Panthers need management answers now
The Carolina Panthers risk falling behind if they don’t soon come up with answers for their top vacancies…
No franchise should ever rush decisions when faced with vacancies at the top of their organization but the Carolina Panthers are quickly running out of time. Absent an owner and general manager the franchise currently has no direction heading into a questionable future.
Chief Operating Officer Tina Becker has done a fine job maintaining the organization and handling the day to day operations of the franchise, but the NFL Scouting Combine and Draft are fast approaching.
Lead candidate for the general manager position, Marty Hurney, was recently placed on leave and then reinstated to his current interim role, giving him even more control over the team in the coming weeks. The longer Hurney remains, the harder it will be for any of the other candidates to take over, but should he be granted the position based solely on timing?
Hurney makes sense for a variety of reasons but they all have to do with familiarity, consistency, his history with the team and maintaining a common ground amidst the uncertainty. One more change isn’t going to derail things at this point, if anything, the Panthers should first find their new owner and let that individual or group have a hand in the selection of a permanent general manager.
Unfortunately, the Panthers cannot afford to do this with the NFL Combine beginning in less than a week. Coach Ron Rivera and his staff will be extremely busy evaluating players, especially if a full-time general manager has not been hired.
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While not an issue for those players on the practice field next week, as rookies have little say in where they end up during the April draft, potential free agents need to know what their future holds for Carolina.
Not having someone to make personnel decisions will limit the Panthers ability to draw interests from other players who may be leery of the the current situation, in addition to not providing their own prospective free agents any contract offers.
If a team wishes to exercise their right to a franchise tag it must be executed prior to a March 6 deadline – two weeks from today. The new year for NFL purposes begins in just over three weeks, meaning free agents will begin signing their new deals as negotiations can begin a few days prior.
The Panthers need answers now or the ramifications for their actions, or lack thereof, could impact the organization for years.