Joe Brady is not ready to be an NFL head coach
By Dean Jones
Joe Brady’s 2020 season
The Carolina Panthers pulled off a real coup when they snagged Joe Brady from LSU. He was part of the coaching staff that transformed Joe Burrow into a mid-round afterthought to the consensus No. 1 overall selection in the 2020 NFL Draft and it is clear he had a huge say in bringing Teddy Bridgewater to the organization in free agency.
Bridgewater and Brady worked together during their time together with the New Orleans Saints, which served them well during an immensely disrupted offseason thanks to COVID-19 fears that continue to be felt across the country.
Carolina is averaging 356.6 yards-per-game, which is ranked 20th overall. Couple this with a 23.1 points-per-game average – ranked No. 23 – and it’s clear that although Brady has made a positive start overall, there is some fine-tuning needed to take this offense to the next level.
This might end up coming at the quarterback position. Patience is clearly wearing thin where Bridgewater is concerned and if things continue to trend on a downward curve over the next two games, it will surely come with the Panthers exploring other long-term avenues in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Brady also needs to take his fair share of the blame for the team’s failings.
Carolina is converting just 40.35 percent of their third downs and scoring touchdowns on 52 percent of trips to the red-zone. This simply isn’t good enough and has played a leading role behind their inability to come through in close games.