Panthers need to take bold steps

Dane Huffman

Dane Huffman, a Raleigh native, has covered North Carolina sports since 1983. He is the Sports Managing Editor at WRAL.

Panthers need to take bold steps

By Dane Huffman
Jan 22, 2009

comments

POST VIEW

John Fox inherited a shattered franchise when he became head coach of the Carolina Panthers in 2002.

Carolina was 1-15 in 2001, one of the most depressing years ever for a North Carolina sports team. After owner Jerry Richardson fired George Seifert, he said, “The energy has been sucked out of our organization and our fan base.”

The energy returned with Fox. He has taken Carolina to the NFC title game twice and the Super Bowl once. And he has done it with a careful, methodical style.

But Fox’ tenure in Charlotte is entering a critical stretch. The Panthers didn’t have a winning record in 2006 (8-8) and 2007 (7-9) and had a disastrous effort in the playoff loss to Arizona this season.

The careful Fox enters the 2009 season with his long-term future uncertain. So now it's time for Fox to be something else: bold. That includes being willing to revamp the defense and make a move to find a replacement for Jake Delhomme.

Replacing Mike Trgovac as defensive coordinator is a critical decision. Fox can’t afford to let defensive end Julius Peppers’ statements color that choice. Once the coordinator is hired, Carolina should approach Peppers with a reasonable contract offer. If he turns it down, then franchise him and trade him.

Teams can’t allow players to dictate who will coach them, and the fact that Carolina’s defensive line coach and defensive coordinator are among five off-season defections – and right after Peppers said he wants to defect - sends an ominous signal.

(Wouldn’t it be great if all of us could do that? I mean, wouldn’t you love to have your agent could blast where you work and get all your bosses removed? …. And, uh, I hope mine aren’t reading this …)

The Panthers don’t have a first-round pick and could improve their defense if they can get one in a Peppers trade.

The offense needs a receiver, and North Carolina's Hakeem Nicks will be sitting there in the second round and hoping the Panthers call.

They should. Generally, NFL teams kill themselves by taking local players over better talent, but this is a guy with unusual gifts – and a team with a real need at receiver.

Carolina must find a new quarterback. Delhomme has a year left on his contract, and the free agent pool isn’t promising. Kerry Collins will be out there, but heck, it’s too bizarre to consider.

Carolina can’t keep winning with Delhomme, as he showed in the playoffs. Fox defended him after the game but that’s the only defense Carolina showed that day. The Panthers need another option. Carolina’s backups this year were Josh McKnown and Matt Moore, who aren’t good enough to win at a high level.

One unusual aspect to drafting quarterbacks is they tend to go either high in the draft or drop into the middle rounds. And there are some quarterbacks with promise this year who merit the Panthers’ attention in rounds 3-4.

Dan Shonka of Ourlad’s recruiting service said one quarterback who intrigues him is Graham Harrell of Texas Tech.

“Graham Harrell is ultra-accurate and he can stick it into tight spots,” Shonka said. “I want to see his arm strength under the gun. … In the NFL, you’ve got to throw that ball in there.”

Accuracy, Shonka said, is hard to find, and the Panthers are certainly a team that wants to run first and pass second.

If Carolina could find a promising thrower in the middle rounds, it should take him. Harrell, Chase Daniel of Missouri, Randy Carpenter of Arizona State and perhaps even Rhett Bomar of Sam Houston State, who left Oklahoma after taking money for work he had not done at a car dealership.

Carolina can’t stand pat, drafting backup linemen and believing it has the weapons to make another run.

Be bold.

Sign Jordan Gross.

Send Peppers on his way if he doesn’t want to stay.

And draft a quarterback who can grow up with the young backs in hand – and Steve Smith and Nicks on the wings.

Most Recent Comments

RE: Panthers need to take bold steps

Hey, Matt Cassell is getting ready to be an unrestricted free agent, why not franchise Peppers and deal for Cassell? The Patriots need defensive linemen, and Cassell has some experience and has shown he has what it takes to be an NFL quarterback. Sure, it's a risk, and they'd be getting a better deal (they WOULD have to give us a 1st round pick, though), but it's probably less of a risk by dealing for Cassell than taking a chance on someone unproven right out of college. Not everyone is a Matt Ryan. How about John Gruden for defensive coordinator? I know, pipe dream, but sounds good doesn't it? And he'd love to rip Tampa a new one if given the chance.