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Former Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson Dies At 86

By | at March 2, 2023 1:08 pm

Jerry Richardson, who owned the Panthers from their inception until selling the franchise in 2018, died Wednesday night, according to the team. He was 86.

The first former player to own an NFL franchise since George Halas, Richardson launched the Panthers in 1993. He acquired the team in October 1993, nearly two years before the franchise began play along with the Jaguars as part of the NFL’s two-pronged expansion effort for the 1995 season.

The Spring Hope, N.C., native led an ownership group that paid $206MM for the Panthers 30 years ago. Richardson sold the franchise for $2.28 billion in 2018, with David Tepper making that acquisition.

“Jerry Richardson’s contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic,” David and Nicole Tepper said in a statement. “With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave the NFL fans here a team to call their own. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones.”

Richardson’s playing career was brief, lasting two years before he left the Colts amid a financial dispute. During his two-year career, however, Richardson caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas to help the Colts to their second consecutive NFL championship in 1959.

After a successful business career, the Wofford alum re-entered the league 33 years after his playing days ceased. The Panthers joined the Jaguars in advancing to the conference championship round in their second year of existence, defeating the defending champion Cowboys in Round 2 to set up a matchup with the eventual champion Packers. The Panthers advanced to four NFC championship games and two Super Bowls under Richardson, the most recent coming in 2015, when the team went 15-1 ahead of a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Broncos.

A sexual harassment scandal led Richardson to sell the team five years ago; Richardson had ceded control of the franchise in December 2017.

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Panthers, Sam Darnold Begin Talks

By | at March 1, 2023 10:41 am

The Panthers are meeting with Derek Carr at the Combine, joining the Jets and Saints in doing so. While Carolina is entertaining the prospect of signing the longtime Raiders starter, the team’s price range is believed to check in lower than what Carr will command.

As a result, the Panthers are circling back to one of their own quarterbacks. The team has begun talks with Sam Darnold about returning, David Newton of ESPN.com tweets. These can be classified as preliminary discussions, but Darnold would make sense for a team that uses its first-round pick on a quarterback.

Darnold is only 25 but has been given plenty of chances to show he is a franchise-caliber passer. The former No. 3 overall pick has already made 55 starts. Seventeen of those came with Carolina over the past two seasons. Matt Rhule pushed for the 2021 Darnold trade. Despite Rhule now camping in Nebraska, the Panthers are interested in keeping him. Darnold would represent a bridge option for a Panthers team that has been steadily connected to using its No. 9 overall pick on a QB or trading up for one.

Carr and Jimmy Garoppolo reside as the top available free agents — at least, among those actually expected to hit the market. Geno Smith would join them near the top of the QB market, but the Seahawks are not expected to let the reigning Comeback Player of the Year walk. The Giants are not letting Daniel Jones walk. Both he and Lamar Jackson will be franchise-tagged absent extensions surfacing before Monday’s tag deadline. Aaron Rodgers‘ status looms over all of this, but this year’s QB trade market does not appear as rich as 2022’s.

The market for bridge options will give the Panthers some choices. Baker Mayfield resides on this tier but should not be viewed as a candidate to come back to Charlotte. But Andy Dalton, Marcus Mariota, Jacoby Brissett, Teddy Bridgewater, Gardner Minshew and Carson Wentz are free agents or will be soon. This array of lower-tier starter options should make the players here fairly affordable, despite the QB demand that exists almost every year.

Darnold closed last season with a career-high 48.3 QBR, a mark much higher than his Panthers debut season (33.2), and a career-best passer rating (92.6). The Panthers fell short in their quest to rebound from a rocky start and make the playoffs, but Darnold showed some degree of promise after replacing Mayfield. Carolina’s offensive line restocking effort aided Darnold, as did the team’s D’Onta Foreman-led ground attack. Darnold still completed just 58.6% of his passes and should not be considered a multiyear option. But a team preparing to retool around a first-round pick could certainly do worse than adding the sixth-year vet as a stopgap.

After entering last season with Darnold, Mayfield and P.J. Walker on their roster, the Panthers have only Matt Corral and Jacob Eason under contract for 2023. Neither can be considered a viable starting option, pointing to Carolina exploring vets.

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2023 Offensive/Defensive Coordinator Search Tracker

By | at February 28, 2023 2:45 pm

As the head coaching carousel spun for several weeks, many teams made coordinator changes as well. Teams seeking new head coaches are conducting OC and DC searches, and a handful of other teams that did not make HC changes are also searching for top assistants.

