4 Carolina Panthers spearheading positive culture shift in 2023

Which Carolina Panthers are spearheading an immensely positive culture shift within the organization heading into the 2023 campaign?

There is a completely different atmosphere surrounding the Carolina Panthers these days. The inept previous regime was mercifully removed from the equation less than halfway through the 2022 season, which was followed by slowly rebuilding from the ground up after Matt Rhule left the franchise in tatters.

Much credit goes to Steve Wilks for steadying the ship despite losing Christian McCaffrey. But for the Panthers to take that next step, a shift in previous methods was the only way to accomplish this feat.

Fast forward a few months, and the doom has been replaced by hope. It's been a long time since fans could say that, but nobody is getting carried away given how long it could take for these landmark alterations to bear fruit.

With that being said, here are four Panthers who have spearheaded the culture shift in 2023.

Scott Fitterer - Carolina Panthers GM

After Matt Rhule no longer had the final say on personnel moves, it was finally time for general manager Scott Fitterer to demonstrate why the Carolina Panthers brought him into the franchise. Playing second fiddle to such incompetence wasn't easy, but it also tainted his own reputation considering how bad things went before the costly experiment came to an end.

Fitterer set about removing Rhule's stain quickly. There's been a noticeable shift in professionalism, collaboration, and aggression to recruitment matters, which has the Panthers looking in a far better state and also boasting a much healthier salary cap for good measure.

This is a positive step forward and Fitterer is back in fans' good graces after a memorable offseason. But if certain moves don't work out as expected, his seat will get hotter.