Head coach vacancy power rankings: Where do the Carolina Panthers stand?
The Carolina Panthers will not be the only team making significant changes this offseason. How attractive is their head coach opening?
Right now, the Carolina Panthers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Los Angeles Chargers all have head coach vacancies. Many more could follow once the dreaded Black Monday arrives around the league.
That's never good, and struggling NFL teams always seem to clean house in the coming weeks. I think the next most likely who are going to make significant changes are the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders. The New England Patriots are also a team to keep an eye on. For the sake of this article, we'll look at each of these current and potential openings.
When you stack up the Panthers with others across the NFL, how attractive are they? Let's rank it up.
6. Carolina Panthers
I truly think no matter how many other teams have a head coach opening in 2024, the Carolina Panthers vacancy is probably the worst, and by a lot. Much of that is due to owner David Tepper, who has had a disastrous tenure since purchasing the franchise in 2018.
Tepper has made a slew of questionable decisions as owner. He seems to be meddling in football affairs and not leaving that up to the professionals who he hired to do just that. Here's just one example of the billionaire reportedly overstepping the mark.
Tepper is a notoriously interfering owner. Down to the play calling.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) November 28, 2023
He once handed his OC a piece of paper with a play on it, mid-week and said he'd seen Cleveland run that play this week, he wanted them to run it on Sunday.
A random play. https://t.co/voLZ0nyO1U
If you're a prospective head coach, why would you want to work for Tepper? Sure, he wants to win, but he's done way more harm than good for the franchise.
Meddling owners don't ever seem to change their ways. Teams with questionable ownership situations seem to be stuck in that situation until they sell the team. Just take a look at the Washington Commanders' tenure with Dan Snyder. It wasn't pretty.
The one hope is quarterback Bryce Young developing into a franchise player. This covers up a ton of other issues. That development hinges on them getting the next head coach right. Finding a quality hire in the NFL is much easier said than done. The Panthers might be in for a couple more lean years.