Panthers Let the Great Be the Enemy of the Good.

[TheMaulClaw]

38 minutes ago, stbugs said:

We haven’t been good since 2017. 5 years of below average. Wills wasn’t going to get us out of that. We took advantage of a shitty division. We were 3-8 outside the division where no one was above .500 and the division winner got smoked at home to a wildcard team.

Wilks was a great guy but we don’t have Cam and Luke anymore. I don’t want our upside to be the Rivera Commanders.

I understand all that sentiment.  I don't think anyone does want to return to Rivera.  The purpose of the OP isn't to say Reich should or shouldn't have been hired.  It's purpose was to point out how the Panthers mismanaged the communication with Wilks.  They hired Reich's daughter weeks prior and then wag the dog with a faux coaching search.  Reich was likely the guy a month ago.  It's fine if that was case, but at least tell Wilks that. Don't string the guy out.

[TheMaulClaw]

7 minutes ago, GOAT said:

Reich helped the Eagles get a ring with Foles under center.

I understand.  In the OP I'm complimentary of Reich and I will support him.

[heel31ok]

7 minutes ago, GOAT said:

Reich helped the Eagles get a ring with Foles under center.

And doesnt cost any 1st rd picks

[raleigh-panther]

 

4 hours ago, ForJimmy said:

I’ll give him credit for the Lions and Seahawks, but those other 2 I mentioned were just embarrassing. That’s what you get with an average coach though…

And no QB …and McAdoo as coordinator and no number 2 receiver, and no pass catching TE, and only one rushing DE, and 2nd and 3rd string CBs, and LBs that are mediocre 

that’s a lot of ‘ands’ 

never a better recipe for disaster in the NFL 

[4Corners]

5 hours ago, TheMaulClaw said:

    I learned nothing from Matt Rhule. A coach who came in over his head with gimmicky sayings and an unauthentic feel.  I don't remember much of the Rhule era, it's all a blur.  A systemic response designed to prevent emotional drama, memories of Rhule have been cast out of my memory bank in an attempt at preservation.  Matt Rhule had many sayings that he used and stored for speaking engagements.  They were all hollow, non memorable, and unauthentic. His firing was a weight lifted off the city of Charlotte.  Collective exhale.  Collective relief. 

Enter Wilks.

   Wilks was able to use nostalgia as a weapon.  He knew Panther fans associated him with better times, and he seized the opportunity to recreate that mantra.  Keep Pounding and it's real meaning became a spirit rekindled.  The effort on the field.  The determination and focus in Wilks' eyes were striking.  Wilks' hyper-discipline was palpable. Yet behind his serious nature, you could see a glimpse that he was also deeply empathetic, and wise with leadership.  Relatively speaking he was a man of few words, but occasionally he would share some wise sayings.  Sayings so good we can apply it in our own lives.  "Don't let the great be the enemy of the good."  What a wonderful saying.  What thoughtful advice we can use in our own lives when it comes to risk assesment and decision making.

   Here is the thing about Charlotte, the Carolina Panthers, and winning:

The coach of the Panthers just isn't the coach of a football team.  They are Charlotte's coach.  Whenever the Panthers have been successful it's not only because the coach has galvanized the players.  It's also because the coach has galvanized the city.  In a short period of time Wilks accomplished this.  The team improved greatly.  Each week with Wilks at the helm, it felt like we had a shot.  The city of Charlotte and Panther fans felt acknowledged because of the return of our mantra, and our tradition. There is no coincidence that Wilks was able to draw the best out of the players by understanding this. This is a sign of a man who truly understands the importance of that connection. 

The Carolina Panthers obviously weren't expecting Wilks to succeed.  I actually find it hard to believe that they ever even considered Wilks.  They hired Reich's daughter weeks ago.  In retrospect, an obvious tell.  The Panthers did a false flag operation.  They leaked that WIlks was a finalist, and that he interviewed well.  They pretended like it was a painstaking decision, when really Wilks was never in consideration.  They were not honest with WIlks the way Wilks was honest to the players. It's a shame and a burned bridge that could have been saved.  A Tepper tactic that is making Carolina fans and city officials very leary.  We see this same dishonestly play out in land development deals surrounding Tepper's other ventures.

From the Panthers' perspective, they evaluated what they needed from a coaching perspective prior to firing Rhule.  They had a direction they wanted to go.  They want the quarterback situation fixed.  They want to go offensive.  It all makes sense.  It follows the latest trends.  Frank Reich is a good man, an ex Panther, and a good coach.  This isn't his fault. While the team was good under Wilks, it has the potential to be great with Reich finding a qb.  They think.

The Panthers were likely to be good next season with Wilks at the helm.  Albeit Wilks wasn't perfect.  Decisions in the Bucs game we're questionable, and the Steelers manhandled us, but we saw enough to see a clear trajectory.  We were going to be good, and that's what this city needed.

Good is not good enough for the Panthers.  Now they've put the pressure on themselves.  They better be great, because otherwise they ran a good man, and coach out of town for nothing.  I have a sneaking feeling that the Panthers let the great be the enemy of the good.

Wow thanks Hemingway 

“I learned nothing from Matt Ruhle” LMAO 

[Khyber53]

It sullies the man to claim he lost out due to conspiracy. There is dignity in not being the one chosen, but there is only shame in saying you were cheated.

[Sean Payton's Vicodin]

lol if Wilks was 1/100 as good as his fans make him out to be you'd think another team would get him in for at least a rooney rule interview.

[GOAT]

1 minute ago, Sean Payton's Vicodin said:

lol if Wilks was 1/100 as good as his fans make him out to be you'd think another team would get him in for at least a rooney rule interview.

I'm glad someone else is saying this. I hate to get into this stuff but I think we know why it's causing such a kerfuffle. 

[The Natural]

After watching the Bucs game I'm not sure how there are people still convinced Wilks was the answer. With the division on the line he coached scared and refused to make any adjustments. Geriatric Brady and Evans scorched us on go routes over and over again and nothing was changed.