Leaky_Faucet

The only way I can imagine these folks promoting Morgan to GM is if they are bringing in one of these guys to serve as President/Ops Director/etc. That opens up AGM for somebody like an Adrian Wilson or similar.

This is utterly false. I highly doubt anyone knows anything at PFN about the search that the Panthers beat reporters wouldn't know first. It is highly "suspected" that the Panthers will like Halaby due to his background in analytics and connections with Sportsology in the past. I noted a few days ago how it was interesting the Champ Kelly news came out the following day while they were interviewing Halaby almost as a distraction. I do not doubt Halaby will be a finalist for this role, but to just clump Brian Johnson in with Halaby just because they are with the same organization is lazy reporting to generate interactions. Johnson’s performance has been clear and I highly doubt a Harvard grad and analytics "guru" would vouch and attach his name to for somebody the entire Eagles organization and fan base seems to despise and hint at replacing through every media outlet available.

They aren't just sitting around. Especially with this group running the show. They are just being quiet about it and that's probably for the best really. Like the other person said above, they can't even meet with HC candidates until later on. I imagine they are doing two different things: Focusing on GM candidates to make a hire within the next week. Touching base with all the candidates via virtual to narrow the list. Say you have your GM by Friday and a shortened list by doing all of your virtual, you put yourself in a position to have your new GM involved in the in-persons next week.

Yeah it’s locked down super tight. Likely due to oversight of the advisory group and less people being involved. They know they are at a disadvantage and aren’t going to show their hand anymore than they have to. I believe the Champ Kelly reports are made up for misdirection. It didn’t come out until the following day when the Panthers were meeting with Halaby who is the young Havard graduate for the Eagles who runs the analytics department and serves as AGM under Roseman. Sportsology also helped out the Eagles a few years back and are likely very familiar with him already. I’m not saying he will get it, but it was odd how the Champ Kelly news leaked right after Halaby’s interview. The news is also beneficial to Kelly by demonstrating to the Raiders that they may have competition if they wish to retain him.

I think the best candidate that is also most attainable for the Panthers would be Mike Macdonald.

They didn't interview Mike Borgonzi. They interviewed: Scott Fitter Omar Khan Pat Stewart Samir Suleiman Champ Kelly Adam Peters Ryan Poles Brandt Tilis Ed Dodds Jeff Ireland Monti Ossenfort Joe Schoen Nick Caserio Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Jerry Reese Caserio was hired by the Texans before his 2nd interview and Dodds backed out before the in-person interview. Poles, Fitterer, Tilis, and Ossenfort was interviewed twice.

I think they are done with Howell. One of the reasons I have been thinking Johnson would go to Washington would be his ability to get Williams or Maye. New GM, New HC, New QB.

I'm speculating but I think if the Panthers announced they requested an interview with a candidate, then they probably were reassured by the agent they would accept. Of course barring they don't pull a Ben Johnson from last year or accept another offer first.

It's likely he was one of those that turned the request down. The Panthers were reaching out to candidates to see if they would reject their offer before they formally sent a request through the league.

Probably a couple reps from Sportsology, Dave, maybe another person or two. Likely Nicole as well. I imagine much smaller than the rumored village assembly last year.

No. This process takes time.

As for GM/HC search, I don’t know. I imagine going back weeks ago they already had candidates preemptively ranked into levels or tiers. I think the candidates that you are seeing them target for the GM search clearly points towards the organization wanting a contracts/cap guy in that role for one of two reasons.1) Bring in a guy like Harbaugh, Vrabel, or Belichick. OR 2) Let Adrian Wilson and Dan Morgan evaluate the players and the new guy count the beans. I imagine the Panthers will take a shot at Ben Johnson and some of the bigger names but to be honest, it’s probably not going to happen, and they probably have a plan for that. If I had to guess, Johnson, Slowik, and Macdonald is on top of the list. The next group would probably consist of the more experienced guys I already mentioned. Having a GM like they are targeting would give you the flexibility you may need in coaching cycle of such high volume. My personal guess? Johnson is out of the equation so they will take a swing at Slowik and Macdonald and if that falls through, they will settle for Vrabel if he doesn’t land in New England. (Keep in mind Mayo is well liked and the Patriots don’t have to apply the Rooney Rule to hire him based on his contract). If plan B falls through, hold on to your seats. Mostly just my opinion but there you go. It’s too early to tell and with them being in such a sensitive position regarding optics and potential rejection embarrassment just for asking somebody to talk to them about a job, I expect it to be pretty quiet. With the advisory group also assisting, that’s going to add a whole other layer to controlling what information gets out. This group was likely hired to facilitate the entire process and not just for lining up interviews or providing input. My honest opinion based off of rumblings I’ve picked up and observations... I think David Tepper is taking back control of the team in a way. I don’t know how many of you picked up on it in his press conference and even going back to interviews last year but many have alluded to everything being “voted on” or “collaborated via committee” and since Scott Fitterer’s arrival that is how things have been ran. Scott himself even stated this was the type of leader he was on multiple occasions. Nicole Tepper even has this directly in her biography on the team’s web page. “She's most comfortable serving in-person on the front lines – through providing words of support and encouragement, volunteering, and financial donations. She believes in a team-first approach to decision-making and leadership, emphasizing collaboration rather than solo decision making.” This is another sign that points towards this large group of folks voting on things like a council meeting. I believe that way of leading has been balled up and thrown into the trash and the team is starting new and trusting a group that has helped the 49ers, Eagles, and Rams work on themselves (all three of which are currently in the postseason).

