For Panthers to move forward, Marty Hurney has to go

Marty Hurney has led Carolina as their general manager in 2002. Since that time Hurney’s reign over Carolina’s personnel decisions have seen both booming successes and busting failures. Overall, the Panthers have been 78-74 under Hurney’s watch. Ironically, Hurney’s first connection with football came in the 1980s as a sports reporter who covered the Washington Redskins. He first came to the Panthers organization in 1998 as a salary cap analyst and worked under both Dom Capers and George Seifert.

Hurney has had some great success in his career. In 2003, he finished second in the NFL Executive of the Year voting, eventually losing to then New England general manager Scott Pioli. Even more impressive, Hurney was named as one of the top ten executives in major professional sports by Forbes in 2007. Hurney has a reputation amongst his peers as being an excellent evaluator of first round talent. The Sporting News has previously ranked Hurney as the third best evaluator of first round talent, trailing only Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome and Bill Polian of the Colts. Oddly, Polian won the NFL Executive of the Year award twice in 1995 and 1996 when he served as general manager of the Panthers. Continue Reading….