under contract for next season) and our old pal Ken Dorsey (also a possible OC). Daboll has also worked with a few of the guys on the current Panthers staff, specifically LB Coach Al Holcomb, Defensive Assistant Terrance Knighton, RB Coach Jeff Nixon and Assistant OL Coach Tony Sparano Jr.

Tampa has been smart about sharing the runningback workload between Fournette and others. Our first few seasons with McCaffrey saw...a different approach.

As to the story, I figured this was gonna be coming from some goofball Twitter source but the actual sources are pretty legit. So here's hoping...

He expressed a total commitment to coaching at Baylor just a little before taking the Panthers job (signed an extension too if I remember correctly).

I do wonder what would have happened had Trubisky been drafted at a more reasonable position than #2 overall.

A coin flip had big consequences there. Bill Polian stated that if the Panthers would have had the first pick in the expansion draft, they'd have taken Beuerlein. Not sure how having the number 2 pick in the college draft would have affected things given that we traded down from number one anyway.

McCaffrey and Fournette's first few seasons made it look like absolutely the right choice. Following the extension and Fournette's team switch though? Things have changed a bit.

Pertinent quote from above for those advocating that we trade him... A team source said the Panthers have no plans to trade McCaffrey. And honestly, it’s hard to imagine there would be many teams interested in taking on McCaffrey’s injury history and salary numbers. Granted it could happen, but that second sentence is a valid point.

Pederson and Reich both went to training camp with the Panthers in 95. Reich obviously made the final roster but Pederson didn't. Side note: Always felt like we benched Reich too early that year.

The Saints are gonna be starting Taysom Hill, so...

Well, he doesn't deserve to be paid more than Mike Tomlin, Matt LaFleur, Frank Reich and Andy Reid either but here we are.

...from two articles by Joe Person in The Athletic. First up, from around the time of McCaffrey's extension, a behind the scenes look at the Panthers decision making process that led to drafting McCaffrey Drafting Christian McCaffrey: Mixed opinions, size concerns, Leonard Fournette Highlights... Jerry Richardson was a huge fan of McCaffrey but not everyone was convinced. As you might expect, the primary questions were about his size and durability, and there was enough debate that some within the staff went into draft night very uncertain who the pick would be. The team did look at other players like Jamal Adams, Marshon Lattimore, as well as tight end O.J. Howard but they were focused mostly on the top runningbacks. Among those, Dalvin Cook made the team nervous because of off the field issues while Alvin Kamara was viewed as a later round value pick. Part of the concern was that, in the words of former Panthers scout Khary Darlington, Cam Newton was "getting the dog crap beat out of him". Thus, they needed someone that would keep opposing defenses from focusing on Newton alone. Darlington, for his part, preferred Fournette (whom he referred to as "a grown man") but also saw the appeal of McCaffrey's skills. Then scout Jeff Beathard was also on the Fournette train. And while GM Dave Gettleman was a fan of big guys like Fournette, he still wanted to do due diligence to ensure the team made the right choice. On the flipside, Ron Rivera and Mike Shula were very high on McCaffrey. The hiring of Lance Taylor as receiver coach really did a lot to sway things toward McCaffrey. Taylor was both a great source of information about McCaffrey and also a big advocate for him. After much discussion, Rivera, Shula and Taylor set themselves to the task of convincing Gettleman that McCaffrey was the guy. By the time Draft Day rolled around, then head of college scouting Don Gregory knew that both Rivera and team owner Jerry Richardson were 100 percent behind McCaffrey" but felt Dave Gettleman still wanted to "go through the process and we weren’t missing anything". Gregory felt Fournette was still officially an option, but that was just "window dressing". In reality, the decision had been made. Of course, the Jaguars made the decision for them, and the rest is history. ... Fast forward to today, and Person critiques what he calls the "emotional decisions" surrounding McCaffrey and their effect on the team. Panthers went with their emotions with Christian McCaffrey and now they’re paying the price Excerpts: About the time Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey was headed into the training room Sunday at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium after a blowout loss to the Dolphins, Tampa Bay’s Leonard Fournette was delivering the game-winning score at Indianapolis with his fourth touchdown of the day. The two backs have been connected since the 2017 NFL Draft when Fournette went to Jacksonville with the fourth overall pick, four spots ahead of where the Panthers took McCaffrey. The Panthers were looking for a back who could take some of the wear and tear off quarterback Cam Newton, who’d been battered and beaten throughout the post-MVP and post-Super Bowl season of 2016. Most thought McCaffrey was a better fit for the Panthers, but there were questions about his durability. ... It’s McCaffrey’s fifth different injury since the Panthers made him the highest-paid back in NFL history with a four-year, $64 million extension in April of 2020. Including the remaining five games he’ll miss this year, McCaffrey will have been sidelined for 23 of 33 games since signing his mega-deal. McCaffrey, who’s listed at 5-11 and 205 pounds, has put in hundreds, if not thousands of hours, building up his body over the past five seasons. But weights and speed work only go so far, and it turns out the concerns Darlington and others had about McCaffrey’s durability were justified. ... The fact that none of those injuries is related would seem to bolster the argument that McCaffrey can’t stay healthy. Since McCaffrey returned from his hamstring injury, the Panthers have been careful to limit his reps. And his most recent ankle issue wasn’t an overuse injury: Sources said McCaffrey was hurt when a lineman fell on his ankle. ... And so here we are again, with the 25-year-old McCaffrey facing a lengthy recovery and Rhule trying to win games without his best offensive player. Meanwhile, fans and media members look to assign blame for the Panthers’ decision to pay a running back, one that flew in the face of the analytics that became more prevalent within the organization after David Tepper bought the team in 2018. Tepper, then-GM Marty Hurney and Rhule were the decision-makers in the spring of 2020. The Panthers had just gone undergone a massive roster turnover that included Luke Kuechly’s surprising retirement announcement and the release of Newton and Greg Olsen. They needed someone to build their offense and marketing campaigns around, although the latter lost some of its importance when teams played in empty stadiums during the COVID-impacted 2020 seasons. Simply put, the Panthers made the kind of emotional decision that Hurney said he would avoid during his second stint as GM. ... The real money in McCaffrey’s contract doesn’t kick in until next year when he’ll carry a $14.3 million salary-cap charge. His cap numbers in the following years are $17.7 million in 2023 and ’24, and $13.6 million in ’25, when McCaffrey will be 29. Who knows if McCaffrey or Rhule will still be around by then. A team source said the Panthers have no plans to trade McCaffrey. And honestly, it’s hard to imagine there would be many teams interested in taking on McCaffrey’s injury history and salary numbers. ... In the meantime, McCaffrey will likely keep a low profile while beginning the lonely, rehab process again. Rhule has said no player works harder than McCaffrey trying to get his body ready for the grind of an NFL season. And while there’s no reason to doubt it, McCaffrey’s body keeps betraying him just the same.

