Evil Hurney

Mimicking Miami has some appeal. There are several similarities between Bryce and Tua. It would be a multi-season build though. There aren't a lot of guys that can run like Tyreek or Waddle and consistently catch the ball (see Chiefs). If Evero stays for year 2 I think the defense will be even better. I was happy to see Horn finish out the year. He probably earned himself a 5th year option.

I hope they go that route. Panthers wouldn't lose a GM candidate and would save themselves from possibly hiring a HC candidate that likely is a year away from being ready.

Commanders are a wildcard. I don't really know what they want. I know guys like Quinn are out since they would be a hard sell coming off a similar type in Rivera. They have the most attractive opening IMO. Pats getting Vrabel seems like a no-brainer. Chargers probably want someone with experience or an offensive minded HC. Harbaugh makes sense there. I can't see Titans going for a defensive minded HC like MacDonald since they just fired one and commented about wanting to do things differently. I think they are looking at an offensive minded HC. Falcons are reported to want a big fish and will likely steer clear of the hot shot OC class since they just fired Arthur who has a similar background. Belichick makes sense. Raiders are either getting a big name or AP. Signing an up-and-coming coordinator over AP would not go over well. Seahawks are a wildcard. Quinn makes sense at the moment. Panthers are obviously looking for an innovative offensive mind for HC. I would be happy with Ben Johnson, Frank Smith, or Brian Callahan. I think Slowik and Canales need another year of seasoning.

I think the Chargers will have a hard time landing a top guy unless they are willing to open their wallets. Staley was reportedly getting $4M/year, which is near the bottom of the league. Basically, a coaching candidate like Ben Johnson would have to be willing to leave a LOT of money on the table to work for the Chargers instead of the Panthers.

What's this X everyone is talking about?

Not surprised. It'd be a lateral move and I suspect they want to pair Evero with an offensive-minded HC.

Here's the other Rooney Rule candidate.

Chicago does us a solid and decides to stick with Eberflus. That would have quickly become one of the more attractive openings. Personally, I think if they are planning on going Rookie QB then they are setting themselves up for failure by not also resetting the HC.

1. I'd be open to trading Burns, but I don't think Buffalo is the fit (they are up against the cap as is) 2. I agree that Icky probably needs to get kicked inside. I'd be fine with BC holding down the LT spot for the year. I'd like to see some capital spent on another swing T in the draft. 3. Brown is under contract (5th year option), but I do agree that and extension should be a priority. 4. Agree, considering we aren't contending we should try to game the comp formula. I think it will be hard though since it will be new HC and new GM and they will want to put their stamp on things. I also think it will be hard if a bona-fide WR1 hits FA (e.g. Higgins).

2010 was the worst team. I suspect 2023 will get more votes due to recency bias. That 2010 team had an even worse offense than this 2023 group. I fondly remember watching those games and knowing that the game was over once the other team managed to score 14 (or more). The 2010 group only broke the 20pt barrier twice and never scored 30 (or more). Meanwhile, the 2023 group broke the 20pt barrier 4 times and managed a single 30 point game. Even with 2 shutouts to end the season they still managed more points per game than the 2010 squad.

Reminder: Today (Wednesday, January 10th) is the first day the Panthers can have virtual interviews with candidates employed by other clubs but are NOT participating in Wild Card weekend. That means we might hear about virtual interviews for: Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan Ravens defensive coordinator Mike Macdonald Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken The other 6 candidates cannot have virtual interviews until Tuesday of next week. Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn Dolphins offensive coordinator Frank Smith Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales Also, the team can interview internal candidates and candidates not employed by an NFL club (Harbaugh and Vrabel) at any time.

Morris seems like 1 of the 2 Rooney Rule interviews. It looks like they will need another unless one of the other 8 candidates is biracial like Mike McDaniel. I don't think Evero or TB would count since they are internal candidates (if they even get interviews).

Understandable. I'm also more intrigued by the GM search at the moment. It was more of a "hey someone wrote a short article pertaining to the Panthers" and I figured it would be good to share before I forgot it existed.

