Panthers mailbag: Answering questions about Carolina’s search for a head coach
The Panthers are looking for a new head coach, something they haven’t had to do in nine years.
There’s a lot of questions involved in the process and variables that have to be considered. Because there is so much information out there, we decided to answer some of the need-to-know questions about the Panthers’ head coaching search and what is involved in the process.
What’s the latest with the search?
There are a handful of candidates that have become the clear focus as of now: Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, Baylor coach Matt Rhule, Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski and Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. Interim head coach Perry Fewell is another candidate for the job, but he does not meet many of the qualities the team is looking for, including someone with an offensive background.
The Panthers have not yet formally expressed interest in Ravens offensive coordinator Greg Roman. As this past week was Baltimore’s bye week and the best time to interview Roman, as the Browns did, it appears he may be out of the equation as of now.
The team reportedly met with former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy twice, but according to multiple reports he is set to become the new Cowboys head coach. The team has also interviewed Bieniemy.
But the Panthers have a busy week ahead. They were unable to meet with McDaniels this past week as the Patriots played on Wild Card weekend, but with the loss to the Titans, McDaniels is now free to interview. Despite the Vikings upsetting the Saints on Sunday, Stefanski can interview with teams this week and is expected to meet with the Panthers as Minnesota prepares for the Divisional Round. Rhule’s collegiate season concluded last week with a Sugar Bowl loss, but the Panthers will be able to interview him this week as well, reportedly on Monday.
What does the head coach hiring mean for the future assistant general manager/vice president of football operations the team will hire?
The head coach that is hired will play a large role in who fills that position in the front office. Depending on who the Panthers hire, the coach may have someone in mind that they would like to place in the front office and have working with general manager Marty Hurney. What the responsibilities of someone in that job will look like will only become clearer after the candidate is hired.
Does the team’s next head coach need to have NFL experience? How much does that matter?
When Panthers owner David Tepper met with the media following the firing of Ron Rivera, he said that they would prefer to hire a coach with NFL experience, but that they weren’t closing the door on college candidates. Hence Rhule being considered.
Having a coach with NFL experience allows for someone to come into the role with less to learn about the league and with significant knowledge about the NFL process. It also can only help with the level of NFL experience the assistants and other staff the new coach brings to the team.
Rhule spent one season with the Giants in 2012 as the assistant offensive line coach. While he has plenty of other enticing characteristics for the team’s future head coach, including his leadership and his ability to connect with players, his limited NFL experience will be viewed as a disadvantage by the Panthers, which is why they are mostly looking at candidates who have spent more time in professional football.
College coaches have come into the NFL and shown success can be had, but often not right away. Having as little a learning curve as possible is an advantage when settling into an NFL head coaching job. Two of the major candidates have NFL head coaching experience, McCarthy and McDaniels. Any candidate with that experience may have a bit of an edge in terms of having a team ready to compete sooner rather than later. Not only that, but they will know more about the league as a whole and have relationships with potential free agent players that may want to come play for them.
Have the Panthers complied with the Rooney Rule and what does that entail?
The Rooney Rule is an NFL league policy that was established in 2003 requiring teams to interview an ethnic-minority candidate for head coaching jobs. It is named after former Steelers owner Dan Rooney, who led the effort to create such a policy. Since it was implemented, the rule has also since been expanded to general manager searches.
Carolina will fulfill the rule by interviewing Fewell and Bieniemy. But there is a larger conversation to be had about the NFL’s policies on minority candidates. When the Panthers fired Rivera, they were letting go of one of four minority head coaches in the NFL (Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, Dolphins coach Brian Flores and Chargers coach Anthony Lynn). The number of NFL minority coaches has diminished in the last year after there were eight total during the 2018 season.
Whatever the direction the Panthers go with their head coaching hire, they will have fulfilled the rule; however, the majority of coaches interviewed will be white. It will be interesting to see down the line how the rule may be changed to give more minorities opportunities.
What would make the Panthers a good place for candidates?
This year features less head coaching vacancies than in years prior, which is good for the Panthers. It means that they will have a better chance of getting their top choice to accept a job offer.
However, there are a few things about the Panthers job that may make it not the most appealing. Most importantly, there is uncertainty at the quarterback position. With Cam Newton’s injury, it is unclear if he will be healthy, and even if he is, its uncertain if the team will decide to keep him with his recent injury history. Outside of Newton, there isn’t a starting quarterback on the roster. The level of unknown with Newton and the quarterback position as a whole may be a turnoff.
But there are question marks across the roster beyond quarterback. Seven of the 11 defensive starters will be free agents. But that could be a positive for a head coach. They will have their chance to make a mark on what the team looks like going forward.
What makes the Panthers different from the rest of the teams searching for a new head coach is that there is a level of unknown with Tepper. This will be the first head coach the owner has hired and with that comes uncertainty. Will he show patience in letting a coach have time to build success as he has indicated in recent comments? Or will he look to hire someone new after a couple years of underwhelming performance?
What is enticing about this team is that there are good pieces to build around. From Christian McCaffrey to Luke Kuechly to Kawann Short, they have strong pieces that they will likely be looking to extend even further this offseason. The Panthers have some cornerstones in place for the foreseeable future. This is also a growing organization that is going to have a brand new practice facility in Rock Hill and has the richest owner in the league who wants to devote even more resources to the team.
This story was originally published January 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
