The Carolina Panthers entered the NFL offseason with the least attractive head coach and general manager vacancies in the NFL. With highly-coveted candidates prioritizing other clubs, the Panthers may have to settle for hires that won’t have strong fan support.
Carolina had one of the most attractive head-coach openings a year ago. However, No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young had one of the worst seasons by a rookie quarterback in NFL history and Frank Reich became the latest coach Tepper fired.
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While a majority of the focus has been on the Panthers coaching search, Carolina is also seeking a replacement for general manager Scott Fitterer. Despite a strong pool of general manager candidates around the NFL, the Panthers now seem to be increasingly likely to make a hire that fans have viewed as the worst-case scenario.
According to Adam Caplan of Pro Football Network, assistant general manager Dan Morgan has a “legit shot” to become the Panthers’ general manager in 2024. Morgan has very strong support from ownership and is already overseeing the personnel department with Fitterer gone.
Morgan was well-liked by the fan base during his playing days. From 2001-’07 in Carolina, the former No. 11 pick earned a Pro Bowl selection in 2004 and recorded nearly 400 tackles in his career. Following his retirement, he joined the Seattle Seahawks as a scouting intern and quickly worked his way up the front office ladder.
When Carolina hired Fitterer as its general manager, he brought Morgan (Buffalo Bills director of player personnel) over to join him as assistant general manager. He’s helped lead the Panthers’ draft process since the start of the 2021 offseason.
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While Morgan has been viewed by some as a future NFL general manager, promoting him after cleaning out the rest of the organization wouldn’t be viewed as a step forward for Tepper. Instead, he’d be giving the job to an executive that he has a friendship with and feels like he can influence.
Already without a 2024 first-round pick and struggling to land one of their top coaching candidates, the Panthers’ offseason isn’t shaping up to be any better than it was a year ago.
