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Last night’s loss to the New Orleans Saints, dropped the Carolina Panthers to 0-2 on the 2023 season, with both losses coming in the division, and as you could imagine, the fallout has been extreme. After trading up to draft Bryce Young in the NFL Draft, after hiring an all-star coaching staff, expectations were high for the Panthers to return to being competitive both in the division and in the NFC overall. And while all of those things are still possible, given the struggles on the offensive side of the football, it’s harder to see that vision coming to fruition this season.
The word rebuild gets used whenever you see a coaching change, like when the Panthers fired Matt Rhule and hired Rank Reich. Except that the Panthers, never admitted to being in a rebuild, saying it was more of a reset, both with the roster, and the coaching staff. Mike Kaye from The Charlotte Observer, joined Wes & Walker to talk about the idea that the Panthers aren’t in a rebuild, and he pushed back on that belief. Kaye stated that the Panthers are in more of a philosophical rebuild, than an organizational rebuild. With Scott Fitterer been in place since the 2021 season, the Panthers front office is stable, and there’s no reason to believe that his job is in jeopardy.
That philosophy lies on the offensive side of the football, as the Panthers hired the first-ever offensive-minded head coach in franchise history, after years of hiring defensive-minded head coaches. There is a new way of doing things, that we’ve never seen in Carolina, and with that, there needs to be some added patience. Bryce Young is more than capable of being the type of quarterback he was drafted to be, but it wasn’t going to happen overnight. Carolina’s skill position talent isn’t in the best position, after trading away DJ Moore, to be able to draft Bryce Young. And while the offensive line does possess young talent, injuries to experienced players have hindered that unit from being the best in the early part of the season.
David Tepper made the wrong hire in Matt Rhule, that much he had admitted to. He’s hoping that the philosophical change his franchise is currently undergoing under Frank Reich will result in the type of winning, he, and his fanbase are seeking on a more consistent basis.
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Mike Kaye – Panthers Are Undergoing Philosophical Rebuild was originally published on wfnz.com