This is a big year for offensive coordinator hires, with nearly half the league making changes. Here are the teams searching for new OCs and DCs. As new searches emerge, they will be added to the list.

Updated 3-1-23 (3:31pm CT)

Offensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals 

Baltimore Ravens (Out: Greg Roman)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Ben McAdoo)

  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach, (Rams): Hired
  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Interviewed

Dallas Cowboys (Out: Kellen Moore)

  • Brian Angelichio, tight ends coach (Vikings): Interviewed 2/2
  • Thomas Brown, tight ends coach (Rams): Interviewed
  • Jeff Nixon, running backs coach (Panthers): Interviewed
  • Brian Schottenheimer, offensive consultant (Cowboys): Hired

Denver Broncos (Out: Justin Outten)

Houston Texans (Out: Pep Hamilton)

Indianapolis Colts (Out: Parks Frazier)

  • Jim Bob Cooter, passing-game coordinator (Jaguars): Hired
  • Tee Martin, wide receivers coach (Ravens): Interview requested

Kansas City Chiefs (Out: Eric Bieniemy)

  • Matt Nagy, quarterbacks coach (Chiefs): Hired

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Joe Lombardi)

Los Angeles Rams (Out: Liam Coen)

New York Jets (Out: Mike LaFleur)

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Shane Steichen)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Out: Byron Leftwich)

Tennessee Titans (Out: Todd Downing)

Washington Commanders (Out: Scott Turner)

Defensive Coordinators

Arizona Cardinals (Out: Vance Joseph)

Atlanta Falcons (Out: Dean Pees)

Buffalo Bills (Out: Leslie Frazier)

Carolina Panthers (Out: Al Holcomb)

  • Ejiro Evero, former defensive coordinator (Broncos): Hired
  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): Interviewed
  • Marquand Manuel, safeties coach (Jets): Interviewed
  • Kris Richard, co-defensive coordinator (Saints): Interviewed

Denver Broncos

Houston Texans 

Los Angeles Chargers (Out: Renaldo Hill)

  • Derrick Ansley, defensive backs coach (Chargers): Promoted
  • Doug Belk, defensive coordinator (Houston): Interviewed
  • DeMarcus Covington, defensive line coach (Patriots): Interviewed

Miami Dolphins (Out: Josh Boyer)

Minnesota Vikings (Out: Ed Donatell)

New Orleans Saints (Out: Ryan Nielsen, Kris Richard)

  • Joe Woods, former defensive coordinator (Browns): Hired

Philadelphia Eagles (Out: Jonathan Gannon)

San Francisco 49ers (Out: DeMeco Ryans)

  • Vic Fangio, former head coach (Broncos): On radar
  • Chris Harris, defensive backs coach (Commanders): Interviewed 1/31
  • Kris Kocurek, defensive line coach (49ers): On radar
  • Steve Wilks, former interim head coach (Panthers): Hired
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Derek Carr To Meet With Teams At Combine

By | at February 28, 2023 11:55 am

FEBRUARY 28: Providing more detail on Carr’s schedule, Rapoport tweets that at least three teams will speak with him at the Combine. That list includes the Jets and Saints (for what will be a second sit-down with Carr), but also the Panthers. Carolina is set to be in the market for a QB addition of some kind this offseason, with only Matt Corral and Jacob Eason currently under contract for 2023. It was reported last week, however, that the Panthers would not be willing to commit to Carr at the $35MM-per-season rate he is thought to be seeking. The success of his visit could change things, of course, though Carr will have several other suitors even if Carolina elects for less expensive QB options.

FEBRUARY 27: Derek Carr looks to be planning to check off more visits without logging extensive travel mileage. The free agent quarterback is headed to the Combine to meet with teams this week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com notes (video link).

The 31-year-old passer has met with the Saints and Jets already, and while those teams look like the frontrunners thus far, others have checked in on where he stands presently. The Buccaneers, Commanders, Panthers and Titans have been connected to Carr thus far, though none of these teams have been tied as closely to the nine-year veteran compared to the two he has visited.

[RELATED: Mutual Interest Between Jets, Carr]

A deal that averages more than $35MM per year has come up in the Carr sweepstakes, but Rapoport adds lengthy talks about money have not entered the equation just yet. Carr is prioritizing fit for now. While money will undoubtedly be a key component in where he lands, the former MVP candidate will be unlikely to choose a team with poor competitive prospects. Mostly through the $25MM-per-year extension he inked with the Raiders in 2017, Carr has already banked more than $130MM in his career.

