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Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera finalized his remade staff Tuesday by hiring veteran special teams coach Bruce DeHaven and former Appalachian State assistant Lance Taylor.
DeHaven, who has 26 years of NFL coaching experience, will assist special teams coordinator Richard Rodgers, who took over on an interim basis last fall after Brian Murphy was fired. Rodgers was given the title last month. DeHaven spent the past three seasons in Buffalo, where he oversaw a special teams unit that ranked first in the league in punt returns and fourth in kickoff returns in 2012.
The Bills’ kickoff coverage was the league’s best in 2011.
Taylor, Appalachian State’s receivers coach in 2009, will serve as the Panthers’ offensive quality control coach and assistant receivers coach. Taylor walked on at Alabama as a player and was a team captain in 2003 when Panthers offensive coordinator Mike Shula was the Crimson Tide’s coach.
Taylor was a low-level, offensive assistant for three years with the New York Jets.
Wells rejoins Panthers: Offensive lineman Justin Wells, waived by the Panthers last summer, has signed a future contract with the team. Wells was undrafted out of St. Augustine’s in Raleigh in 2011, and attended the Panthers’ rookie camp as a tryout player last May.
