5 grave errors that cost Marty Hurney his job with the Panthers

The grave errors that cost Marty Hurney his job with the Carolina Panthers.

For the second and final time, general manager Marty Hurney was fired by the Carolina Panthers this week. Owner David Tepper decided to pull the plug on Monday in a move that many expected, even though the timing seemed to be on the strange side with just two games of the 2020 season remaining.

Tepper is a ruthless businessman who knows sitting on his hands might cost the Carolina Panthers their desired target. Not exactly the Christmas present Hurney was hoping for, but it was something of a necessity if the team wants to continue building a possible playoff contender for the future.

There were plenty of solid moves made by Hurney during his time at the helm. But these did not outweigh the questionable decisions that played a leading role in Carolina finding itself in a precarious position at this juncture.

Let’s take a look at five grave errors that went a long way towards Hurney losing his job with the Panthers.

Error No. 1

Drafting Greg Little

Not only did the Panthers make the surprising move to draft Greg Little, but they also unnecessarily moved up to acquire him. The offensive lineman went No. 37 overall after Carolina gave up the 47th and 77th picks to the Seattle Seahawks to get their man.

This move simply hasn’t worked out.

Little endured a torrid time during his rookie campaign and things haven’t exactly been a bed of roses this time around. The former Ole Miss standout struggled on the edge once again in Russell Okung’s absence and the coaching staff even showed more of an interest in starting Trenton Scott instead, which is a damning indictment of his production.

It is going to take a monumental effort from Little to turn things around in Carolina. This was a major swing and a miss by Hurney, which proved to be another nail in his coffin.