Mr. Scot

What killed the Watson trade... But the allegations didn't end the Panthers' pursuit as Rhule, Fitterer and Tepper plotted ways to land the former Clemson star. Watson was scheduled to meet with four teams -- the Panthers, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons and Cleveland Browns -- shortly after a grand jury declined to pursue criminal charges against him in March 2022. A source close to Watson said the quarterback thought "super highly of" the Panthers after a meeting with Tepper, Rhule and Fitterer. On the day Watson agreed to a trade to Cleveland that included a market-shattering, fully guaranteed deal of $230 million, ESPN reported the Panthers had balked at Watson's demand for the full guarantee. A source close to Watson says that doesn't tell the whole story. Carolina was not Watson's first choice, though the Panthers were heavily in the mix at the end. Also, the notion throughout the league that Rhule was on the hot seat was a concern. "The uncertainty with the coaching staff was a factor," the source said.

Newton, and a confirmation of something many suspected... Even before Darnold's injury, one former member of Rhule's staff noted how the organization's support of the quarterback grew increasingly tepid, and reports about a possible quarterback change were not firmly dismissed. "A quarterback has to feel like he's the most important guy in the building, and I don't think those guys ever felt that way," said the staff member of the benched quarterbacks. "They [Rhule and the Panthers] were always looking for something better. Zero patience." "Something better" was in the eye of the beholder, and following Darnold's injury the gaze would become fixed on Newton, the former No. 1 overall pick who had led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 in 2015. Newton had been released by the New England Patriots, with the shoulder injury suffered in the final year of his first stint in Carolina causing him to lose much of the zip on his throws. Rhule hadn't wanted Newton two years earlier, but the Panthers had limited options and hoped his leadership would help a young team. While team sources say Newton was an ideal teammate and "worked his ass off" to master the offense, the Panthers would go 0-5 with him as the starter. Darnold would be back behind center before the end of a 5-12 season that placed the entire organization in the crosshairs entering 2022.

Confirming something we'd already heard elsewhere... Tepper had a predilection for tracking social media mentions and media reports on his team, multiple sources said. One front office source described his approach as "stream of consciousness," unafraid to vent to confidantes about his frustrations with the team -- including quarterback play.

The fifth year option... Fitterer's logic on the option, per a front office source, was this: The two-year payout would be reasonable, considering Darnold's $4.7 million due in 2021, and he'd be much more expensive if he lit up the field that season. Tepper, per a team source, questioned placing that value on Darnold so early in his relationship with the team but "reluctantly" approved, a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations said. For a moment, it appeared Carolina had pushed the right buttons. Darnold started his Panthers career with a victory over the Jets, and the team won its next two games to push Carolina to 3-0 for the first time in six years. It would represent the high point of the Rhule era. The team would lose five of its next six games, a stretch that saw Darnold throw four touchdown passes to 10 interceptions before injuring his throwing shoulder. The Panthers' subpar offensive line and running back Christian McCaffrey's Week 3 injury contributed to Darnold's struggles. But the New York version of Darnold, hiding under the surface, finally bubbled. "It went from a decent setup to WTF," said a team source of the offense's descent. As the losses mounted, Tepper's blood boiled, with one front office source describing him as "furious" over the way Darnold's fifth-year option hung over the franchise. (A source close to the owner said the "furious" characterization was too strong).

Darnold... Weeks after that evaluation session, Rhule sent a group text to his coaches indicating the team was about to trade for Darnold and requesting to keep the intel private. The idea to trade for Darnold had begun with Rhule, who a front office source said popped into Fitterer's office after a defensive staff meeting to ask what the GM thought of the possibility. Fitterer scouted Darnold while with the Seahawks and was intrigued by the former USC star's arm and escapability. The Panthers thought a change in scenery could help Darnold, a chance to pair with Joe Brady aiding Darnold's growth. People inside the building had different interpretations for how Rhule, who did not respond to multiple requests to be interviewed for this story, handled personnel decisions. One team source said Rhule preferred to reach consensus with Fitterer before taking a plan to Tepper, describing the process as "collaborative." That differs from another team source, who said Rhule's leadership style was to "wear everybody out" until he got his way, even in big groups, and sometimes operated impulsively. In this case, Rhule was willing to overlook Darnold's well-documented problems with turnovers and accuracy. "It was Darnold, Darnold, Darnold [for Rhule] that offseason," a front office source said.

The Stafford deal... Just weeks into the job, Fitterer almost pulled off a massive coup, working the phones with Lions general manager Brad Holmes to try to secure Stafford via trade, then meeting with Holmes' staff in Mobile, Alabama, during Senior Bowl week in January. The Panthers made a compelling offer for Stafford that included the eighth overall pick in that year's draft. Fitterer and Holmes talked on the field pregame and were close on a deal, per a Carolina front office source, with the Lions sending over medical records of Stafford's previous back injury. Multiple Carolina assistant coaches say they boarded the team plane at the conclusion of the Senior Bowl thinking they had gotten Stafford. By the time they landed in Charlotte, word had leaked that Stafford was bound for the Los Angeles Rams. Fitterer called Holmes, who apologized and said the L.A. deal came together quickly.

Tepper's adjustment to the football world... In the winter of 2021, less than three years into his tenure, Tepper was discovering success in pro football was more elusive. Teams were lucky to hit on three picks in the draft. Free agent acquisitions sometimes didn't work out. The reality didn't sit well with Tepper, according to a front office source. "He expects football guys to be 100% right, like they are evaluating a balance sheet, and sometimes they are flat-out wrong," the source said.

