What Matt Rhule had to say about Cam Newton and building his Panthers coaching staff
Matt Rhule lived up to the hype Wednesday during his introductory news conference as the Carolina Panthers’ head coach — he wasn’t afraid to admit what he doesn’t know, and he’s eager to learn.
Here are the highlights of Rhule’s news conference. Stay tuned to CharlotteObserver.com for deeper coverage of Carolina’s new coach throughout the day.
David Tepper’s opening comments on Matt Rhule
- We planned on this process taking longer, but we pulled up to Matt Rhule’s house in Waco, Texas, just as he was getting back from his trip to Mexico. I helped him bring his bags into his house.
- Halfway through the interview, GM Marty Hurney starts breaking down and said we had to stop interviewing and go into recruiting mode. We saw we had something special and we had to get him to Charlotte.
Matt Rhule’s opening comments with the Panthers
- I really believe in what I believe. I believe in process and doing things the right way. It’s great to see the outpouring of support from the community and the organization.
- Thank you to David Tepper for trusting me with your prized football franchise. I will work every day to make the Panthers proud.
- Anyone who knows me knows I’m all about family. I was sick one day when I was working at Western Carolina but still had to recruit so my wife, Julie, drove me all around Mecklenberg County to help me recruit.
- Why did I want to leave Baylor for the NFL? I start every question in my life with “why?” I love the game of football. I grew up in NYC with basketball all around me, but I loved football. I went to Penn State, wasn’t great, but I got to play, and that got me into coaching and meeting all different types of people. I thought to myself, “what do I want?” I decided I wanted to be part of football, the greatest game, at the highest level — I just had to figure out where. I met Steve Smith and Julius Peppers today — you see the greatness that has been in this franchise. We want to build a team that cares about each other and plays for each other, and that starts with me.
- The Carolina region deserves a championship. The players who have come before us deserve that. The players who are in that locker room, who I just met deserve that.
- I was looking for an owner and general manager that believes in that, and I think I found that.
- I want guys who want to be the best, whether they’re playing Madden or playing in a championship game.
- We’re so excited to raise our kids here. We want to give back to this community. We want to be a part of here.
Matt Rhule’s answer to media questions
His thoughts on quarterback Cam Newton being part of the Panthers moving forward: To be quite fair, I haven’t had a chance to talk to Marty Hurney in detail about Cam Newton or any specific player. I had a chance to talk to Cam Newton yesterday and I have the utmost respect for him. And he wanted to talk to me about the future, not the past.
How can you transition from the college game to the NFL? I think it comes down to people. I had a chance to work under Tom Coughlin at the Giants and it was a great experience, then I went back to college. If you look at the guys I coached at Temple and Baylor, we have a lot of guys who went to the pros, and that’s because I’m demanding and demanding of myself. The college thing may be true for a lot of guys, but I had a unique process.
How are you looking to fill your staff? I’ll have a mixed and diverse staff. I have a lot of guys that I know who are interested in coming here. I’m getting calls from guys who want to be a part of it. People around football are excited about David Tepper. You see an owner, GM and head coach who aren’t forcing themselves to do things, they see things the same way, and that’s how you win championship. So many people in this league have told me to not rush the hiring, so I won’t rush it.
Do you set a priority on bringing a veteran NFL guy to this coaching staff? The key piece is bringing in a veteran guy in who can mentor me, speak truth to me and speak truth to power. I need a right-hand guy. When I hire assistants, I look for guys who are great teachers. They bring out the best in others. Old, young, it doesn’t matter.
Thoughts on the roster and how to build it? I can’t talk in great depth. I know some key pieces and have watched three, four, five games. My next steps are to get to know some guys and watch some film, then build a staff.
Can you walk us through your conversation with the Giants after taking this job? I never talked to anyone else but the Panthers. I don’t want to speak poorly about the Giants or anyone, but my agent took care of other conversations.
How do you and David Tepper define success in 2020, and what’s sustained success? Sustained success is the mind-set of being the best at everything. I won’t talk about winning Super Bowls, but if you’re great at everything, Super Bowls will come. I’m still learning this roster. If we’re 8-8, we’re going to be the best 8-8 team ever. We talk about building, we talk about process. I don’t believe in setting short-term goals. We set long-term goals and that’s how you bring a championship to Carolina.
This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 2:37 PM.
