Which Carolina Panthers news stories are hitting the headlines as speculation continues to gather pace during a pivotal hiring cycle for the franchise?
It was a monumental series of bombshell headlines on Wednesday. Interview requests came in quick succession around the league - including a few more from the Carolina Panthers. Pete Carroll's time as Seattle Seahawks came to an end. Nick Saban - widely regarded as the greatest college football coach in history - opted to retire following a trophy-laden stint with the Alabama Crimson Tide. Simply unbelievable.
Our primary focus is on the Panthers, of course. Among the stories causing debate include Jim Harbugh's fit, more interview requests coming to light, Bryce Young's critical offseason ahead, and Ejiro Evero being in demand.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Carolina Panthers interview requests
The Carolina Panthers are casting their net far and wide to secure the right head coach and general manager hires. It's been a constant stream of failures from team owner David Tepper up to now. Looking at the candidates being targeted by the organization, things could be heading in a positive direction.
There is increased competition around the league thanks to the shocking situations with the Tennessee Titans and Seattle Seahawks. Tepper has his work cut out, but some new names emerged on Wednesday as part of Carolina's ongoing strategy.
Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Brian Johnson is reportedly one more head coaching interview request. The Panthers held a virtual interview with interim head coach Chris Tabor, although this was probably more of a courtesy than anything else.
Ejiro Evero is also going to get his chance to impress. As for the general manager role, Panthers salary-cap manager Samir Suleiman and Mike Disner - chief operating officer of the Detroit Lions - will also look to stake their claim.
Disner's name - in particular - is intriguing. This is thanks in no small part to his previous working relationship with Ben Johnson.
Carolina Panthers DC Ejiro Evero in demand
Although head coaching interview requests from outside the organization haven't come Ejiro Evero's way as yet, the Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator isn't without admirers. His sterling work in difficult circumstances this season dictated as much. But it appears as if David Tepper doesn't want to entertain the thought of losing the defensive coordinator.
According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Jacksonville Jaguars requested to interview Evero for their newly vacant defensive coordinator position. As expected - especially after Tepper's recent drink-throwing incident - the inquiry was rejected by the Panthers.
#Panthers have blocked #Jaguars’ request to interview DC Ejiro Evero for Jacksonville’s coordinator job, per league sources. Carolina plans to interview Evero for its head coaching position.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 10, 2024
Evero led Panthers’ fourth-ranked total defense despite Carolina’s NFL-worst offense.
As previously mentioned, Evero will be interviewed for Carolina's top job in the not-too-distant future. If he doesn't get it, Fowler believes that the Panthers to keep him on staff to work with a new offensive-minded head coach.
"The sense leaguewide is Carolina would love to find a way to get [Ben] Johnson, who interviewed there a year ago but opted out of all head-coaching opportunities. He will have better options than the Panthers, however. The majority of their nine coaching candidates are on the offensive side, and Baltimore's Todd Monken is the only one from that group above the age of 42. A young offensive mind is clearly on the table. Pairing one with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero and an analytical-and-cap-based GM makes sense. Five of their eight initial GM candidates come from that ilk."Jeremy Fowler, ESPN
It'll be interesting to see how things play out for Evero. Looking at his overall contribution without a full-strength unit at any stage in 2023, retaining him with the new head coach's approval makes a ton of sense.
Carolina Panthers QB Bryce Young's reflection
Bryce Young's rookie season didn't go as planned. His performances weren't good enough overall. The Carolina Panthers failed to put the right pieces around their No. 1 overall selection. He flashed occasionally, but much more is needed to justify the organization's substantial investment.
A critical offseason awaits Young in terms of self-reflecting and developing his craft. It'll be another new head coach and offensive playbook next time around, but the former Alabama star is currently focused on himself and examining the wreckage of the 2023 season based on comments via the team's website.
"I haven't really had that time to reflect (yet) and to do that self scout. I'll definitely sit down, I'll watch every snap, go through it, chart things, figure out strengths and weaknesses, all that stuff. I don't wanna just say something random and it not be the truth. But, I'll know when I get a chance to do that. Ultimately, we had the same people in the building. Obviously, unfortunately, people left, but it wasn't like we brought anything new in. And that's part of the job. It's part of being a pro; you gotta show up every week and what that game plan is, master it and whether it was the same person, or a different person, that was the same process. Ultimately, I feel like we were put in the situation, I was put in the situation, to succeed. A lot of stuff that I want to work on and clean up. And that'll, that'll be how I look at it going forward."Bryce Young via Panthers.com
Young is a talented kid. He's not played well more often than not. He also needs more assistance. There's a lot of heated debate around the signal-caller for good or bad, but nobody can deny these three facts from an underwhelming rookie campaign with mitigating circumstances attached.
Jim Harbaugh's potential fit
Nothing concrete has emerged surrounding the Carolina Panthers' reported interest in Jim Harbaugh. The veteran head coach is reveling in leading Michigan to a college football national championship. But there's no prolonged time to reflect on his success as serious NFL interest comes his way.
Harbaugh is projected to have his pick of jobs when push comes to shove. The Panthers have reportedly reached out to the respected figure - although unconfirmed. Schuyler Callihan from Sports Illustrated questioned whether the current state of affairs in Carolina might be off-putting compared to other situations around the league.
"Regardless of level, Harbaugh has won every stop. This man knows how to coach, lead a locker room, and most importantly, win football games. I don't question whether or not Harbaugh would be successful in Carolina. How is Tepper viewed by Harbaugh? Is it possible that he just sees him as a passionate owner who wants to do everything he can to win? Can the two co-exist? But it's more than just the optics of the owner. It's the situation he'd be walking into. No first-round pick, a team that is coming off a 2-15 season, and holes all over the roster. Is that as attractive as say, the Chargers' job where you have an established quarterback in Justin Herbert? Or even Washington, who has the second overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft? For Carolina, it makes sense. For Harbaugh, it feels like there are better situations out there, including staying put at Michigan."Schuyler Callihan, Sports Illustrated
While these are good points, it's worth remembering Harbaugh's representatives have reached out to team owner David Tepper previously. There might be a reluctance to hand absolute power to the Wolverines' coach, but this is exactly the sort of culture builder needed to take this once-proud franchise forward.