4 nightmare scenarios for the Carolina Panthers in 2024

Carolina Panthers swing and miss on the HC, GM hirings

Even during a rookie season for a front office member or head coach, there are at least some indications that the organization made a good or great hire. The Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans got their head coaches right. Shane Steichen nearly led his team to the playoffs and DeMeco Ryans secured a division title in Year 1.

As for the general manager, it does usually take multiple seasons for their vision to come to fruition. However, seeing early success with a new head coach typically means the front-office leader got his first draft class right.

Another huge nightmare for the Carolina Panthers in 2024 is if the new general manager and head coach end up being duds, yet again.

Even with David Tepper hiring a consultancy firm, those two parties could still botch hirings. That would set the franchise back for years again. Hiring head coaches in the NFL is a huge gamble and there isn't a perfect science to it. For example, Frank Reich had previous success as a head coach with the Colts and had a solid track record with quarterbacks. He was fired by the Panthers after just one win from 11 games.

Reich was the wrong hire for Carolina in 2023. However, three first-year head coaches - Ryans, Steichen, and even Jonathan Gannon - all seem to be excellent hires. Each coach was never a head coach before this year.

The Panthers could hire Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and hope that he could enjoy the success of the previously mentioned coaches. But there is no guarantee. And he's not going to be short of offers from elsewhere.