Hiring Matt Rhule just the start of the Panthers’ to-do list. Here’s what comes next
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Panthers hire Matt Rhule
Expanded coverage of Carolina’s new head coach
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The Panthers have hired Matt Rhule to be the team’s next head coach. Check the first big step off the team’s offseason to-do list.
But finding the team’s next coach was always just the first step in the process. It’s by no means the answer to everything the Panthers have to figure out. From the quarterback situation to hiring front office staff and new assistant coaches, the Panthers still have a lot of work to do before the 2020 season gets underway.
What is next for Rhule? Outside of moving from Waco, Texas, to Charlotte, what are the next steps in what may be the biggest offseason in Panthers’ history?
1. Hire assistants
What comes immediately next for the Panthers is to bring in the rest of Rhule’s coaching staff. The biggest piece Rhule was missing from owner David Tepper’s list of qualities for the team’s next head coach was NFL experience. Every other significant candidate who was interviewed had worked in the league for some time or even had experience as a head coach in the NFL.
Rhule, on the other hand, has only spent one year in the NFL as an assistant offensive line coach with the New York Giants in 2012. Getting coaches around him with experience in the pros seems like it will be a key step in the process. Bringing in people who know what to expect from the NFL would only help Rhule’s first season and alleviate any of the concern that may come from the head coach missing that one characteristic.
Although many names have been thrown around for filling the coordinator spots, some have stood out as the strongest possibilities. For defensive coordinator, Phil Snow, who held the same role under Rhule at both Baylor and Temple, is a major candidate for the role. On the offensive side, Lions quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan is a name closely associated with the coordinator job. Ryan and Rhule were offensive assistants on the 2012 Giants staff together.
Another name that has been linked to the offensive coordinator job is LSU passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach Joe Brady. The 30-year-old has revolutionized LSU’s offense with the unit breaking school records and quarterback Joe Burrow winning the Heisman Trophy. LSU plays Clemson in the College Football Playoff national championship game Monday, but Brady is already in high demand despite his limited experience. This is his first year with the Tigers after spending two years as an offensive assistant with the Saints. Before that he was a graduate assistant at Penn State, where Rhule played college football.
Tepper said multiple times Wednesday that Rhule would have access to many “resources” courtesy of the NFL’s richest owner. If the Panthers really want Brady, they will be able to outbid LSU and any NFL team in terms of financial compensation.
At his introductory news conference, Rhule said that he and general manager Marty Hurney would meet to discuss who to bring in and that it would likely be a mix of former Baylor assistants and other coaches.
“I want to have a diverse staff and a mixed staff, I think I have one of the best staffs in football at Baylor. A lot of my guys got to Baylor from the NFL, so a lot of my guys have NFL experience,” Rhule said. “I think two things. One, a lot of guys that I know are interested in coming here, and there are a lot of people who are really excited about this organization. They are excited about what Mr. Tepper and Marty have already started, so I’m getting calls from guys saying I want to be a part of that. ...The advice I’ve gotten from so many people in this league is don’t rush, get the right people in, so that’s what I’m going to do.”
Other members of the 2012 Giants staff are also likely to be considered for jobs. Former Panthers interim head coach Perry Fewell happened to be the defensive coordinator on that team, but seems unlikely to be considered for a role.
A more veteran coordinator or assistant, such as former Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips or former Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner, will also be considered possibly for other roles outside of coordinator to help assist Rhule’s transition. He said that in each of his previous head-coaching jobs he has had a veteran coach to work alongside and learn from. Expect the same in Carolina.
2. Hire an assistant GM
In addition to hiring a coaching staff, the Panthers need to address the front office. They still have a big position to fill in the assistant general manager/vice president of football operations. The person who is hired will be working alongside Hurney so he can focus on scouting, however, it remains unclear exactly how the relationship will work.
Hurney and Rhule will work together to find someone for the role, and the process may take some time. This will be a major hire to get a sense of where the team’s football operations department will go next and how the personnel responsibilities will be spread or shared between Hurney, Rhule and the assistant GM.
3. Figure out the quarterback situation
This step will take more time for Rhule and the Panthers this offseason. It’s unclear yet how much of a role the new head coach will play in the process of deciding what the best option is with franchise quarterback Cam Newton, but much of the responsibility will fall to Tepper and Hurney.
Newton only played two games in 2019 after suffering a Lisfranc injury. He had surgery on his left foot in December and has been rehabbing in his hometown of Atlanta. The Panthers likely won’t have a full look at how his rehab has gone until closer to the 2020 NFL Draft in the spring. Newton has also had two shoulder surgeries. A consistent clean bill of health has been hard to attain lately for the 30-year-old.
The Panthers can save $19.1 million by letting him go this offseason or by trading him. Both options are on the table.
Neither of the two other quarterbacks on the roster — Will Grier and Kyle Allen — are likely long-term options, at least not yet. The Panthers do have the seventh overall pick in the draft and things could get interesting with Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa entering the draft, but it’s likely he won’t be available when Carolina picks. Drafting a quarterback, in the first round or later, will be on the table for a second straight year, as well as possibly picking up a veteran in free agency.
4. Free agency
No matter who the Panthers hired to be their next coach, the Panthers were going to be a different looking team in 2020.
Seven of the 11 defensive starters are entering free agency this offseason, from cornerback James Bradberry to safety Tre Boston.
There will be important decisions made, especially with Bradberry, about who the team should seek out, retain and how to fill the spots that players will leave behind. Some of it will occur through the draft, but the team will likely have to make big free acquisitions once again.
What is interesting with Rhule is that he doesn’t have as many pre-established relationships with NFL players to entice them to come to Carolina. There are exceptions, like Jets WR Robby Anderson, who is a free agent this year and played under Rhule at Temple. But part of the reason Bruce Irvin and Gerald McCoy chose the Panthers in 2019 was to play for former coach Ron Rivera. Not as many players will likely be inclined to come to Carolina for Rhule.
Even veteran tight end Greg Olsen’s future is up in the air. Although he has a year remaining on his contract, the Panthers could save $8.1 million by cutting him. Olsen could decide to retire this offseason and begin a career in broadcasting; he prepared for the final game of 2019 like it was his last. Some of Olsen’s future lies in the hands of the Panthers, among the many personnel decisions that need to be made.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
