4 things Scott Fitterer should know after one year as Panthers GM

Scott Fitterer must shift the balance of power

The Carolina Panthers had to pull out all the stops to secure Matt Rhule’s services as head coach. David Tepper allocated a seven-year, $62 million deal to the former Baylor man and also handed him the final say on all personnel decisions with the New York Giants lurking.

Rhule has struggled with this responsibility on top of his coaching duties. Things may have improved slightly from a defensive standpoint, but until he finds the right balance when it comes to recruitment, nothing much will change despite the under-pressure figure gutting his coaching staff this offseason.

Scott Fitterer and Dan Morgan seemed to be taking full charge of evaluation responsibilities at the 2022 Senior Bowl and Rhule has yet to be seen since his radio tour and exit presser. Whether this is going to result in a true balance of power shift is unclear, but this is something the general manager should be pushing for as his own job will be coming under the microscope with further failure.

Such a turn of events is unlikely to sit well with Rhule, who has this stipulation written into his contract according to Jonathan Alexander of The Charlotte Observer. However, the level of trust in his process has all but evaporated and with a full year as part of the organization, Fitterer should stake his claim.

From the outside looking in, this would be better for the team and allow Rhule to focus on coaching. Even if the chances of it happening are slim at best.