Minor NFL Transactions: 1/29/18
Ex-Michigan HC Brady Hoke Lands On Panthers’ Staff
Brady Hoke will make a transition to an NFL sideline for the first time, doing so after more than 30 years coaching in college.
The former Michigan head coach will become the Panthers’ defensive line coach, Alex Marvez of the Sporting News reports (on Twitter). Hoke’s most recent job came as Tennessee’s interim HC, while his most notable position was as Jim Harbaugh‘s predecessor with the Wolverines from 2011-14.
Hoke, 59, went 31-20 with Michigan, doing so after serving as head coach at Ball State and San Diego State in prior years. He began last season as the Volunteers’ defensive line coach and spent the 2016 campaign as Oregon’s DC. He will be the latest notable name added to Carolina’s staff, joining Norv Turner in that regard.
After Steve Wilks‘ departure to Arizona, the Panthers had a few vacancies on their defensive staff. One was defensive line coach after Eric Washington was promoted to defensive coordinator.
Panthers Expected To Keep Marty Hurney
Although the Panthers have two outside candidates set to interview for their GM post, they are expected to retain Marty Hurney, Darin Gantt of Pro Football Talk notes. The Panthers do not plan to have a formal interview with its interim GM, who is in his second stint in this job, but “everyone in their building” knows Hurney will get the job over Jimmy Raye III and Lake Dawson. Both black, Raye and Dawson will satisfy the Rooney Rule requirement. However, Gantt notes that with the Panthers effectively knowing what they will do here, this represents another shortcoming of the rule — even if it’s not as transparent as the Raiders’ Jon Gruden hire. This franchise being up for sale, however, may not ensure optimal job security for Hurney. But he’s expected to receive another crack after running the Panthers this season.
- The Panthers‘ interview with Raye will take place on Thursday and they’ll meet with Dawson on Friday for the GM job, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The Texans’ assistant GM, Raye interviewed for the top jobs in Houston, Indianapolis and San Francisco only to be passed over. The Bills’ assistant college scouting director, Dawson interviewed with the Panthers after they fired Hurney the first time. But Carolina chose Dave Gettleman.
Panthers Set Up GM Interviews For Next Week
Though interim general manager Marty Hurney is the frontrunner to be named the Panthers new GM, the team has also scheduled interviews with a pair of external candidates for next week, the Charlotte Observer’s Joseph Person writes. 
Those two candidates are Texans assistant general manager Jimmy Raye III and Bills assistant college scouting director Lake Dawson. Both Raye and Dawson, as Person notes, satisfies the Rooney Rule that requires NFL teams to interview at least one minority candidate.
Though a time has not been divulged, the Panthers are also expected to sit down with Titans director of player personnel Ryan Cowden, who formerly served as a scout with Carolina.
Raye, a former player with the Rams, joined the Houston front office after stints with the Colts, as vice president of football operations, and Chargers, as director of player personnel. He has 23 years of experience in the NFL and previously interview for the Texans GM job earlier this month. Dawson joined the Bills in May 2017 following a stint as Cleveland’s national scout. He served as a receiver for six seasons before getting into college and pro scouting.
Hurney, who rejoined the Panthers following the dismissal of Dave Gettleman in the 2017 offseason, will not have a formal interview. His contract runs through June and has been backed by head coach Ron Rivera. In his one season on the job, Hurney dealt top wideout Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo, which led to Carolina’s passing improvement down the stretch.
Lake Dawson Secures Panthers GM Meeting
The Panthers’ GM search is beginning to fill out, with now two external interview candidates known. The second of which will be Bills assistant director of college scouting Lake Dawson.
Dawson will join interim GM Marty Hurney and Texans VP of player personnel Jimmy Raye III in interviewing for the post, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link) and Mike Rodak of ESPN.com report.
A Dawson defection would represent another blow to a recently assembled Bills front office, which lost top Brandon Beane lieutenant Brian Gaine when he agreed to return to Houston as Texans GM.
Dawson has been in his current post for less than a year but spent nine seasons as a Titans exec, rising through the ranks under then-GMs Mike Reinfeldt and Ruston Webster. Dawson finished his Titans tenure in 2015 as the franchise’s VP of player personnel. He spent the 2016 season with the Browns.
The 45-year-old exec has spent 17 years as a scout or executive, doing so following a four-year playing career as a wide receiver.
Panthers To Interview Two Candidates For GM Gig
The Panthers will be interviewing a pair of general manager candidates this week. According to ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Twitter), the organization will talk to interim general manager Marty Hurney and Texans vice president of player personnel Jimmy Raye III about the full-time gig.
