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2021 Top Turnaround Contenders: "Jimmy Johnson 2.0 resides in Charlotte"

CarolinaSunday

By CarolinaSunday,
in Carolina Panthers

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CarolinaSunday

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I really like Marc Sessler of NFL.com.  He has not always been a fan of the Panthers, and Cam annoyed him a lot, but he usually has some interesting takes and he is a great writer.  He just published an article analyzing which teams are poised for a 2021 turnaround. The Panthers were second on the list:

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Urban Meyer's hire in Jacksonville has stirred comparisons to Jimmy Johnson taking the Cowboys reins. But when I ponder Johnson parallels, it's Matt Rhule who comes to mind.

He formed a coaching staff essentially devoid of NFL experience, but pulled off five wins after groupthink had pegged Carolina as one of worst teams in football. Eight of the Panthers' losses were one-score defeats, including a 33-31 heartbreaker at Kansas City in early November. Previous stops at Temple and Baylor revealed Rhule as a shifter of culture -- and we saw hints of it last season in Carolina.

Carolina used all seven of its 2020 draft picks to bolster Phil Snow's defense and came out encouraged by the emerging play of front-door-sized behemoth Derrick Brown, playmaking safety Jeremy Chinn and edge man Yetur Gross-Matos (who did some damage lining up across from 2019 first-rounder Brian Burns).

On offense, coordinator Joe Brady netted head-coaching interviews after authoring an attack that overcame the loss of Christian McCaffrey to wind up as one of the league's more watchable units. Teddy Bridgewater is aptly named for the role he played -- a bridge over troubled waters (apologies) -- amid whispers the club might pursue Deshaun Watson in a trade that would leave the NFC South in a state of panic.

Even if they don't score Watson, the Panthers could nab a franchise signal-caller in a quarterback-rich draft. With innovate David Tepper operating as one of the league's most aggressive owners, prepare yourself for an active offseason potentially filled with a few jaw-dropping lever pulls.

Jimmy Johnson 2.0 resides in Charlotte.

 

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Mr. Scot Grand Master

Mr. Scot

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2 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

I hope he's right. Jimmy was a helluva coach and one of the biggest reasons why Jerry is a moron was letting his ego make him force Jimmy out. He just couldn't stand for a coach to be stealing what he thought should've been his glory.

As I recall, the downfall started when Jones got drunk and started saying stuff like the roster was so talented he could win with Barry Switzer.

And while technically he did, I don't really think anybody would say he came out on the winning end of that argument in the long term.

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Panther'sBigD Mentor

Panther'sBigD

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I can absolutely see the parallels between Johnson and Rhule. I don't see the potential for a Jones/Johnson type of rift though. 

The Jerry Jones/Jimmy Johnson dynamic was unique in that they were college teammates. Both loved football, but only one of them was actually good at it in any meaningful way. Tepper is almost old enough to be Rhule's father, and he's already a billionaire. I just don't see the 'sibling rivalry' that caused the rift between Jones and Johnson being possible in Carolina. 

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joemac Grand Master

joemac

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35 minutes ago, CarolinaSunday said:

I really like Marc Sessler of NFL.com.  He has not always been a fan of the Panthers, and Cam annoyed him a lot, but he usually has some interesting takes and he is a great writer.  He just published an article analyzing which teams are poised for a 2021 turnaround. The Panthers were second on the list:

 

As the days go on, it sure does seem like some official NFL talking heads are lending credence to the Watson to Carolina rumors....

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