The Carolina Panthers’ exhaustive search for a new general manager to replace the recently-fired Scott Fitterer has come to a conclusion.
Carolina announced on Monday that it has promoted assistant general manager and franchise legend Dan Morgan to the role of general manager. He’ll also serve as the team’s president of football operations.
“The Panthers named Dan Morgan the team’s President of Football Operations/General Manager on Monday, as part of a restructuring of the front office that sees the former linebacker take over the personnel operation.”
Carolina Panthers announcement of Dan Morgan as new general manager
The No. 11 overall pick of the Panthers out of Miami (F) back in 2001, Morgan played seven seasons with the team before injuries caught up to the linebacker. He earned a Pro Bowl trip with Carolina back in 2004.
Since his retirement from the game, Morgan has taken on a variety of different front office roles around the NFL.
He acted as a scouting intern for the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 before being promoted to assistant director of pro personnel from 2011-14. Morgan was then promoted again by Seattle to director of pro personnel in 2015.
He ultimately served in the same role with the Buffalo Bills from 2018-20 before being reunited with the Panthers as their assistant general manager under the aforementioned Fitterer.
For Dan Morgan and the Panthers, it’s now all about finding a new head coach after Frank Reich was fired less than a full season into his tenure with the team.
Perhaps, Morgan will be able to act as a buffer between a new head coach and hands-on owner David Tepper. It’s been an ongoing drama in Carolina over the past several months. That is to say, a less-than-stellar opinion of Tepper around league circles.
Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson is considered one of the top candidates for the opening. The same thing can be said for Bobby Slowik (offensive coordinator, Houston Texans), Dan Quinn (defensive coordinator, Dallas Cowboys), Brian Callahan (offensive coordinator, Cincinnati Bengals) and Mike Macdonald (defensive coordinator, Baltimore Ravens).
It’s certainly going to be a process building the Panthers into a contender after an ugly 2-15 season. That’s especially true with their first-round pick (No. 1 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft) heading to the Chicago Bears.