During Carr’s New York visit, Jets brass told the available arm they were monitoring other QBs — including Aaron Rodgers — and let him know where he stood related to the Green Bay icon, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer. With the Jets informing Carr they want to see how the latest Packers-Rodgers offseason saga plays out, this points to the team confirming a previous report of Carr being its second choice.

The Commanders hold a substantial lead in cap space, in terms of Carr suitors, sitting on more than $35MM after cutting Carson Wentz and Bobby McCain. A Daron Payne franchise tag will cut into this figure, and Washington is not believed to be seeking to dive deep into the QB salary pool this year. They certainly were last year, and it is interesting in a year in which Ron Rivera will be on the hot seat he could be willing to go with Sam Howell and/or a lower-priced veteran. The Bucs and Panthers are believed to be in the same boat, and the Saints, despite their restructure-happy ways, still have a long ways to go on this front.

If this lot of teams is unwilling to pay franchise-level money for Carr, it would stand to reason the Jets might be able to land the longtime Raider at a lower-than-expected cost. A clearer picture of where Carr’s market stands will emerge in Indianapolis.

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Panthers Add Adrian Wilson To Front Office

By | at February 27, 2023 5:51 pm

Weeks after interviewing for the Cardinals’ general manager job, Adrian Wilson stood in limbo after the only organization he has worked for went with Monti Ossenfort. But the veteran staffer is relocating.

The Panthers are hiring Wilson as their vice president of player personnel, according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). Wilson finished his Cardinals tenure as their VP of pro personnel but has been with the team as a scout or personnel exec since 2015. As a player and exec, Wilson had spent 20 years with the Cardinals.

A longtime Cardinals safety, Wilson finished last season working alongside Quentin Harris atop the franchise’s front office hierarchy. The organization parted ways with longtime GM Steve Keim, despite authorizing a lengthy extension earlier in 2022, and placed Wilson and Harris as the interim front office bosses. Ossenfort has begun restructuring the front office, however, and one of Keim’s top lieutenants is on the move.

Ossenfort brought in Dave Sears as his assistant GM; Wilson will now become one of Scott Fitterer’s right-hand men. While Fitterer does not have a history with Wilson, new Panthers HC Frank Reich was on the Cardinals’ coaching staff during Wilson’s final season with the team (2012). This will also be a homecoming of sorts for Wilson, a High Point, N.C., native who played collegiately at North Carolina State.

Wilson confirmed (via Twitter) the Cardinals wanted him back as part of Ossenfort’s staff. He asked Michael Bidwill if he could pursue the Panthers job, and the owner signed off on the intra-NFC move. Wilson being under contract would have allowed the Cardinals to block the move, something the team could not have done were this a GM position.

The five-time Pro Bowler also interviewed for the other vacant GM job this offseason — Tennessee’s — but Ran Carthon secured that post. He met with the Giants last year and was on the Jaguars’ radar. Moving up the ladder, via the player personnel VP title, would stand to further the 43-year-old exec’s pursuit of a GM position.

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Derek Carr Aiming For $35MM-Plus Per Year; Panthers View Price As Too Steep?

By | at February 25, 2023 2:38 pm

The Raiders released Derek Carr nearly two weeks ago, and while the veteran quarterback has visited the Saints and Jets thus far, he remains a free agent. Carr is clearly not in a rush to land with a second NFL employer, and a price point has emerged.

Carr’s third Raiders contract paid him just more than $40MM per year, but its construction led to it being a one-year agreement. For his fourth NFL deal, Carr is not demanding it match the AAV the Raiders authorized last year. But Carr is aiming for a contract north of $35MM annually, Dianna Russini of ESPN.com notes (Twitter link).

Last year’s Raiders-Carr agreement also gave him a head-start on free agency, via the guarantee vesting date coming exactly a month before the market opens. But Carr is willing to wait for a team to meet his asking price; he does not need to be the first QB to sign this offseason, per Russini. It would seemingly behoove Carr to sign early, before free agency begins to dramatically alter teams’ budgets. But Daniel Jones signing soon could also strengthen Carr’s stance.

The Giants are not expected to be in play for non-Jones QBs, but the free agent-to-be is asking for a contract at or near the $45MM-per-year mark. Given the gap in accomplishments between Jones and Carr, the Giants giving their 25-year-old QB a deal in the $40MM-AAV range would seem to bolster the latter’s value. Carr is 31, which impacts his stock compared to Jones’, but be should have at least a few more prime years to factor into his negotiations.

