The Carolina Panthers have decided to part ways with GM Marty Hurney. The Panthers are 4-10 on the season despite having optimism for a better year.
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The Panthers clearly want to move in a new direction as they prepare to rebuild their team. This season’s disappointment should lead to a wake-up call going forward.
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Carolina Panthers Looking to Change Culture
The Panthers overhaul started last season when they did away with long-tenured coach Ron Rivera. Matt Rhule was brought in as his replacement and has not had a phenomenal first year.
The Panthers decision to fire Hurney may have been a result of misalignments with the coaching staff. Here is what owner David Tepper had to say about it:
Therefore, it seems safe to say that there must have been some communication from Rhule in this decision. Tepper also had this to say:
“I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh. We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side. Maybe it should have been. I’m sure people may say that, or otherwise, on both sides. I think it’s just time, on both sides, to do that. It just seems like the right time to move forward.”
Carolina Panthers Possible Replacements For Hurney?
The Panthers will being interviewing GM’s soon, but who should they look to target? Here are some potential candidates that the Panthers would dream of having:
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1. Joe Horitz
Hortiz is a member of the Baltimore Ravens recruiting team and has done a tremendous job in building the Ravens to be playoff contenders year in and year out.
However, the fact that he has been with the Baltimore organization for so long makes it difficult for the Panthers to pry him away.
Horitz would bring a winning culture to Carolina which it has lacked for a long time now and would drastically help in developing young talent like Christian McCaffery.
2. Mike Borgonzi
Borgonzi initially worked as a college scouting administrator for the Kansas City Chiefs, but he quickly worked his way up, earning six job promotions in the last decade.
Borgonzi is currently the Chiefs Director of Player Personnel and well there’s no need to find something to prove his success. The Chiefs have been a consistent playoff threat and since drafting Mahomes, a perennial Super Bowl threat.
If the Panthers want a winning culture, why not hire the guy who just came off a Super Bowl win and is looking to add one more this year?
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3. Luke Kuechly
Could the former superstar Panthers linebacker be a legitimate GM for the organization now? This does seem far-fetched and comes with a lot of risk as Kuechly would rise to GM status incredibly quickly with virtually no credentials.
Yes, he is on the staff as a pro-scout, but a GM is something completely different. However, there are reasons for this to work.
Kuechly has known the Panthers organization for a very long time now, and he would almost certainly be a very popular signing.
That kind of expertise and experience might be enough for the Panthers to consider a valid candidate. Of course, this is a stretch, but in taking this big of a risk, the Panthers may just strike gold.
