Carolina Panthers must be wary of the young offensive head coach

Should the Carolina Panthers be wary of appointing a new head coach based primarily on their ability to successfully run an NFL offense?

The Carolina Panthers have begun their coaching search. What had been prophesied as a “short list” by general manager Scott Fitterer has quickly grown beyond that descriptor.

Outside of Steve Wilks, DeMeco Ryans, and Jerod Mayo, the interview requests consist exclusively of offensive-minded coaches. Something that’s in keeping with team owner David Tepper‘s reported desire and the current trend across the league.

In recent history, NFL teams have attempted to replicate the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers’ success under Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan by chasing after the next whizkid on offense.

Carolina Panthers are not guaranteed success with offensive guru

As the Panthers join this pursuit, they should take note of one thing. The success of offensive-minded head coaches has been a little more unpredictable than initially assumed.

Looking at this season, six out of eight division champions have an offensive-minded head coach. Zooming out even further, nine of the 14 playoff teams also possess someone with a strong background in offense leading the charge.

This seems to indicate that if a team wants to win, they’ll be best served by going down this route. However, the Panthers should keep in mind that out of the 32 NFL teams, 20 featured head coaches with offensive backgrounds.

There were 11 non-playoff, offensive-led teams in 2022. Nine finished below .500 and six of them finished with poor enough records to qualify for a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft – although the Rams and Denver Broncos owe their selections to other teams.

The 2022 campaign was a mixed bag of results for first-year, offensive-minded coaches. Brian Daboll and Kevin O’Connell exceeded expectations with the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings respectively, while Nathaniel Hackett’s Broncos completely fell apart.

The Panthers can likely draw the most insight from the Las Vegas Raiders, who were led to an improbable playoff berth by interim head coach Rich Bisaccia in 2021. Despite the support of players, the front office chose Josh McDaniels, instead.

While this was a high-profile hire, the Raiders sputtered to a 7-10 record in 2022 and are now looking for a new quarterback after Derek Carr’s impending departure.

There is no one way to build a team. But the NFL is a copycat league and organizations wish so badly to replicate the accomplishments of others using the same methods.

However, mimicry can lead to failure.

It makes sense that Tepper and Fitterer would fall for the allure of a young, offensive-minded head coach. The Panthers’ offense has been among the NFL’s worst thanks to a revolving door of bad quarterback play and unfocused coaching over the last three years, which eventually ended Matt Rhule’s time with the franchise way ahead of time.

In chasing the next McVay or Shanahan, the Panthers may take for granted what they have in Steve Wilks. His tenure as interim coach was not perfect, but there is no denying his connection to the team and the fanbase.

Wilks brings a measure of stability, leadership, focus, and intensity to an organization that desperately needs it. Maybe these things are more valuable than offensive ingenuity.