I'm all for playing him. but I don't know if it's gonna happen.

Meyer says he's not interested in Notre Dame. Matt Rhule said he was committed to coaching Baylor.

Regarding Jackson's problems over the past few weeks, Joe Person quotes Matt Rhule as saying bad things happened because the team's safeties "left Jackson out to dry".

Scott's a better guard than Miller, though I grant that's a low bar to clear. Daley just isn't starter quality anymore regardless of position. I'd much rather they'd gone with Christensen again in that last game. He might not be the LT of the future, but he's probably better than Daley at this point.

Having watched Willis against Mississippi State, I'd have to agree. For the record, Brugler doesn't have WIllis going in the first. Pickett, Howell and Corral are his first round passers, with only Pickett going top ten.

From the article, regarding Howell... General manager Kevin Colbert has traveled to see Howell multiple times this fall, and he might be their top option available at this point in the draft.

Ron pretty thoroughly demonstrated the old saying "what I built, I can destroy".

Throw in that any team with even a half decent run game pretty much owns us.

There was word prior to the season that the team wanted Burns to put on some weight and add some muscle. He did, but apparently not enough.

I didn't quite make it there. In fact, my GPS wound up taking me in the opposite direction.

Teams that can run the ball effectively can pretty much impose their will on us. I'm not sure Jackson being out makes a difference on that front one way or the other.

I said when it happened that it made me wonder whether Rhule was completely comfortable with his job security. Signing Cam was a "win now" move for a coach who felt he really needed to win now. For what it's worth, I agreed with the move in part because it meant Newton would only have to deal with the wear and tear from the back half of a season.

I've had questions about the defense for several weeks. Around week four or five, teams figured out they could blunt our pass rush by going max protect or just keeping extra blockers in but still have open receivers. They also caught on to the fact that Jermaine Carter is only an average at best MLB so targeting his area on run or pass plays paid dividends. Safeties weren't much better, sadly so the middle of the defense just isn't all that scary a place. Chinn is still good but he's not a true free safety. He'd be much better suited to either a strong safety role or an outside linebacker spot. I'd argue he's not that undersized for such a role (his rookie year showed that). Also don't buy the argument that it's all because the defense is worn out from being on the field too long. Unless your conditioning is absolute sh-t, that's something that should only start being a factor somewhere in the second half. Starting with the Cowboys game, we've seen defensive breakdowns starting well before that. Bottom Line: Our defense has been overrated for a while now.