I'd rather keep Jackson and Corbett. I'd happily trade Theilen. I don't think there's going to be a market for Sanders, but I was surprised there was a way to get out of his deal.

Didn't see this article posted elsewhere. Gives a quick summary of the possible cap saving moves the team can make this offseason. CAP CLEARING POSSIBILITIES Trade CB Donte Jackson, freeing up $6M of cap Extend S Xavier Woods, lowering his $7.75M cap hit Extend DT Derrick Brown, lowering his $11.6M cap hit Process a full base salary conversion on DT Shy Tuttle, freeing up $4.3M of cap when factoring in 3 void years. Convert $10M of base salary & a $3M roster bonus from OT Taylor Moton, freeing up $10.4M of cap Designate OL Austin Corbett a Post 6/1 release before March 15th, freeing up $6.25M after June 1st. Process a full base salary plus a $1.5M roster bonus conversion on C Bradley Bozeman, freeing up $3.6M of cap when factoring in 3 void years Process a full base salary plus a $2.15M roster bonus conversion on TE Hayden Hurst, freeing up $5.4M of cap when factoring in 3 void years Release TE Ian Thomas, freeing up $2.35M of cap Process a full base salary plus a $2M roster bonus conversion on WR Adam Thielen, freeing up $5M of cap when factoring in 3 void years Convert Miles Sanders’ $2M roster bonus into signing bonus, then trade his remaining $4.2M salary, freeing up $5.5M of cap

Russini suggests that they didn't want to wait to trade, which suggests (to me) they know who they want and didn't want to risk them getting snatched. The Titans probably want one of those new-fangled offensive-minded Head Coaches as well. A few excerpts from their owner:

While I think Dan will be a good GM. Anointing any internal candidate makes it that much harder to make the hard decisions with this roster.

I'm guessing it's a semantics thing. Basically, checking to see if there is interest before formally requesting so they don't get the headline of a declined interview.

Conflicting reports:

Tepper already leaked that $15M a year story to get the poorer owners like Spanos and Davis out of the Johnson race.

Interesting observation from the previous GM search. Of the 15 interviews mentioned in this article, a majority of the 13 external candidates ended up with GM jobs. It appears that they actually did a good job of identifying promising candidates last time around (at least based on the opinion of the rest of the league). The breakdown: 7 GMs Scott Fitterer (former GM Panthers) Nick Caserio (GM Texans) Kwesi Adofo-Mensah (GM Vikings) Omar Khan (GM Steelers) Monti Ossenfort (GM Cardinals) Ryan Poles (GM Bears) Joe Schoen (GM Giants) 1 Interim GM Champ Kelly (Interim GM Raiders) ... part of current search 5 Additional External Candidates Jeff Ireland Adam Peters Jerry Reese Brandt Tilis ... part of current search Ed Dodds (withdrew) ... part of current search 2 Internal Candidates Pat Stewart (internal) Samir Suleiman (internal) They are also reported to they are trying to interview Nick Matteo from the Ravens who declined an interview last time.

I would absolutely trade him; he is one of the best "when" he plays but shows no signs of wanting to play for this team. Trade him for a day 2 pick or a WR and let some other team pick up his 5th year option.

Nash Jensen

My initial list: Ben Johnson (was the favorite last cycle) Kellen Moore (was a finalist last cycle) Ejiro Evero (young, well regarded, Tepper has already paid him well and complimented his unit) Bobby Slowik (why not steal the primary coach for the OROY) Jim Caldwell (an interesting option if you want to leave the rest of the high-priced coaching staff in place; Ejiro at DC and Thomas at OC) I don't see a DC type other than Evero getting a chance. Basically, any hire will be encouraged to keep Evero (and Tabor) on staff and a defensive type coach would make that redundant. I'm on the fence with Bienemy since he interviewed a few cycles ago; I'm not sure if they would want to bring him back in (not saying they shouldn't).

No idea. But I feel pretty confident that part the early season problems on offense stem from trying to create a playbook by committee instead of it having a singular voice. It'll be interesting to see if the amount of pre-snap motion increases significantly.