Hurney, who served as the Panthers GM for more than a decade during the early 2000s, reclaimed his former position (on an interim basis) after the organization fired Dave Gettleman last July. The executive was originally supposed to advise through the 2018 NFL draft and assist with finding a new general manager, but plenty has changed in the organization since that time. Following a successful 11-5 campaign, new chief operating officer Tina Becker could simply decide to remove the interim tag from Hurney’s title.
Meanwhile, Raye has moved up the front office ranks in recent years. The 49-year-old served as the Chargers’ director of player personnel from 2008 through 2012, and he moved on to become vice president of football operations with the Colts. In 2017, he served as vice president of player personnel/assistant general manager with the Texans. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the organization is also eyeing Bills executive Lake Dawson and Titans executive Ryan Cowden.
As ESPN’s David Newton writes, the Panthers general manager will certainly have their hands full this offseason. While the team has already extended head coach Ron Rivera, they’ll have to try to lock up a pair of key veterans in defensive end Julius Peppers and left guard Andrew Norwell.
Panthers Add Two To Staff
- The Panthers have hired Air Force defensive coordinator Steve Russ as their new linebackers coach, per Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Russ will replace Al Holcomb, who followed Steve Wilks to Arizona earlier this week to become the Cardinals’ new defensive coordinator. Although he enjoyed a four-year pro career, the 45-year-old Russ has never coached at the NFL level. He’s been at Air Force since 2012, and previously spent time at Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Ohio. Carolina has also added former Seahawks assistant special teams coach Heath Farwell for the same role, reports Omar Ruiz of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Top 3 Offseason Needs: Carolina Panthers
In advance of March 14, the start of free agency in the NFL, Pro Football Rumors will detail each team’s three most glaring roster issues. We’ll continue this year’s series with the Carolina Panthers, who rebounded from a down 2016 to finish 11-5, good for second in the NFC South.
Depth Chart (via Roster Resource)
Pending Free Agents:
- Derek Anderson, QB
- Brenton Bersin, WR
- Damiere Byrd, WR (ERFA)
- Jairus Byrd, S
- Kaelin Clay, WR (RFA)
- Ed Dickson, TE
- Dan France, T (ERFA)
- Andrew Gachkar, LB
- Graham Gano, K
- Ladarius Gunter, CB (RFA)
- Drew Iddings, DT (ERFA)
- Charles Johnson, WR
- Tyler Larsen, C (ERFA)
- Star Lotulelei, DT
- Chris Manhertz, TE (ERFA)
- Andrew Norwell, G
- Michael Palardy, P (ERFA)
- Julius Peppers, DE
- Amini Silatolu, G
- Scott Simonson, TE (RFA)
- Greg Van Roten, G (RFA)
- Teddy Williams, CB
- David Yankey, G (RFA)
Top 10 Cap Hits for 2018:
- Cam Newton, QB: $21,500,000
- Kawann Short, DT: $17,000,000
- Luke Kuechly, LB: $13,100,059
- Ryan Kalil, C: $10,279,000
- Greg Olsen, TE: $9,750,000
- Mario Addison, DE: $8,916,666
- Trai Turner, G: $7,703,000
- Matt Kalil, T: $6,900,000
- Jonathan Stewart, RB: $5,250,000
- Kurt Coleman, S: $5,250,000
Other:
- Projected cap space (via Over the Cap): $24,465,591
- 24th pick in draft
- Must exercise or decline 2019 fifth-year option for LB Shaq Thompson
Three Needs:
1) Add a new weapon for Cam Newton: When the Panthers lost to the Saints in the Wild Card round earlier this month, their wide receiver depth chart was as follows: Devin Funchess, Brenton Bersin, Kaelin Clay, Russell Shepard, Mose Frazier. Sure, Carolina will see the return of Damiere Byrd and Curtis Samuel — each of whom ended the year on injured reserve — in 2018, but it’s readily apparent that the Panthers lack a true No. 1 threat at wideout.
Jarvis Landry and Allen Robinson are probably the top two pending free agent receivers, but Landry will be pricey and — as a slot receiver — isn’t the type of addition the Panthers currently need. Robinson will be expensive, too, even though he’s coming off a torn ACL. Carolina doesn’t have a ton of money to throw around this offseason, thanks in part to free agent deals handed out by former general manager Dave Gettleman and extensions worked out by “interim” GM Marty Hurney. Therefore, the Panthers probably need to go bargain-hunting as they search for a specific pass-catcher to complement Funchess.