No quarterbacks currently sit between the $35MM and $40MM AAV thresholds. Carr and Jones may end up bridging that gap, though it will be interesting to see if the latter stands down and accepts an offer closer to the Giants’ price point than his own. Carr also has the luxury of negotiating with multiple teams; Jones will not, as the Giants plan to use the franchise tag on him absent an extension agreement by March 7. Carr has engaged in talks with teams beyond the Jets and Saints, though those are the big two at the moment. And not much has come out connecting Carr to the Saints since he became a street free agent.

The Jets’ wish list does not appear to have changed. Although mutual interest exists between the Jets and Carr, the team is still waiting on Aaron Rodgers. The four-time MVP, post-darkness retreat, has not alerted the Packers if he wants to retire, return or be traded. An explosive report of the Packers being done with Rodgers certainly caught interested teams’ attention, and an AFC suitor moving on Carr early may not make much sense — unless it was certain Rodgers was off the table or sought a younger arm. The Jets have made no secret they are chasing a veteran, but it does not seem to matter if they acquire a 39-year-old passer or Carr, who will turn 32 this offseason.

Although the Saints are making their usual February cap maneuvers, it will be a challenge for the team to fit the kind of contract Carr seeks on their payroll. The Commanders are not believed to be as eager to pay up for a quarterback as they were last year; Ron Rivera said major funds are unlikely to be used on a QB. Thanks to Tom Brady‘s $35.1MM void-years bill coming due, the Bucs are unlikely to wade into the QB market’s deep waters, either. The Panthers also might not be eyeing such a move. They are interested in Carr to a degree, but David Newton of ESPN.com notes the team is believed to view this price as too steep. Carolina is more likely to re-sign Sam Darnold, or add a similarly priced passer, and further bolster the position in the draft than pay up for Carr.

This growing collection of cautious spenders would not bode well for Carr, who still may be waiting out Rodgers’ decision as far as the Jets are concerned. The rest of the quarterback market will be free to speak with other teams beginning March 13, but the Carr domino should still be expected to fall before that date.

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NFC South Notes: Panthers, Lombardi, Bucs

By | at February 24, 2023 2:01 pm

Drawing a few negative headlines during his five-year run as Panthers owner, David Tepper has seen his team continue a years-long search for a quality quarterback. Carolina will be at it again this offseason. Although Tepper’s multi-offseason push for Deshaun Watson stalled near the end zone, the Panthers came close to acquiring Matthew Stafford in 2021. After negotiations with Lions GM Brad Holmes, team brass left the Senior Bowl convinced it would land the longtime Detroit QB. The Rams subsequently swooped in, and Joe Person of The Athletic notes Tepper mandated his staff slow down on Stafford due to wanting more information on his injury history (subscription required).

At that point, Stafford had only missed games in one of the previous 10 seasons. Though, the rocket-armed QB had played through a host of injuries during his 12-year Lions run. This delay, however, helped allow the Rams time to formulate a trade package that ended up sending the talented QB to Los Angeles and Jared Goff to Detroit. This could have been a moot point, with Stafford indicating he did not want to play for the Panthers, but Carolina did offer its first-round pick (No. 8 overall) and more for a passer without a no-trade clause. The Panthers sent three picks for Sam Darnold soon after. Darnold is a few weeks from free agency.

Here is the latest from the NFC South:

