Person: "Staff of Aces"

[Mr. Scot]

Joe Person's latest from The Athletic...

Excerpts...

With each hire Frank Reich makes, the Panthers move closer to the experience-laden staff that David Tepper envisioned — and further from the charred remnants of the Matt Rhule era.

When Tepper addressed the media after introducing Reich as the sixth head coach in team history last month, some of the first words out of Tepper’s mouth concerned the assistant coaches who might come with Reich to Charlotte.

...

“You want to have a guy that’s committed to get the best coaches in the building,” Tepper said. “When I say the best people in the building — top-10 coaches. We’re not gonna have the best person at every position coach, but top-10 people. It should be an absolute standard.”

Based on who’s been moving into the second-floor offices at Bank of America Stadium this week, Tepper might have undershot it.

...

A few things have become evident in the three weeks since Reich returned to the Carolinas: The 61-year-old coach has a ton of NFL coaches in his contacts list and isn’t shy about calling them, and Tepper is willing to pay to make sure he doesn’t make the same mistake twice.

Tepper, the NFL’s second-richest owner, has never had a problem stroking checks. Not long after buying the Panthers from Jerry Richardson, Tepper noted that while the NFL has a salary cap for players, there were no such restrictions on shelling out for coaches and facilities.

...

After giving Rhule a seven-year, $62 million contract — unprecedented for a college coach with one year of NFL experience — Tepper allowed Rhule to bring in a staff filled with a lot of guys who were with him at Temple and Baylor.

Rhule’s one splashy hire was 31-year-old offensive coordinator Joe Brady, who won a national championship as LSU’s passing game coordinator but had never been a full-time play caller.

Rhule’s entire staff in 2020 had 72 years of NFL coaching experience, according to Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. Reich, Caldwell, Capers and offensive line coach James Campen have 90 years among just the four of them.

...

One veteran AFC assistant raved about Caldwell, the 68-year-old who won Super Bowls as an assistant with the Colts and Ravens. The same coach pointed out that the Panthers still need a quarterback.

That is true. But whoever the Panthers decide to go with at quarterback will have the benefit of working with three coaches with a long track record at the position — Reich, Caldwell and McCown. That’s in addition to the offensive coordinator, who could be named as early as Friday.

...

Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown was in Charlotte on Thursday for a second interview for the OC spot, while Jaguars pass game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter also has met with Reich about the position. Eagles passing game coordinator Brian Johnson also has been linked to the Panthers. And there likely are other candidates who haven’t been identified.

“Knowing Frank,” Capers told The Athletic, “he’s gonna think things through thoroughly and make the decision he feels is gonna be best for the team.”

[JawnyBlaze]

I never thought I could get so excited about a coaching staff. I was lukewarm about Reich at first, wanted Ben Johnson but was fine with Reich when he decided not to leave Detroit, but the sum total of what he’s put together so far is incredibly impressive. 

[Mr. Scot]

Favorite quote from this article...

"...further from the charred remnants of the Matt Rhule era."

Kudos to Person for "charred remnants". That's an image I'll associate with the Matt Rhule era from here on out

[TheSpecialJuan]

Quote

And there likely are other candidates who haven’t been identified.

interesting 

[Jaxel]

I think it's abundantly clear how Reich separated himself in the interview process.

[3838]

"Staff of Aces"...

 

Sounds good. Let's do this.

[rayzor]

48 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Rhule’s entire staff in 2020 had 72 years of NFL coaching experience

surprised it was this much.

[rayzor]

seriously don't know how anyone could have done better than this.

i feel pretty certain that there will be quite a few from this staff who goes on to be head coaches somewhere.
 

[La Pantera]

3 minutes ago, rayzor said:

surprised it was this much.

Phil Snow was 70 of them.

[CarolinaRideorDie]

For all of Tepper's mistakes, everyone can agree that he is not shy about opening up the pocket book for high quality talent/coaches. I wonder how much he paid each assistant/position coaches to come here. His judgement and evaluation just sucks, hopefully he is listening to football minds now and not businessmen. At least we have an owner that does want the best and willing to pay for it. 

[Jon Snow]

5 minutes ago, rayzor said:

seriously don't know how anyone could have done better than this.

i feel pretty certain that there will be quite a few from this staff who goes on to be head coaches somewhere.
 

And that's the way it should be with a winning program.  Identifying and developing the best young coaches is as important as identifying good football players.  You are building an organization, a real professional football team. 

[jayboogieman]

2 minutes ago, Jon Snow said:

You are building an organization, a real professional football team. 

My trust in the Panthers has long been beaten out of me, so I'll believe that when they actually have back to back winning seasons and regularly start playing playoff games.

[Jon Snow]

1 minute ago, jayboogieman said:

My trust in the Panthers has long been beaten out of me, so I'll believe that when they actually have back to back winning seasons and regularly start playing playoff games.

I didn't say they would pull it off. Just saying that it's a great approach. 

[jayboogieman]

1 minute ago, Jon Snow said:

I didn't say they would pull it off. Just saying that it's a great approach. 

Fair enough