Panthers Deny Wrongdoing In Tommy Stevens Pursuit
Last month, seventh-round pick Tommy Stevens found himself in the headlines after a strange tug-of-war between the Saints and Panthers. The Saints, after trading away their entire Day 3 haul, hoped to sign the Mississippi State quarterback as an undrafted free agent. The Saints and Panthers reportedly wound up in a bidding war for him before the conclusion of the draft, prompting Sean Payton to trade back into the draft to nab Stevens at No. 240 overall. 
It seems that both teams violated league rules which allow for teams to chat with potential UDFAs before the draft is over, but forbid actual negotiations. For his part, Panthers GM Marty Hurney says he did not do anything “out of bounds”.
“That’s not — what we did is we did have several conversations with Tommy before the draft. He had history with [offensive coordinator] Joe Brady (at Penn State). We thought that if we didn’t have a chance to draft him that he was one of the guys on our list. But it didn’t go any further than that,” Hurney said (via Joe Person of The Athletic).
The league may or may not agree after completing an investigation into the matter. If the Saints and/or Panthers are found to have violated league rules, they could be penalized with fines or the forfeiture of future draft picks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 5/30/20
Here are Saturday’s minor moves:
Carolina Panthers
- Waived: LB Sione Teuhema
Contract Details: 5/29/20
Here are the details on a few recently-signed contracts:
- Eli Apple, CB (Panthers): One year. $3MM, including $750K signing bonus. Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
- Anthony Chickillo, LB (Saints): One year. Veteran salary benefit. $1.047MM base salary ($68,750 guaranteed). Twitter link via Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football.
- Carlos Hyde, RB (Seahawks): One year, max value of $4MM. $1.5MM base salary, $750K signing bonus, $500K in per game roster bonuses. Up to $1.25MM in incentives. Twitter link via Rapoport.
Panthers Sign CB Eli Apple
Several weeks after his Raiders deal fell through, Eli Apple secured another free agency agreement. The Panthers announced Thursday they signed the veteran cornerback.
Apple and the Panthers agreed to a one-year deal, according to Joe Person of The Athletic (on Twitter). This will help fill the void James Bradberry created when he defected to the Giants in March. A former Giants first-round pick, Apple will have a clear track to a starting job with the Panthers.
During one of the most defense-heavy drafts in NFL history, Carolina did select two corners. But the team did not address this position until the fourth round. Prior to Apple, the Panthers had not made a notable free agent investment at corner this offseason, either. Pro Football Focus graded none of Carolina’s incumbent corners higher than 89th at the position last season. Donte Jackson, a 2018 second-rounder, resides as the Panthers’ top cornerback holdover. Bradberry had served as Carolina’s No. 1 corner throughout his career.
Apple, 24, agreed to a one-year, $6MM Raiders pact in March. But on April 2, the former Ohio State standout returned to free agency. This takes one of free agency’s top corners off the market, though the likes of Logan Ryan and Darqueze Dennard remain unsigned.
The Giants traded Apple to the Saints during the 2018 season, and he delivered more stable work in New Orleans after a rocky tenure in New York. Apple started 25 games for the Saints. He will follow Teddy Bridgewater east to be part of Matt Rhule‘s rebuild effort.
Longest-Tenured GMs In The NFL
When we ran down the longest-tenured head coaches in the NFL, we found that less than half of the league’s current coaches have been in their positions for more than three years. That’s not quite the case with general managers, but there have been plenty of changes in recent years.
A handful of general managers have gotten to take their coats off and stay for a long while. Among coaches, Bill Belichick had joined his team prior to 2003. Here, you’ll see that five GMs have been with their teams since before ’03 (Belichick, of course, is also on this list). Two of those five – Jerry Jones and Mike Brown – are outliers, since they’re team owners and serve as de facto GMs. But the Patriots, Steelers, and Saints, have all had the same general managers making their roster decisions for well over a decade.
