Carolina Panthers: The architects of a new defense

Defensive line coach, Mike Phair

Mike Phair held his position as the Colts’ defensive line coach for the last two years. He doesn’t have a whole lot of championship accomplishment to show for, but he’s been coaching defensive lines since 1999 and he did contribute to the Colts’ gaudy 2018 team that made it to the playoffs.

The Panthers are looking for a specialist in the defensive line department, and someone who’s specifically been coaching defensive lines for twenty years seems like a good choice.

Fit with the Panthers

It’s safe to say the Panthers’ season couldn’t have been rougher in terms of run defense. Yes there was the early injury of Kawaan Short to account for, but the rest of the line stayed pretty healthy for a good portion of the year. That being said, the underwhelming results were unacceptable and the Panthers need an experienced specialist to fix that.

Mike Phair worked with a 4-3 defense when he was with the Colts and even before that. His employment might mean the end of the 3-4 scheme since it didn’t work so well for the Panthers.

The Colts weren’t as scary in 2019 as they were in 2018, but they did rank in the top ten run defenses in the league whereas the Panthers were the fourth worst. Phair will have a chance to prove his mastery of the defensive line and player development, possibly with first or second-round rookie along with some first and second-round veterans.