GM Candidate Profiles

[Mr. Scot]

Gotta confess, since I'm still not convinced this is a legit GM search, I was hesitant to write up profiles, but I've decided to go ahead and at least profile the external candidates.  I'm not really taking the internal candidates all that seriously because let's be real; if they stay in house, it's gonna be Marty Hurney.  They're not gonna hire someone doing a lesser job within the team right now.

But anyway, here are the outside guys who we can only hope have a legitimate chance.

JIMMY RAYE III

BORN: 11/24/68 (Age 49)
FROM: Fayetteville NC
COLLEGE: San Diego State
EXPERIENCE:
- Vice President of Player Personnel / Assistant GM, Texans, 2017-present
- Vice President of Football Operations, Colts, 2013-2016
- Director of Player Personnel, Chargers, 2008-2012
- Director of College Scouting, Chargers, 2000-2007
- College Scout, Chargers, 1996-1999
- Offensive Quality Control, Chiefs, 1995
- Wide Receiver, Rams, 1991
GM INTERVIEWS: Texans (2018) 49ers (2017) Colts (2017)
CONNECTIONS:
- Ron Rivera: Raye was working in the front office while Rivera was coaching
- Norv Turner: Obviously if he was connected to Rivera through the Chargers, he's connected with Norv.
- Marty Hurney: Also through the Chargers, but earlier. Raye was a scout under GM Bobby Beathard while Hurney was Beathard's assistant.
- Don Gregory: Again, through the Chargers. His prior association with Beathard and Hurney was what got Gregory to the Panthers in the first place
ETC: Born in North Carolina. but not raised here.  His dad (Jimmy Raye II) worked as an NFL assistant from 1977 through 2013, including several years as an offensive coordinator. His last job was with Panthers rival Tampa Bay as an offensive consultant.
ANALYSIS: Of the outside candidates listed, Raye probably has the strongest resume' of the bunch.  He's knocked on the door of GM jobs a couple of times but lost out.  At one point, he was actually considered the front runner to succeed Ryan Grigson in Indianapolis, but when they went with Chris Ballard instead, Raye found himself unemployed (but not for long). I actually have to imagine it might be a little odd for him interviewing here because his competition includes two guys who are former colleagues.  Obviously, my chief concern with Raye is that he (and Dawson) are primarily here to both satisfy the Rooney Rule and make it look like the Panthers are really making an effort.  But Raye's career has been good enough that he deserves a real chance at being a GM.  And if this process is a sham, then shame on Jerry Richardson, Tina Becker and the Panthers.  Do what's right and give this man a real shot!

Side Note: Anybody who posts a video of that annoying ass "Are you Jimmy Ray" song from a few years back needs to be shot, then permabanned.

 

LAKE DAWSON

BORN: 01/02/72 (Age 46)
FROM: Boston, MA
COLLEGE: Notre Dame
EXPERIENCE:
- Assistant Director of College Scouting, Bills, 2017-present
- Scout, Browns, 2016
- Vice President of Player Personnel, Titans, 2013-2015
- Vice President of Football Operations, Titans, 2011-2012
- Director of Pro Personnel, Titans, 2007-2010
- Assistant Director of Pro Personnel , Seahawks, 2002-2006
- Personnel Assistant, Seahawks, 2001
- Wide Receiver, Colts, 1998-1999
- Wide Receiver, Chiefs, 1994-1997
GM INTERVIEWS: Bears (2015) Buccaneers (2014) Dolphins (2014) Panthers (2013)
CONNECTIONS:
- Brandon Beane: Dawson was hired by the former Panthers Assistant GM just this past season. Beane has praised the work he did in Buffalo.
ETC: This would be his second interview for the Panthers GM job.  Dawson interviewed in 2013 when the job went to Dave Gettleman.  If I recall correctly, Dawson's name came up late in the process.  He and Giants exec Marc Ross were minority candidates for the Panthers at the time. Both have since been let go from the jobs they held.
ANALYSIS: Dawson's career has been decent, but has had its setbacks, including a recent and rather major one.  Dawson went from being a Vice President with the Titans to a scout with the Browns. There's also the oddity that Dawson was actually offered the Dolphins GM job in 2014, but declined it stating that it "didn't align with his vision" and "wasn't an ideal fit" for he and his family. (Side Note: There's a guy we've got as a scout right now whose last job was Assistant GM with the Dolphins).  Looking at his prior jobs, he's spent more time in the pro personnel department than in college scouting.  It's certainly not that Dawson is bad, and Lord knows anybody is better than Hurney, but of the three available outside candidates he probably is the one that excites me the least.  

RYAN COWDEN

Edit: The Panthers have interviews scheduled with Dawson, Raye and Marty Hurney but have not reached out to Ryan Cowden.  Signs now seem to indicate that he won't be part of the process.