Here’s the complete list of the NFL’s longest-tenured GMs, along with the date they took over the job:
- Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys): April 18, 1989[1]
- Mike Brown (Cincinnati Bengals): August 5, 1991[2]
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000[3]
- Kevin Colbert (Pittsburgh Steelers): February 18, 2000[4]
- Mickey Loomis (New Orleans Saints): May 14, 2002
- Rick Spielman (Minnesota Vikings): May 30, 2006[5]
- Thomas Dimitroff (Atlanta Falcons): January 13, 2008
- John Schneider (Seattle Seahawks): January 19, 2010[6]
- Howie Roseman (Philadelphia Eagles): January 29, 2010
- John Elway (Denver Broncos): January 5, 2011[7]
- Les Snead (St. Louis Rams): February 10, 2012
- David Caldwell (Jacksonville Jaguars): January 8, 2013
- Steve Keim (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2013
- Tom Telesco (San Diego Chargers): January 9, 2013
- Jason Licht (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 21, 2014
- Ryan Pace (Chicago Bears): January 8, 2015
- Chris Grier (Miami Dolphins): January 4, 2016
- Bob Quinn (Detroit Lions): January 8, 2016
- Jon Robinson (Tennessee Titans): January 14, 2016
- John Lynch (San Francisco 49ers): January 29, 2017
- Chris Ballard (Indianapolis Colts): January 30, 2017
- Brandon Beane (Buffalo Bills): May 9, 2017
- Brett Veach (Kansas City Chiefs): July 11, 2017
- Marty Hurney (Carolina Panthers): July 19, 2017
- Dave Gettleman (New York Giants): December 28, 2017
- Brian Gutekunst (Green Bay Packers): January 7, 2018
- Mike Mayock (Oakland Raiders): December 31, 2018
- Joe Douglas (New York Jets): June 7, 2019
- Eric DeCosta (Baltimore Ravens): January 7, 2019[8]
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020[9]
- Andrew Berry (Cleveland Browns): January 27, 2020
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 28, 2020
Footnotes:
- Jones has been the Cowboys’ de facto general manager since former GM Tex Schramm resigned in April 1989.
- Brown has been the Bengals’ de facto GM since taking over as the team’s owner in August 1991.
- Belichick has been the Patriots’ de facto GM since shortly after being hired as the team’s head coach in January 2000.
- Colbert was initially hired as the team’s director of football operations and received the newly-created general manager title in 2011.
- Spielman was initially hired as the team’s VP of player personnel and received the GM title in 2012.
- While Schneider holds the title of GM, head coach Pete Carroll has the final say on roster moves for the Seahawks.
- Elway was initially hired as the team’s executive VP of football operations and received the GM title in 2014.
- In 2018, the Ravens announced that DeCosta would replace Ozzie Newsome as GM for Ozzie Newsome after the conclusion of the season. The Ravens’ ’18 season ended with their Wild Card loss to the Chargers on 1/6/19.
- Technically, the Redskins do not have a GM, as of this writing. Rivera is, effectively, their GM, working in tandem with Vice President of Player Personnel Kyle Smith. Smith may receive the GM title in the near future.
Tagovailoa, Brown Have Offset Language
Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and Panthers defensive lineman Derrick Brown have offset language in their contracts, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. So far, they’re the only two first-round picks to have their deals in place, so that’s an indication most of the Top 32 will follow suit. 
Rookie contracts for NFL draft picks are cut-and-dry, for the most part, thanks to the slotting system. However, offset language is usually the biggest barrier to an agreement. If a player with offset language is released midway through the contract and signs elsewhere, the original team is only on the hook for the difference in salary between the two deals. Without offset language, the player can effectively collect two paychecks. Naturally, agents try to preserve that potential earning power while owners push back.
Breer expects just about every first-round pick to make the same concession, except for Jaguars first-round picks C.J. Henderson (No. 9 overall) and K’Lavon Chaisson (No. 20 overall). Historically, the Jaguars have not pushed offsets on players, but most teams do. It would only make sense for teams to insist on offsets, particularly following this truly unprecedented evaluation period. In essence, offset language serves as a bit of insurance against the possibility of a draft bust.
