Panthers news: Dan Morgan, Samir Suleiman, Dave Canales and Cam Newton
By Dean Jones
Carolina Panthers GM Dan Morgan's endorsement
Dan Morgan's promotion to president of football operations/general manager received a mixed response among the Carolina Panthers fanbase. Some wanted a complete restart with individuals from outside the organization. Others are keen to see what the former linebacker can do with full control of the playing personnel despite being Scott Fitterer's right-hand man for the past three years.
What Morgan does this offseason will be crucial to getting his skeptics onside. He's got a fan in ex-Carolina tight end and current FOX analyst Greg Olsen, who believes the Panthers are in good hands based on comments during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show via USA Today Sports.
"You remove the playing days and you remove the Mike linebacker that wanted to rip your face off, Dan is a really intelligent guy. Cut his teeth through Seattle, then he went to Buffalo for a little bit before he came to Carolina. He’s a really highly-respected guy. He’s very intelligent. I think he uses a lot of his playing days—lessons learned, now he’s carried it into the front office as he’s made his journey now to this position. This dude is like highly intelligent, great communicator, great evaluator of talent. Listen, and I want them to do well. I live here, I want my kids to cheer for the home team. I want them to succeed, and hopefully Dan does that."
- Greg Olsen via USA Today Sports
Fans are right to have concerns, especially considering David Tepper's preference for keeping people he can manipulate close. Morgan seems like a stronger character than the previous general managers under the erratic owner's watch. Stamping his mark early on will hopefully lay the foundations for a more efficient decision-making process within the organization.