Signing a speed receiver who can handle deep passes should be a clear focal point for Carolina over the coming months, especially after the club allowed long-ball threat Ted Ginn Jr. to land with the division-rival Saints a year ago. Veteran Mike Wallace stands out as a player in that mold, as he caught all nine of his deep targets (20+ yards) in 2017 while ranking 12th in deep receiving yardage, according to the 2018 Pro Football Focus Free Agency Guide. Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer recently speculated that Wallace could fit with the Panthers, and he shouldn’t be all that expensive given that he’s now 31 years old. Other candidates to fill a speed niche for Carolina could include Paul Richardson, Taylor Gabriel, Deonte Thompson, or — if the Panthers want to spend — Sammy Watkins, who finished 14th in Football Outsiders‘ DYAR last season.
If Carolina isn’t able to land a deep threat, the club should double down and ink another big-bodied pass-catcher who can fight for contested catches and offer a large target radius for the often erratic Newton. If the Panthers go down this route, they could save a good bit of money because most of these types of wideouts are coming off disappointing seasons. Possible options may include Donte Moncrief, Michael Floyd, Jaron Brown, Kamar Aiken, plus restricted free agents Tyrell Williams and Brandon Coleman, but the best fit might be former quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
There’s no question Pryor was a free agent bust with the Redskins in 2017, as he managed only 20 receptions for 240 yards and one touchdowns. But he’s an excellent athlete at 6″4, 235 pounds, and was extremely productive with the Browns in 2016, topping 1,000 yards receiving in his first season as a wideout. Pryor ranked ninth in contested catch rate during his lone full campaign with Cleveland (via PlayerProfiler.com), while Matt Harmon of Reception Perception noted Pryor’s repeated success against man, zone, and press coverages. For a full perspective on Pryor’s capabilities, check out this October 2016 piece from Cian Fahey of Football Outsiders.
A number of other veteran receivers that could be on interest to the Panthers could be candidates for release this offseason, meaning Carolina may have several more pass-catching candidates available when free agency on March 14. Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Dez Bryant, Jordy Nelson, and Michael Crabtree are all on their respective teams’ roster bubbles, and Hurney & Co. should examine each player if and when he is cut. Among those wideouts, Thomas and Bryant would be the best fits for the Panthers under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.
2) Find a new left guard: Andrew Norwell was quite a find by former general manager Dave Gettleman. Signed as an undrafted free agent out of Cincinnati in 2014, the 26-year-old Norwell has been a full-time starter in each of his four seasons with the Panthers. The 2017 campaign was Norwell’s pièce de résistance, as he earned first-team All-Pro honors while grading as the No. 3 guard in the league, per Pro Football Focus. He’s unquestionably the best lineman on the Panthers’ roster, and one of the best blockers in the NFL.Read more
Panthers Interviewing Heath Farwell
- The Panthers are interviewing Seahawks assistant special teams coach Heath Farwell for the same position, reports Alex Marvez of the Sporting News (Twitter link). If hired, Farwell would work alongside former NFL linebacker Chase Blackburn, who was recently named Carolina’s new special teams coach. Farwell, an ex-NFL ‘backer in his own right, joined the coaching ranks in 2016.
Latest On Cardinals’ Coaching Staff
Now that the Cardinals have officially hired former Panthers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks as their new head coach, the club has begun to formulate its coaching staff. First, Arizona has allowed the majority of its assistants out of their contracts in order to seek employment elsewhere, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
[RELATED: 2018 NFL Coordinator Tracker]
Wilks has already reportedly lured former Panthers linebackers coach Al Holcomb to the desert as Arizona’s next defensive coordinator (he’ll officially interview on Wednesday, reports Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer), but Wilks isn’t done poaching talent from his former employer. Panthers offensive line coach Ray Brown is expected to to accept the same job with the Cardinals, tweets Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. New Carolina offensive coordinator Norv Turner confirmed Brown’s new role earlier today, per Jourdan Rodrigue of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Elsewhere on their staff, the Cardinals plan to hire former Chargers defensive line coach Don Johnson for the same position, per Alex Marvez of the Sporting News, who notes Johnson worked with Wilks in San Diego. Meanwhile, the Cardinals have denied the division-rival Seahawks permission to interview assistant wide receivers coach Kevin Garver, according to Mike Jurecki of ArizonaSports.com (Twitter link).