Bridgewater... By the time the draft arrived, Carolina had already executed on a QB plan that team sources say started and ended with veteran Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater, who had worked with new Carolina offensive coordinator Joe Brady when he was a Saints offensive assistant in 2018, had played well in a five-game stretch relieving injured starter Drew Brees in 2019 and was an unrestricted free agent. Competition for Bridgewater's free agent services was fierce, and despite the presence of both Tom Brady and former NC State star Philip Rivers in the free agent market, the Panthers were fixated on Bridgewater. He was considered a prime option for Tampa Bay if the Bucs struck out on Brady. As they did with Rhule's deal, the Panthers aggressively secured Bridgewater with a three-year, $63-million contract. Signing Bridgewater was viewed within the industry and within the team as a sensible move, a bridge to a long-term solution, allowing the offense to function in a transitional year while rebuilding other areas of the team through the draft. The faction of the organization that was against drafting Herbert received what might have seemed like vindication in Week 3 of the 2020 season, when Bridgewater and the Panthers defeated Herbert and the Chargers in Los Angeles -- Rhule's first NFL win. But behind the scenes, a few of the scouts that had pushed for Herbert squirmed as they watched the 22-year-old throw for 330 yards, showing the poise and command of an offense they believed could have stabilized the position for a decade or more. Even as Carolina celebrated the win, one scout remembers texting another: "Man, we were right." Herbert would win NFL Rookie of the Year. Bridgewater would win four more games before being traded to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round draft choice on the eve of the 2021 draft, earning $31 million for one season in Carolina -- $24 million during the season and another $7 million to go away.

Herbert... A scouting department source said it ranked LSU's Joe Burrow the top quarterback in the draft, with Oregon's Justin Herbert a close second and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa third. Longtime NFL scout Donnie Warren, who was let go by Carolina before that year's draft and joined Ron Rivera in Washington for two years before retiring, confirmed Hurney "loved" Herbert and mentioned numerous times that he was high on his potential. "[Rhule] knew where we stood, that this [draft] was a chance to get a long-term solution at the position," the scouting source said. "Not having a full evaluation process and staff meetings due to COVID could have affected that process. We weren't meeting in person." The scouting department did enough legwork on Herbert to know the other teams that might also be in pursuit. There was a sense of what it would take to move from their No. 7 selection to the New York Giants' spot at No. 4, jumping the Miami Dolphins (No. 5) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 6), who were believed to be locked on quarterbacks. Then-Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was a longtime Panthers executive with existing relationships in the building. A trade seemed plausible, but would not be pursued. Though Carolina's scouts wanted Herbert, a Panthers front office source said there was concern that trading draft capital to make it happen could hurt other areas of the team.

Summing up the disaster... The ousted Rhule and fourth-year Panthers owner David Tepper have shouldered much of the blame for the franchise's downturn, and all threads of Carolina's unraveling lead back to the choices made at one position -- quarterback. The Panthers' instability and dubious decision-making, which sometimes included disagreements among ownership, the coaching staff and front office, highlight the direct connection between quarterback play and franchise strength. In all, five quarterbacks started for Rhule -- the coach handpicked by Tepper in January 2020 and given control of the roster along with a seven-year, $62 million contract -- a revolving door reflecting organizational efforts to locate a top passer that ultimately failed. "They shot for the stars," a veteran NFL coach and former Rhule staffer said. "They ended up with Teddy [Bridgewater], Sam [Darnold] and Baker." Those with inside knowledge of the Panthers' three-season signal-caller saga paint a picture of bad deals, for the wrong quarterbacks, decided upon in large part by Rhule -- who proved to be the wrong coach.

Opening paragraphs regarding the tone of practice the week before Rhule was fired... In the final week of Matt Rhule's 33-month tenure as a first-time NFL head coach, his Carolina Panthers took the practice field situated in the shadow of Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium for what should have been routine 7-on-7 work. Routine would have been good. This was something worse, a scene of uninspired football borne partially if not totally of harsh roster realities. Overthrown passes. Turnovers. Mistimed routes. Rhule and his coaching staff looked on, standing oddly quiet. Panthers players appeared restless, the stress of a bad start palpable and "very heavy," as a team source described. Perhaps, in the grim prelude to a 37-15 home loss to the San Francisco 49ers that would send Carolina to 1-4 before a sea of empty seats, the entire organization had become resigned to its fate. This team can't win without a quarterback.

I do. I'll post some excerpts...

Traded up to get him... Would have been our first round pick had Burns not fallen to us... Oy

Side Note...

Okay that was funny

And way less pressure...

I think Greg Olsen could do it but I get the sense he'd rather do what he's already doing.

Looked at the title, thought it said "sell me the Huddle logo" and thought to myself, "Didn't know we had one"

Nor would you. That's called being professional.

But only one win...

Hence why someone like Alex Van Pelt can be a good coach. Steve Smith? Not so much

Yeah. I think most of us would probably like to be in that role. I'm sure I could be terrible at something in return for millions of dollars.

It's not that hard to believe. I've seen plenty of draft classes not produce any great quarterbacks, even ones that were thought to be good.

Person confirmed that the quarterback decisions were all made by Rhule.

I'm speaking in generalities.