Luke Kuechly role gets ringing endorsement from Matt Rhule

Luke Kuechly’s new role with the Carolina Panthers got the seal of approval from head coach Matt Rhule.

Luke Kuechly is officially back with the Carolina Panthers. Just days after he was officially placed on the reserve/retired list by the franchise, the legendary linebacker agreed to make a shock return to the fold in a front-office position.

Kuechly will now look to enhance the future of the Carolina Panthers in his new role as a pro scout. This new position will see him pick apart defences on film from week to week. And it may also see the perennial Pro Bowler help during the offseason with potential free agents and NFL Draft prospects.

The move received a hugely positive response on social media. Kuechly is one of the greatest players in Panthers’ history. And just to have him as a part of the set-up will give everyone a significant lift.

Speaking to the Panthers official website after the appointment was announced. It was clear Kuechly wanted to stay involved after being almost forced to hang up his cleats to prevent the risk of long-term health complications.

"“During the season, it’ll be player evaluation and then advance scouting stuff. So if we play a team next week, we’ve got to get everything set up and ready to go, so when the coaches come in on Monday, they’re not starting from square one.“The biggest is thing is I still wanted to be involved with the team, around the game, and I wanted to be in the building because I still have a lot of people in the building that I’m friends with and I enjoy being around and I wasn’t ready to quite give that up. I explored some other things, and they were all really cool opportunities. But I like being around the team, I like being around Charlotte, I like the guys upstairs (in the front office), and this will give me, I think, the closest thing I can get to playing.”"

Having Kuechly around the set-up provides an area of familiarity to an organization that has undergone wholesale changes this offseason. This can only bode well for the franchise as it looks to emerge in the coming years as a leading Super Bowl contender.

Matt Rhule confident Luke Kuechly can contribute to the Carolina Panthers

If the Carolina Panthers wanted more of an endorsement in terms of what Luke Kuechly could bring to the organization’s front office staff. Then they didn’t have to look far.

Head coach Matt Rhule was full of praise for Kuechly in a recent virtual presser. And he appears supremely confident that the future Pro Football Hall of Famer is going to be a massive asset not only in his evaluation of opposing teams. But also in terms of their recruitment going forward.

"“The pro side of it are the guys that are evaluating the other NFL players and they’re helping us build the roster by finding other guys that fit what we do. They’re also providing us advanced scouting each week on the opponent and if there’s someone who was built for that, it was probably Luke Kuechly.”"

It’s easy to forget that Rhule himself is going through a period of transition this season. The difference between college and the NFL is substantial. And adding Kuechly to the staff will provide the head coach with another experienced figure to lean on for advice.

This is a win-win situation for all involved. Carolina gets one of the most cerebral players that ever put on a Panthers’ uniform to provide key analysis. And Kuechly gets his foot back in the door following a short time away from the game.