The Wild Card

[Mr. Scot]

A lot of unknowns exist going into next season, but it could be suggested that there's few bigger than this one.

New team president Danny Morrison is not only new to the Panthers, but new to the NFL as well. All his previous administrative experience is at the college level. That fact could naturally lead him to take a cautious approach to running an NFL team, but a look back at Morrison's profile would suggest that he's known as a fast learner and, while careful, is certainly no coward. He may not be afraid to put his own stamp on things.

Role wise, Morrison is primarily concerned with the business side of the team. That means the ultimate power on football matters resides in the hands of Marty Hurney. That said, Hurney and coach John Fox have certainly made a misstep or two of late. Would Morrison feel comfortable looking over their shoulders on future decisions? Would they feel comfortable having him there?

Maybe more to the point, is that what Jerry Richardson wants? It's been suggested that prior team president Mark Richardson sometimes put his hand in day-to-day operations. Is the Big Cat asking Morrison to be hands-on like his son (and do a better job) or hands-off in order to let the "football people" do their jobs? For that matter, did Morrison play any role in the decision to keep Fox and Hurney through next season? Right now, it's unknown, and the notoriously tight-lipped Panthers aren't likely to say.

Easily one of the biggest stories of this past offseason was Jerry Richardson's decision to essentially fire his own sons and hire Morrison. Since Morrison has assumed the roles of both Richardson boys, he's logically more powerful now than either of them was before. How will having all that responsibility consolidated onto a single desk affect the way the team is run?

The next offseason is now upon us, and this is the time where team officials do their thing. So fans are now set to wonder exactly what sort of "things" Morrision will do. And, of course, to hope that whatever he does is good.

For the moment though, we don't know much.

And thus, in an offseason that could see a lot of uproar, a fair amount of uncertainty (especially given the labor situation) and a number of important decisions needing to be made, Morrison is arguably one of the biggest wild cards in the Panthers organization, if not the biggest.

[Guild]

Maybe he'll get a crazy new idea. Like Playoff chances = asses in seats. asses in seats = more money. No #17 = better Playoff chances. Thus no #17 = more money.

[Mr. Scot]

Maybe he'll get a crazy new idea. Like Playoff chances = asses in seats. asses in seats = more money. No #17 = better Playoff chances. Thus no #17 = more money.

That's one of the big decisions in question.

The one thing I'd really like to know right now is whether he had any part in the decision to keep Fox and Hurney or if that was strictly Richardson's call.

[Guild]

That's one of the big decisions in question.

The one thing I'd really like to know right now is whether he had any part in the decision to keep Fox and Hurney or if that was strictly Richardson's call.

I imagine it was Richardson's call but I think we'd be crazy if we thought that there wasn't important input on the subject from a variety of people including the team president.