On the whole, the Dolphins are excited about Tagovailoa’s potential, despite his surgically-repaired hip and other past issues on his medical chart. In accordance with his slot at No. 5 overall, he’ll make just over $30MM over the course of a four-year deal. Brown, meanwhile, is set to make just under $24MM over the course of his four year deal with the Panthers. As first round picks, both deals will include fifth-year options. They’ll also come with a bit of extra protection, thanks to the offset language included within.
Longest-Tenured Head Coaches In The NFL
Things move fast in today’s NFL and the old adage of “coaches are hired to be fired” has seemingly never been more true. For the most part, teams change their coaches like they change their underwear. 
A head coach can take his team to the Super Bowl, or win the Super Bowl, or win multiple Super Bowls, but they’re never immune to scrutiny. Just ask Tom Coughlin, who captured his second ring with the Giants after the 2011 season, only to receive his pink slip after the 2015 campaign.
There are also exceptions. Just look at Bill Belichick, who just wrapped up his 20th season at the helm in New England. You’ll also see a few others on this list, but, for the most part, most of today’s NFL head coaches are relatively new to their respective clubs. And, history dictates that many of them will be elsewhere when we check in on this list in 2022.
Over one-third (12) of the NFL’s head coaches have coached no more than one season with their respective teams. Meanwhile, less than half (15) have been with their current clubs for more than three years. It seems like just yesterday that the Cardinals hired Kliff Kingsbury, right? It sort of was – Kingsbury signed on with the Cardinals in January of 2019. Today, he’s practically a veteran.
Here’s the list of the current head coaches in the NFL, ordered by tenure, along with their respective start dates:
- Bill Belichick (New England Patriots): January 27, 2000
- Sean Payton (New Orleans Saints): January 18, 2006
- Mike Tomlin (Pittsburgh Steelers): January 27, 2007
- John Harbaugh (Baltimore Ravens): January 19, 2008
- Pete Carroll (Seattle Seahawks): January 9, 2010
- Andy Reid (Kansas City Chiefs): January 4, 2013
- Bill O’Brien (Houston Texans): January 2, 2014
- Mike Zimmer (Minnesota Vikings): January 15, 2014
- Dan Quinn (Atlanta Falcons): February 2, 2015
- Doug Pederson (Philadelphia Eagles): January 18, 2016
- Sean McDermott (Buffalo Bills): January 11, 2017
- Doug Marrone (Jacksonville Jaguars): December 19, 2016 (interim; permanent since 2017)
- Anthony Lynn (Los Angeles Chargers): January 12, 2017
- Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams): January 12, 2017
- Kyle Shanahan (San Francisco 49ers): February 6, 2017
- Matt Nagy (Chicago Bears): January 7, 2018
- Matt Patricia (Detroit Lions): February 5, 2018
- Frank Reich (Indianapolis Colts): February 11, 2018
- Jon Gruden (Las Vegas Raiders): January 6, 2018
- Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans): January 20, 2018
- Kliff Kingsbury (Arizona Cardinals): January 8, 2019
- Zac Taylor (Cincinnati Bengals): February 4, 2019
- Vic Fangio (Denver Broncos): January 10, 2019
- Matt LaFleur (Green Bay Packers): January 8, 2019
- Brian Flores (Miami Dolphins): February 4, 2019
- Adam Gase (New York Jets): January 11, 2019
- Bruce Arians (Tampa Bay Buccaneers): January 8, 2019
- Ron Rivera (Washington Redskins): January 1, 2020
- Matt Rhule (Carolina Panthers): January 7, 2020
- Mike McCarthy (Dallas Cowboys): January 7, 2020
- Joe Judge (New York Giants): January 8, 2020
- Kevin Stefanski (Cleveland Browns): January 13, 2020
Russell Okung’s NFLPA Battle Continues
Russell Okung won’t go down without a fight. The Panthers tackle says he will appeal the dismissal of his unfair labor claim against the NFLPA (Twitter link). The National Labor Relations Board turned down Okung’s case just last week.
