NFL World Reacts To Panthers' Search Announcement
CHARLOTTE, NC - OCTOBER 10: Carolina Panthers helmets sit on a cart during the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Philadelphia Eagles on October 10, 2021 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. (Photo by Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Carolina Panthers have had the longest time of any NFL team to search for a head coach and have responded by casting one of the widest nets in the league thus far.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the latest coach to interview for a job in Carolina is New Orleans Saints defensive backs coach Kris Richard. Per the report, Richard is being interviewed as a possible defensive coordinator position.
Rapoport noted that the Panthers have been interviewing candidates for head coach and defensive coordinator concurrently. While not unheard of, it's usually not the trend.
Saints fans certainly don't want the Panthers to hire Richard as he's one of their better assistants, while others believe that Richard deserves consideration for head coach over defensive coordinator:
The Carolina Panthers' head coaching search has ranged from former head coaches to top coordinators throughout the league.
Just about the only place that the Panthers haven't made calls to interview candidates is the college ranks. That shouldn't be surprising after the debacle with Matt Rhule.
But it usually raises some eyebrows when a team conducts interviews for assistant jobs before hiring their head coach. Usually the newly-hired head coach gets carte blanche to decide on at least half of his coaching staff.
Some teams have had success hiring them separately, but the teams that it hasn't worked out for have been disastrous.
Are the Panthers going about this in the right way?