For those wanting Halaby I would look into him a bit. Here is an article from 2021 that talks about Halaby and how he contributed to Pederson's downfall in Philadelphia. https://theathletic.com/2506187/2021/04/12/paranoia-mismanagement-and-office-politics-inside-the-eagles-downfall-under-jeffrey-lurie-howie-roseman/ Here is an interesting piece on Halaby. To some, Halaby is something of an interloper. They say he carries influence with Lurie in part because of a close relationship with fellow Harvard grad Julian Lurie, Jeffrey’s son, who stands to one day take over the family business. To others, Halaby is “brilliant” and simply willing to fight for what he believes is right. The more nuanced opinion is that Halaby is in a “no-win situation,” boxed into a specific characterization by the non-traditional football background he shares with Roseman and a personality that makes him a “square peg in a round hole.” The blurriness of Halaby’s influence on the final decision-makers created rifts throughout the organization and contributed to the iciness between departments. One source described the analytics team as a “clandestine, Black Ops department that doesn’t answer to anybody except the owner,” even though Halaby officially reports to Roseman. During the 2017 season, Halaby’s and Pederson’s relationship soured to the point where Pederson berated Halaby within earshot of the rest of the office, according to sources. In the opinion of some members of the coaching staff, Halaby was not to be trusted. Frustration mounted on the scouting side as well. Rather than being presented with reasons for where certain draft-eligible players were rated by Halaby’s department, the scouting staff would simply be given a list of players the analytics department liked. According to one source, a top personnel official was upset to find out Halaby was grading players on his own despite never having been trained in the scouting department’s methodology.

David Tepper is going through a very common learning curve that occurs with new owners. Haslam bought the Browns in 2012. In that time he has had 7 Head Coaches. Shurmur, Pettine, Chudzinski, Jackson, Williams, Kitchens, and Stafanski. It took a while but I think he figured it out with Stefanski. He did the same thing at QB, but he has the franchise moving in the right direction. The Pegulas took a while to figure things out with Buffalo after they bought the team in 2014. They went through Marrone and Ryan before stumbling on McDermott and Allen. Khan bought the Jaguars in 2011 and has had quite the circus but overall his team is trending up. He went through Del Rio, Marrone, Bradley, Mularkey, Meyer, and had Pederson (I may be leaving somebody out). When Jed York took over the day to day for San Francisco he had Mike Singletary, then fired him for Harbaugh and then got into a pissing match with Harbaugh and fired him with a 49-22 record and replaced him with Tomsula and Chip Kelly. I'm not a Tepper apologist, I am very critical of what he has done and sometimes it's not what he does but how he does it that bothers people. This is pretty normal though when you're dealing with a billionaire who knows nothing about this business he's competing with other billionaires in. He will figure it out, it just might take some time.

Yeah, that's not happening. I know there are a lot of people that really like him going back to last year but he really hurt himself attaching his offense to Brandon Staley. If he gets hired this advisory group must not be doing their job.

This is really the biggest thing.

They don't want Belichick. Gus Bradley was the architect in my opinion but Dan Quinn finished building it and took it to a different level. I told you guys they would not mind a Harbaugh/Belichick type. I think they would rather have a Ben Johnson but I don't think they will have a problem with the others mentioned above before they hire a Brian Callahan, Kellen Moore, or Brian Johnson.

Being kept pretty quiet. I think its a smaller panel than before.

While Johnson has had very good results in Detroit and I think he will be a fine Head Coach, I imagine expectations for him will be high since the media has fanned the flame on him this last two seasons. He is going to be very careful where he goes and attaches his name. Chargers, Seahawks, or maybe the Commanders.

I think so. Atlanta is pushing through their Rooney Rule folks as fast as they can though.

Not much. But will likely start hearing more this week now that the season is officially over. He called Tepper multiple times last year, I imagine there will be some discussion this year as well. I said it a few weeks ago, I can really see Tepper taking a shot with a Tepper or Belichick type.

I could see it but with Harbaugh you never know.

This is really really good. He is probably the best on the list. Not an analytics guy. Talent evaluation guy and one of the best at it. McClay is the type that could be the “President” or Head of Football Ops.