  • Frank Reich has praised Tepper for his willingness to spend for assistant coach talent. This included what looks to have become a defensive coordinator bidding war. Shortly after the Broncos let Ejiro Evero out of his contract, the hot HC candidate drew interest from the Panthers and Vikings. Carolina outbid Minnesota to land the defensive coordinator, Person adds. The Panthers have also added ex-HCs Jim Caldwell and Dom Capers, along with Josh McCown, to Reich’s staff.
  • Broncos ownership could also outmuscle teams for assistants. It is not known what kind of interest Joe Lombardi drew, but the new Denver assistant also drew interest from the Saints, Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com tweets. The two-year Chargers OC spent 12 years under Payton in New Orleans. The Saints are keeping Broncos OC candidate Ronald Curry on staff as QBs coach, but they were unable to lure Lombardi back to town. Lombardi is set for a coordinator-type role in Denver.
  • The Buccaneers will fill their quarterbacks coach post by promoting former NFL passer Thad Lewis, in news reported by Seahawks QB Geno Smith (Twitter link). Lewis and Smith played against each other as Miami high schoolers and have remained close; the free agent-to-be clarified (via Twitter) this was the reason — not a sudden interest in joining the Bucs — for his excitement. The Bucs employed Lewis as their assistant wide receivers coach over the past two years, with the Tampa Bay Times’ Rick Stroud adding Bruce Arians had visions of Lewis as a future offensive coordinator (Twitter link). Smith and the Seahawks have begun negotiations.
  • Tampa Bay hired Dave Canales as OC, from Seattle’s staff, to help fix its league-worst rushing attack. Leonard Fournette did not make the same impact he had in 2021. While the Bucs signed Fournette to a three-year, $21MM deal in March 2022, the running back has changed agents (Twitter link). The seventh-year running back is now with GSE Worldwide.
  • North Carolina’s tight ends coach, John Lilly will be making an NFL move in the same state. The Panthers will keep Lilly in North Carolina, bringing him in to coach their tight ends, Person tweets. Lilly, who worked on the 2019 Browns’ staff, overlapped at Georgia with new Panthers OC Thomas Brown in 2015. He has 30-plus years’ experience at the college and pro levels.
  • Former Colts staffer Brian Decker will follow Frank Reich to Carolina. The Panthers announced Decker is now the team’s vice president of development, a role Darin Gantt of Panthers.com notes will involve evaluating and developing players and coaches. A 22-year military veteran, Decker joined the Colts in 2017 and was in on the interviews that produced Reich’s hire.
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NFC Coaching Updates: Bieniemy, Rams, Panthers

By | at February 22, 2023 6:47 pm

The Commanders have their new play caller in former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, and they are wasting no time in allowing the new assistant head coach and offensive coordinator to explore some options for his new staff. Stanford quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard and Chiefs running backs coach Greg Lewis both visited Washington today for potential roles on Bieniemy’s new offensive coaching staff, according to Nicki Jhabvala of the Washington Post.

Pritchard has been a longtime Cardinal staffer since finishing his college playing career as a quarterback at Stanford. The year after his final season as a player, Pritchard joined the coaching staff as a graduate assistant. He slowly worked his way up the staff from GA to defensive assistant to running backs coach to quarterbacks and wide receivers coach to offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. He had spent the past five years in that last role after the departure of Mike Bloomgren to become head coach at Rice. Pritchard was retained by new head coach Troy Taylor following David Shaw‘s resignation but, reportedly, will only serve as quarterbacks coach, no longer holding the title of offensive coordinator.

Lewis is a former NFL wide receiver who has been coaching football since 2012. Following the conclusion of his eight-year career as a player, Lewis coached wide receivers at a couple of different universities before getting his first NFL opportunity as an offensive assistant with the Saints in 2015. The next year saw Lewis get his first NFL position coaching job over wide receivers with the Eagles. In 2017, Lewis joined the Chiefs’ staff in the same position, moving to running backs coach in 2021. He is reportedly highly regarded in league circles and has interest from several suitors this offseason, according to Josina Anderson of CBS Sports. Lewis’s extended tenure under Bieniemy bodes well for the 43-year-old coach to find a top role in Washington.

Here are a couple other coaching updates from around the NFC:

  • The Rams have a new special teams coordinator after hiring the former Panthers coach of the same position, Chase Blackburn, according to Rams staff writer Stu Jackson. Blackburn began his coaching career in the city where he ended his tenure as a player as the assistant special teams coach for the Panthers. After two years, Blackburn was promoted to special teams coordinator in Carolina, where he remained until being fired by former head coach Matt Rhule following the 2021 season. He will return to his role as a coordinator after spending the 2022 season as the Titans assistant special teams coach.
  • New Panthers head coach Frank Reich is bringing along a lesser known assistant with him to Carolina, according to Joe Person of The Athletic. Reich told the media yesterday that he has hired George Li as his game management coach. Li served a similar role under Reich in Indianapolis with the title of senior football strategy analyst and game management coach.
2 comments Carolina Panthers Los Angeles Rams Transactions Washington Commanders

Panthers’ Jim Caldwell No Longer Planning To Pursue HC Jobs

By | at February 21, 2023 8:34 pm

The Commanders reached out to Jim Caldwell about their offensive coordinator position, but the former Colts and Lions head coach told the team he was only looking for HC opportunities. This year’s coaching cycle has prompted the former AFC champion HC to close that path.

