Mr. Scot

I'm not convinced the Ravens will be willing to part with him. But even if they are, the sh-tload of picks/players/whatever they'd require back would be cost prohibitive.

Don't really think that happens either...

I get the sentiment, but I honestly wouldn't care if he was throwing tantrums like a three-year-old. He needs to go, regardless...

...with the first five coming in a game against his former coach. Stefanski knew the problem in Cleveland and schemed to minimize it. When Mayfield came here, Stefanski knew exactly how to exploit it. Unfortunately, I think that first game showed other coaches how to do it too.

None...

Somewhat. Jimmy Clausen had this "flatline" trajectory to a lot of his throws that made them easier to bat down (or intercept).

Fair point, but you also have to credit Sirianni for hiring Steichen. One of the things I always do a deep dive on with potential head coaches is who their potential assistants might be. It was a big reason why I was high on Nate Hackett. He had connections through himself and his dad to build a staff of super well-established coaches. Instead, he went and hired a bunch of guys who weren't anywhere near as experienced as he could have, with more than one being completely new to their role I do give him credit for hiring a coach to help with game management. That probably required him swallowing his pride, and not too many NFL coaches are big on doing that. Granted it's still early, but that's definitely not the only thing he needs to fix.

More from Ellis...

I was told we did. (you know, seven year plan and all that bullsh-t) As far as Fitterer, reporting has been that while Tepper is losing trust in head coach, he still seems to have it in his GM. Fitterer has basically been given carte blanche to reshape the Panthers personnel department as he chooses. Throw in that there's been no real indication from any of our typical inside sources that his proverbial "seat" is even warm, much less hot. If, as we all suspect, Rhule is gone then Fitter and Morgan might actually get the chance to put their own stamp on things.

I think the best move they made was hiring Nick Sirianni. For all the jokes about how hoofy he looked and sounded in his early pressers and the chuckles about him using rock paper scissors to test players competitiveness, he's proving the doubters wrong so far.

A little more info... Early on, Ron Rivera was able to do some similar things against Drew Brees. He schemed to block Brees throwing lanes, obstruct his vision and try to bat down as many passes as possible. It worked for, ironically enough, a very short time. Sean Payton was able to make adjustments that nullified what Rivera had been trying to do. I wouldn't bet on our current coaching staff being able to accomplish that same feat.

And makes moves to buy the good faith of owner Jeffrey Lurie on a pretty regular basis. (usually by making whatever moves Lurie tells him to)

Fans may not be able to agree on whether we're watching the worst Panther team, season, personnel, whatever... But I doubt you'll find much of anyone who disagrees with the idea that Matt Rhule is far and away the worst head coach the Panthers have ever had.

...we'd probably all be relieved

Am I the only one who read the thread title and thought of Tommy Jone? (I suspect not)

Sorry. I just can't see it

We were told that Tepper had a "plan" when he was telling everybody it might take five years or more to rebuild. Then the team kept making moves that were about winning now instead of building for the long term. I'm not convinced David Tepper would know a good plan if one ran up and bit him on the ass.

I agree about having excellent players on the defense. Snow? Not so much.

Well, ya know... Haven't had as much time to do so, but yes I'm looking at potential head coaches.

I get the feeling that once we play better offenses, we're not even going to look "above average".

I had an opposite interaction. Don't remember what it was, but I said something that apparently made Lady Cowboy Fan think I was going to turn the game off. She was shocked. I didn't.

I don't think there are a whole lot of optimists left at this point, at least not when it comes to Matt Rhule. (or David Tepper for that matter)

The extended drive that the Cardinals scored on was the defense's first action in the third quarter. They'd had the entire halftime plus a couple of minutes to rest at that point, yet still got manhandled right out of the gate. No argument that the offense is terrible, but much like last year's number two overall ranking, I think the defense is largely an illusion.

I expect the 49ers attack to be run heavy.

Jerry Richardson always trusted the wrong people. Unfortunately, it looks like David Tepper has the same problem. The question is whether there will ever come a time when he understands that or is willing to admit it.