BORN: 04/14/78 (Age 39)
FROM: Lebanon VA
COLLEGE: Wofford
EXPERIENCE:
- Director of Player Personnel, Titans, 2016-present
- Assistant Director of College Scouting, Panthers, 2014-2015
- Senior College Scout, Panthers, 2012-2013
- National Scout, Panthers, 2008-2011
- Southeast Area College Scout, Panthers, 2001-2007
- College Scouting Assistant, Panthers, 2000
GM INTERVIEWS: Chiefs (2017)
CONNECTIONS:
- Pretty much everybody: Other than the past two seasons, he spent his entire scouting/front office career with the Panthers.
ETC: Played safety at Jerry Richardson's alma mater (Wofford). Speculation when we talked about that before was that his being a Wofford alumnus could play a role, and it could again if this search is real.  But again, if this is just a song and dance before handing the keys to Hurney, nothing matters.
ANALYSIS: The youngest of the outside options by far, and that's a double edged sword.  Cowden was one of the names originally mentioned back when Marty Hurney was supposedly going to be looking for his replacement.  The other was Trent Kirchner, who doesn't appear to be getting a look.  Cowden has obviously risen through the ranks and Titans GM Jon Robinson really seems to think highly of him.  The question mark: Cowden's scouting career coincides a lot with Hurney's time as a GM, which isn't so hot.  That said, you can't necessarily blame Cowden for Hurney's failures, and the fact that he was noticed and hired for a high level job by another team lends a lot of credibility.  His Panthers connections will certainly make him a popular choice among fans.  Is he the best choice?  My gut says that's Jimmy Raye, but if Cowden got the job I sure as heck wouldn't complain.

[Mr. Scot]

Videos and further reading...

RAYE:

Colts media interviews Jimmy Raye

Ian Rapoport hypes the Texans hiring of Jimmy Raye

DAWSON:

Lake Dawson speaks at a Notre Dame ceremony

Lake Dawson explains why he declined a position with the Dolphins

COWDEN:

Titans front office being mined for talent

Inside the Panthers scouting process

 

[Mr. Scot]

The internal candidates mentioned as possibilities:

- Senior Executive Scout Don Gregory (worked alongside both Gettleman and Hurney for the last several years)

- Director of College Scouting Jeff Morrow (who only got that title last year)

- Director of Team Administration Rob Rogers (has only ever done cap management and contract negotiations, no scouting experience at all)

I can't really see any of these guys being chosen over Hurney. I honestly think only Gregory is even qualified.

Gregory's kind of an enigma in all this. He was Director of College Scouting up until last year when he took a change of title and duties similar to what Dave Gettleman had done with the Giants. And what's especially odd, his name isn't listed anywhere on the team site's front office directory (it was before he took the new job). It feels like there's something weird going on there, but I'm not sure what.

If you wanna read more about these guys, I'd suggest browsing the Panthers most recent media guide (found here in PDF format).

 

[Mr. Scot]

And one last thing...

Since Brandon Beane left, the team hasn't had an Assistant GM.  The one possible silver lining to me if Hurney gets the job is that maybe one of the actually qualified candidates could be named as the Assistant.  Granted, that'd be topsy-turvy, but it's still better than Hurney operating on his own.

The better solution, of course, would be for the team to hire an actual GM and give Hurney some other title where he can't interfere with the football side of things.  Given who's making the decisions (Tina Becker, Steven Drummond, Rivera and associate counsel Steve Argeris) I don't have a lot of hope that this is a real option.  Stranger things have happened, but the people choosing the next GM aren't qualified to make the best football decision.  It feels more like a group handpicked to produce the result Jerry Richardson desires.

Putting unqualified people in crucial positions is pretty much Jerry Richardson's trademark, so nobody should be surprised at that.

[Mr. Scot]

Being reported that the Raye and Dawson interviews are happening this week. Haven't seen anything on when the Cowden interview might take place.

Person mentioned that Hurney won't be asked to interview because"they already know him plenty".

[davos]

Maybe we hire Cowden and move Hurney to the cushy team President role.  More job security for him in Danny Mo's old role.  

Everyone wins!

[Mr. Scot]

7 minutes ago, davos said:

Maybe we hire Cowden and move Hurney to the cushy team President role.  More job security for him in Danny Mo's old role.  

Everyone wins!

Since Morrison's role had nothing to do with the football side of the operation, I'd be all for that.

[davos]

30 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Since Morrison's role had nothing to do with the football side of the operation, I'd be all for that.

Exactly haha.  Someone needs to plant this idea in Tina and Ron's heads.  

[MHS831]

Dawson interviewed for the job that Gettlemen won.  Called back 5 years later?  Hmmmmmmmmmm.  

Still, I agree with Mr. Scott---throwing Hurney a bone.

JR III would be awesome and is my pick.

[Mr. Scot]

2 hours ago, MHS831 said:

Dawson interviewed for the job that Gettlemen won.  Called back 5 years later?  Hmmmmmmmmmm.  

Still, I agree with Mr. Scott---throwing Hurney a bone.

JR III would be awesome and is my pick.

Other than Beane, I couldn't find anything much to connect us to Dawson besides that interview.  And his career hasn't been trending in the right direction since.  It wouldn't surprise me to hear they just called his name again for Rooney Rule satisfaction.

Raye is another story.  Given all the connections he's got here, I'm kinda surprised he didn't get an interview the last time.  Kinda wonder is the Chargers promoted him specifically to prevent that from happening.

And yeah, Raye is clearly the best candidate on the list and a serious upgrade from Marty Hurney.  An ideal situation would be taking Raye as GM and Cowden as his assistant but obviously that's not likely.

[rayzor]

19 hours ago, Mr. Scot said:

Side Note: Anybody who posts a video of that annoying ass "Are you Jimmy Ray" song from a few years back needs to be shot, then permabanned.

no argument here

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, rayzor said:

no argument here

Happy to hear it.

[Ricky Spanish]

Gimmie JR3 please.

I will say though, it really just feels like they're going to hand the keys to Hurney again.

And I hate that. 

[Mr. Scot]

Well, at least nobody's feelings will get hurt, right?