A fixture on coaching carousels since his Lions firing, Caldwell took a job on Frank Reich‘s Panthers staff. The two former Colts HCs reunited on a staff that includes Ejiro Evero, Dom Capers, Josh McCown and Thomas Brown. Caldwell, 68, is with Carolina as a senior offensive assistant; this marks his first NFL gig since a Dolphins quarterbacks coach role in 2019. He might be sticking around in Charlotte for a bit.

“Right now, the only job that I’m concerned about is the job I do here, right here and now,” Caldwell said, via ESPN.com’s David Newton. “I’m not worried about the future or anything else. I don’t plan on being a head coach from this point forward.

“When I didn’t get a head-coaching job, I immediately sort of changed the plan in terms of what I was looking for next. I knew I was at the stage where I wanted to be back in the building somewhere. And so, I did have some opportunities to kind of look at, and I was happy when Frank called.”

Then-Lions GM Bob Quinn fired Caldwell after he went 9-7 in 2018. The team has not bettered that record since. Caldwell then interviewed for nine HC jobs over the next four-plus years. The two-time HC met with the Packers, Browns, Jets, Cardinals, Texans, Jaguars, Bears, Broncos and Panthers from December 2018 until January of this year. The Denver and Carolina meetings occurred this year, and while Caldwell was not a finalist for the Panthers position, Reich sought him out for a role alongside he and Brown.

Caldwell is 62-50 as a head coach. His Colts record in games with Peyton Manning (24-8, two of the losses coming after the QB was pulled for rest purposes) and without (2-14) is notable, and Indianapolis’ two-win 2011 led to his ouster. Caldwell, however, accounted himself well in Detroit, guiding the Lions to two playoff berths and three winning seasons in four years. Caldwell is the only head coach over the past 50 years to leave the franchise with a winning record. He also took over as Ravens offensive coordinator late in the 2012 season, one that produced the signature stretch of Joe Flacco‘s career and ended with the team celebrating its second Super Bowl title.

The Panthers’ staff has a combined 191 years’ experience coaching in the NFL, Newton notes, and it holds 10 Super Bowl rings in total. An assistant under Tony Dungy before taking the Colts’ HC job in 2009, Caldwell has two of those.

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Frank Reich To Call Panthers’ Plays

By | at February 21, 2023 3:20 pm

Frank Reich has both been a non-play-calling OC and a play-calling head coach. After indicating he was not certain to run the Panthers’ offense upon being hired, the second-chance HC confirmed he will do so Tuesday.

Carolina’s new coach said he would be the team’s play-caller to start the season, via The Athletic’s Joe Person (on Twitter), though he stopped short of saying he planned to keep this responsibility throughout his tenure.

“I’ve laughed with Thomas about that already. I said: ‘I’m gonna pass it off at some point. I don’t know when,’” Reich said. “And I think there will be a time and a place. I think it’ll become apparent when that is. But I think the right thing for me to do for our team and for our offense right now is for me to continue to use my experience there.”

Reich calling plays in Charlotte makes sense. He held this role throughout his five-season Indianapolis tenure, and his path to the Carolina gig centered on offensive knowhow. The Panthers wanted an experienced, offense-oriented HC; that allowed Reich to beat out Steve Wilks for the job. Had Reich immediately ventured into CEO territory, it would threaten to lessen his impact on his new team.

Reich held non-play-calling OC roles in Philadelphia and San Diego ahead of his Indianapolis stay — one that produced top-10 scoring offenses in 2018, ’20 and ’21. The Colts’ offense regressed considerably last season, and Reich was out of the picture by the midway point. But his overseeing top-10 offenses in two post-Andrew Luck seasons is certainly impressive, given the instability that late-summer retirement created for the Colts.

New Panthers OC Thomas Brown waits next in line to assume this responsibility, and Reich certainly made it sound like that could happen. Brown spent the past three seasons on Sean McVay‘s staff, coaching tight ends and running backs. Brown, 36, is viewed as a rising talent in the coaching ranks, and he spent three years as the University of Miami’s OC in the late 2010s. Taking the reins in Carolina would accelerate his path toward a head coaching job.

Additionally, the Panthers will use a 3-4 scheme under new DC Ejiro Evero, per ESPN.com’s David Newton (on Twitter). The former Broncos DC utilized this alignment — in base sets, at least — during his strong Denver debut. Reich also credited David Tepper (via Person) for backing up his words on spending to fill out the coaching staff. Evero interviewed for all five HC jobs, while Brown drew HC interest from the Texans and interviewed for multiple OC roles elsewhere. The Panthers have also hired Jim Caldwell, Dom Capers and Josh McCown, creating an interesting assistant roster for Reich.

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