Okung claims NFLPA leader DeMaurice Smith pushed the CBA vote through to union-wide vote, despite the opposition of the executive committee. Some established vets and union leaders, including Okung, were vocal in their disapproval, but the union’s rules didn’t necessarily require their yes vote.
The executive committee voted 6-5 in February not to recommend the owners’ CBA pitch, and after the NFL Draft Combine meeting, the exec committee was reportedly at 7-4 against recommending the CBA. The key word there is “recommending” – the NFLPA’s bylaws do not necessarily require a thumbs-up from that group. After that, the union’s 32-player board voted to send the proposal to the entire player body.
“We look forward to a neutral party scrutinizing the NFLPA leadership’s history of circumventing and ignoring the union’s constitutional mandates and failure to represent the best interests of the labor force, culminating in a flawed, disappointing Collective Bargaining Agreement and forcing out of a leadership position a person who has shown enormous courage in fighting for players’ rights and protections,” Okung’s attorney said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Okung is gearing up for his new team in advance of the 2020 season. The Chargers shipped Okung to the Panthers in March and received guard Trai Turner in exchange.
“I made it really clear, I’m not here to just rebuild,” Okung said recently (via ESPN.com’s David Newton). “I’m here to win, and win right now.”
Panthers To Hire Pat Stewart As Player Personnel Director
After a short stay with the Eagles, longtime scout Pat Stewart will receive a major opportunity elsewhere. The Panthers are hiring Stewart as their director of player personnel, Albert Breer of SI.com tweets.
Stewart has spent the bulk of his NFL career with the Patriots, serving as a scout for most of his 11-year tenure with the team. The Eagles hired him in 2018 to be a national scout. This marks another climb up the ladder for the veteran staffer.
Stewart and Matt Rhule worked together at multiple college programs in the mid-2000s. After Stewart opted for an NFL path in 2007, Rhule stayed at the college level. They will reunite in Charlotte.
Both were on Temple’s staff in 2006, when Stewart was the program’s assistant director of football operations and Rhule was in Year 1 of his first stay at the Philadelphia-based school. Rhule coached the Owls’ defensive linemen that year. Prior to that, each spent the 2005 season on Division I-FCS Western Carolina’s staff. Rhule served as the Catamounts’ associate head coach, while Stewart spent a year as a graduate assistant.
The Panthers have a relatively new owner and a new head coach, but GM Marty Hurney remains in his post. The franchise is expected to hire an assistant GM soon, and that executive could be groomed to succeed Hurney at some point. For the time being, Carolina’s new hire will be one of Hurney’s right-hand men.
Panthers Sign No. 7 Overall Pick Derrick Brown
Derrick Brown was the seventh rookie to come off the board this year and the first to sign his rookie deal. On Friday, the Panthers inked the Auburn defensive tackle to his rookie contract – a four-year, $23.62MM pact, in accordance with his draft slot. 
[RELATED: A Look Back At Christian McCaffrey’s Rookie Deal]
Everyone knew the Panthers were targeting defensive players in the draft, but it was still a surprise to see them go defense all throughout draft weekend. Brown was the first one up, placing a promising young talent alongside Kawann Short, a two-time Pro Bowler eager to get back to form after missing the bulk of the 2019 season.
While Short draws lots of attention, Brown will look to be a difference maker, particularly against the run. The Panthers weren’t the only team chasing him – at least a couple clubs inquired on trading into the Top 10 for his services and the Lions reportedly thought about him at No. 3, though they ultimately went with their longtime draft crush Jeff Okudah.
Brown might not have the upside of, say, Isaiah Simmons, a jack-of-all-trades defender with absolutely freakish athleticism, but he was regarded by evaluators as one of the safer picks near the top. With that high floor, he’ll look to justify GM Marty Hurney‘s big decision.
“We had them very close together, obviously,” Hurney said of Brown and Simmons after the draft (via ESPN.com). “We believed you start building from the front. Derrick not only helps [Short] and the rest of the line… he helps the linebackers. He’s a big, powerful player. He’s got a good first step. He’s a three-down player. He obviously helps against the run, but he really gets push up the middle. “