‘Absolutely invaluable’ Senior Bowl week comes to a close for Panthers coaching staff
If the bright orange signs weren’t spread around downtown, you might not have even known the Reese’s Senior Bowl and practices were happening this past week in Mobile, Alabama.
The clues were there, from the occasional notice hoping to entice someone into a bar with a “Welcome, Senior Bowl!” to people walking the street decked out in a specific NFL team’s attire. But even those were rare.
The Senior Bowl typically marks the official start of the offseason. It means that draft season has officially begun and its time to break out the mocks. “The draft starts in Mobile.” That designation did not change in 2021, but instead of filling up the city with the NFL community, this year’s event was limited.
But the Senior Bowl is still the biggest in-person draft event likely to happen before the NFL draft in April due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
Which is all the more reason why Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule wanted his staff to coach the Senior Bowl. Only the Panthers and Miami Dolphins’ entire staffs were allowed to come down for the week, while getting tested daily for COVID-19. The other 30 NFL teams were capped at sending 10 representatives.
Many of the top players don’t take part in the week, and the coaching staff was reduced by four due to COVID-19-related issues with three coaches, including offensive coordinator Joe Brady, and special teams coordinator Chase Blackburn having a personal matter.
But the Panthers were able to spend significant time with draft-eligible players on both teams, getting to know the things that don’t show up on tape and how they perform while adjusting to Carolina’s coaching style in a reduced amount of time.
“This has been absolutely, absolutely invaluable,” Rhule said Thursday. “It’s one thing to watch another coach coach them, but to hear (offensive line coach) Pat Meyer say, ‘Hey, do this, because that’s what we do in Carolina,’ and and then see the guy do it. I think is really good. Being on the field with him I think is really good.”
Rhule described how he was able to start a conversation with players he had recruited in high school when simply going to get a cup of coffee. Several times throughout the daily two-hour practices from Tuesday-Thursday, while the position coaches worked with team on drills, Rhule and defensive coordinator Phil Snow worked one-on-one with players on the field.
Practice was conducted in a similar manner that a typical Panthers one would be and what happened in those, and in the game even, will be important. While many consider the game played on Saturday the least important part of the week, Rhule said that it is important to their evaluations.
“I think for for all the players, I think playing in the game is vital. I think (former general manager) Marty (Hurney) and (executive director of player personnel) Jeff Morrow told me last year, the year before, the guys who played well in the game, had a really good first year. We evaluate everything all the way through,” Rhule said. “For me, I’d like to see as much as I can of everybody and see what they do when the bullets are flying and the game’s real.”
One example of that? UCF safety Richie Grant. Rhule pointed out the defensive back as someone he would love to have on his team when asked after the game, noting his willingness to play out of position at cornerback due to injuries.
“A lot of guys wouldn’t do that,” Rhule said. “Richie Grant’s a football guy.”
The on-field work isn’t the only thing that matters, however. The classroom portion of the week, behind closed doors, is key, too.
“A big part of the NFL is being able to take what you learned in the classroom onto the field.,” running backs coach Jeff Nixon said this week. “Just being able to see that firsthand, the guys that can do it, can take what we’re teaching them and instantly be able to go out there and apply it on the field is definitely beneficial for our staff.”
It’s easy to see why this week would be beneficial to the Panthers. It’s a chance to see players up close and personal for a week before you likely draft some of them — or chose not to. But at a time dominated by a pandemic, several NFL teams turned down the opportunity to do so. It makes sense for the Dolphins to jump at the chance with a bounty of early draft picks.
For Carolina, while the offseason focus has been on the quarterback, this is a team with many needs, from offensive line to tight end to cornerback. Those holes makes it that much more important for this team in this year, just after hiring a general manager in Scott Fitterer, who is known for his experience with drafting and scouting.
Don’t be surprised to see some of the players from this past week end up as Panthers. It happened last year and the odds will only go up. There’s a reason the Panthers fought for this game to take place despite the circumstances.
▪ North Carolina running back Michael Carter was named the top running back on his Senior Bowl team, coached by the Dolphins. The award was voted on by the linebacker and safety groups on the team. He capped off his week with a good performance in the game, including scoring a touchdown.
▪ Alabama quarterback Mac Jones rolled his left ankle in Thursday’s practice and did not participate in Saturday’s game. During a mid-game interview with NFL Network, Jones said that his ankle was still “stinging” a little bit and he did not want to take any risks.
Rhule said after the game it was hard to judge the remaining quarterbacks, Texas A&M’s Kellan Mond and Wake Forest/Georgia quarterback Jamie Newman, on their performance due to injuries on the offensive line. Only six linemen were available.
▪ All players and NFL team personnel had a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of arriving at the Senior Bowl. They continued to be tested every day in Mobile. There was only one positive test out of a total of 3,635 administered, per executive director Jim Nagy.
▪ Rhule said he was happy with how the assistant coaches filling in did during the game. A different offensive assistant each coached a quarter of football, but were limited to certain plays due to the rules of the game.
▪ South Carolina wide receiver Shi Smith had a 32-yard catch and run from Texas A&M quarterback Kellan Mond in the third quarter of the game.
▪ During the game broadcast on NFL Network, it was indicated that Panthers owner David Tepper was on the sideline, but that is incorect. Tepper flew in and out of Mobile on Saturday.
