Mr. Scot

Went back and looked. The initial tweet was from Schefter citing "league sources". I recall there being talk from Panthers media about targeting former head coaches, but that sure hasn't panned out. Neither has the "wide search" that Rhule promised (at least not yet).

Im not that familiar with him but I know he's been a Rhule apologist.

Speaking of the OC, anyone else notice the three names that were initially floated as having our interest never materialized? Neither Bill O'Brien, Jay Gruden nor Kevin O'Connell have even been mentioned in relation to the Panthers since the initial speculation. Doesn't sound like Pep Hamilton is looking this way either. First guess? They might not be interested or may have better options (heaven knows O'Connell does) but it also makes you wonder if the stories were bullsh-t to begin with.

Sadly not optimistic on that front

I've seen a couple of different variations on tinfoil hat theories that Tepper is secretly playing some kind of genius game behind the scenes and we're just not privy to it. Frankly, I put about as much stock in those suggestions as I do the notion that Matt Rhule's process is 1000% working and we just can't see it. It all seems based in the notion that surely Tepper can't possibly be this dumb / clueless / cowardly / prideful / arrogant / unaware / whatever, so there must be some other explanation no matter how crazy it sounds. In the end though, I suspect the true answer is much simpler. That answer being that yes, he can indeed be those things... ...and more.

Still no word from anyone on Offensive Line Coach candidates. And mind you, there are some good ones available. Juan Castillo, Mike Munchak and James Campen to name a few. There's been speculation that they want to hire an OC first, but then there's also no word on who'll be coaching the defensive line either (Bill Kollar from the Broncos would be a good one in this spot) and we're certainty not making any changes at DC. Mind you, this could be one of those times where nothing gets said until one day they suddenly announce the hire. If that's the case, I wouldn't be surprised if the jobs went to internal candidates.

The enemy of good blocking, at least...

Zane Gonzalez did credit the coaching staff here with helping him get his kickoffs into the end zone. Didn't name names as far as I know, though

In New England as some kind of consultant, last I knew. He was a really good special teams coach. Problem was that he was also a colossal a--hole. Pretty much everybody who worked with him hated him.

Don't mind that suggestion, but watch him end up in Houston.

Honestly, both of these guys seem like decent options. Tabor is a guy I've researched before. I like the Toub connection. At least it's not Ed Foley. (granted it still could be)

Tabor is a protegé of longtime ST ace Dave Toub. McMahon's coached STs for five different pro teams since 2007, starting with the Falcons.

I'm gonna guess that job is being held for Brian Flores.

But it's gonna get much better after another year of Matt Rhule having full power...how, exactly? I mean, if people wanna suggest that the owner who called Marty Hurney a great talent evaluator then handed the keys to everything over to Matt Rhule is secretly playing some kind of genius 4D chess game (the brilliance of which will all become apparent a year from now) as opposed to just making yet another in a series of dumbsh-t decisions, they're free to believe that. Me? I'm... skeptical

To those holding out hope for Hamilton...

You don't need additional reasons to fire him other than that he's terrible at his job. What takes crazy, weird, borderline ridiculous scenarios to justify is hanging on to him.

It'd make an awful lot of sense. Hamilton might officially still be under contract (hard to say) but the team did announce that they've fired OC Tim Kelly.

Don't know. Unless it's published in a story, agent info is not easy to find.

Pretty sure they do, as do the younger guys trying to make a name for themselves. As to sharing responsibility, what exact role did Dan Morgan play in hiring Matt Rhule? Also this. So we're gonna let Matt Rhule spend another year damaging the franchise, wasting a year of people's careers, possibly missing out on good coaches and players who might actually want to come here under different circumstances, potentially losing multiple people their jobs, angering the fanbase and very likely losing loads of money...all for what's basically a gamble? Yeah, that's pretty stupid. You know he's not the guy. Just fire the a--hole already.

What about the others mentioned?

Not just about the fans though... For older players, this could be one of the last few years of their careers. For younger guys, a chance to have a solid year building toward a future payday gets short circuited by an incompetent coach. And then there's guys like Dan Morgan and Samit Suleiman. They've previously been talked about as future GMs, but nobody's even so much as asked permission to interview them this year. Does it become more likely after another sh-tty season of Rhule football? For us, it might be just another season of bad football. But for the people who are part of the team it's real life, a full year out of their careers shot all to hell. And again, they don't get those years back

Not necessarily... Wilson makes a great point here.

Possible. But in doing so, he screws over fans, staff and players who have to deal with another year of Rhule's incompetence. Nobody's getting that time back.

Yeah, but he coached a really talented player who had a good season. That makes it all better, right?