Person: Abandon Ship?

[Mr. Scot]

Person's latest article in The Athletic has some interesting insights, including the possibility that the staff exodus may not be over.

Abandon Ship? Two assistants leave Matt Rhule's Panthers staff for lateral moves

Excerpts follow...

Owner David Tepper might have signed off on a third year for Rhule, but the rest of the league — and some of Rhule’s own staffers — aren’t banking on him getting a fourth.

...

Because Jackson and Simmons made lateral moves, Rhule could have blocked them from leaving — as he did with tight ends coach Brian Angelichio, according to sources. Angelichio drew interest from other teams, but Rhule did not grant them permission to interview him.

There are rumblings that other coaches also are exploring their options elsewhere.

...

The replacements Rhule is bringing in also speak to the widely held view among NFL coaches and executives that Rhule is a lame duck. Of Rhule’s four hires, three were coaches who’d been on staffs that had been fired and the fourth is a 72-year-old coaching lifer who spent the past two seasons as a special assistant to former Florida coach Dan Mullen.

...

Rhule is having a hard time convincing folks to join him, including Charlotte native Pep Hamilton, who turned down the chance to interview for Carolina’s offensive coordinator job and ended up staying in Houston in that same capacity.

None of this is a good look for the Panthers, who have gone 10-23 since Tepper made Rhule one of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches with a seven-year, $62 million contract in January 2020.

...

Rhule surrounded himself with a bunch of his former Temple and Baylor assistants when he arrived in Charlotte two years ago. His initial staff included only a handful of coaches with significant NFL experience and no one who had been a head coach.

To his credit, Rhule has gone outside of his comfort zone with his hires — offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo, special-teams coordinator Chris Tabor, offensive line coach James Campen and defensive line coach Paul Pasqualoni. None has previously worked with Rhule.

...

Between the 72-year-old Pasqualoni and Phil Snow, the Panthers’ 66-year-old defensive coordinator, the defensive staff room will have the look of an AARP potluck. But senior moments aren’t always a bad thing: Pasqualoni and Snow have forgotten more football than some coaches ever knew.

...

McAdoo was in Green Bay with Campen, who was the longest-tenured assistant coach in Packers history after lasting for 15 seasons. Unfortunately for Campen, his subsequent jobs were all one-year stopovers when he joined doomed head coaches Freddie Kitchens (Cleveland), Anthony Lynn (L.A. Chargers) and David Culley (Houston).

Campen probably shouldn’t mention that to any prospective job candidates who are considering joining Rhule, who’s having a hard enough time filling his staff.

Edited February 9, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[TheoJay10]

Younger black coaches leaving and being replaced by older white coaches. Happy black history month from the Panthers y’all!

[BurnNChinn]

And Tepper is still quiet lol

[LinvilleGorge]

It's almost like everyone knows Rhule should've already been fired. Everyone that is except for David Tepper.

[1989]

[LinvilleGorge]

1 minute ago, TheoJay10 said:

Younger black coaches leaving and being replaced by older white coaches. Happy black history month from the Panthers y’all!

Folks with a future GTFO while the gettin's good while over the hill folks rush in for one last paycheck before hitting the links.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, LinvilleGorge said:

It's almost like everyone knows Rhule should've already been fired. Everyone that is except for David Tepper.

I'd have figured Rhule's loyalists (i.e. the guys who followed him from Temple to Baylor to Carolina) would stick around, but with Jackson leaving who can say?

[BurnNChinn]

[BurnNChinn]

Any ideas who y’all think will be our coach in 23’. Rhule is done, can’t believe we just didn’t go after new hire this year. Looking forward to 23’ though. How bout u guys?

[The Lobo]

So if it’s a lateral move, he can’t block them?

What kind of a psycho won’t let his assistants leave? Would he have blocked these guys if they weren’t lateral moves? 

[The Lobo]

Just now, BurnNChinn said:

Any ideas who y’all think will be our coach in 23’. Rhule is done, can’t believe we just didn’t go after new hire this year. Looking forward to 23’ though. How bout u guys?

Beinemy plz

[Mr. Scot]

The coaches I'd consider "Rhule's guys"...

- Defensive Coordinator Phil Snow
- Runningbacks Coach Jeff Nixon
- Linebackers Coach Mike Siravo
- Cornerbacks Coach Evan Cooper
- Assistant Special Teams coordinator Ed Foley
- Strength and Conditioning Coach Jeremy Scott
- Assistant Quarterbacks Coach Matt Lombardi

Mind you, up till today that list would have included Frisman Jackson.

Of the coaches not on this list, outside of the new hire is most have some sort of connection to Rhule, but generally not as deep or as far back as these guys.

Snow, Nixon and Cooper are the ones I would say most likely remain "friends to the end". They're the ones with the strongest ties.

Still, at this point who knows?

[PNW_PantherMan]

2 minutes ago, BurnNChinn said:

Any ideas who y’all think will be our coach in 23’. Rhule is done, can’t believe we just didn’t go after new hire this year. Looking forward to 23’ though. How bout u guys?

I'm just hoping Tepper lets football people make the decision.  At this point, I don't care if it's a new consultant or they give Fitterer and Morgan the chance to hire a coach.  Tepper needs to realize he doesn't know how to hire a good coach and get out of the way.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, The Lobo said:

So if it’s a lateral move, he can’t block them?

What kind of a psycho won’t let his assistants leave? Would he have blocked these guys if they weren’t lateral moves? 

Read above. He could, and apparently in the case of Brian Angelichio he did.

As I understand it, the difference is that other teams were looking at Angelichio whereas (apparently) Jackson and Simmons expressed a desire to go elsewhere.

And if Person is correct, they might not be the last to do so.