'Smart and tough' worked once - can history repeat itself?
"Smart and tough" helped rebuild the Panthers after a 1-15 disaster in 2001. Can Dan Morgan channel that approach to resurrect the Panthers in 2024 and restore hope to the fan base?
Dan Morgan witnessed the Carolina Panthers hit rock bottom before.
As a rookie linebacker during the 2001 season, the Panthers won their opening game at Minnesota and then proceeded to lose 15 straight games.
“The energy has been sucked out of our organization and our fan base," former and late Panthers owner Jerry Richardson famously said when he fired George Seifert after that season.
Fast forward 22 years and the Panthers hit rock bottom again. Actually, rock bottom is nothing compared to the darkest pits of this abyss.
At least the Panthers had their first round pick in 2002 where they selected future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers second overall. That team also had a core of young talent and key veterans to build around.
This time they don’t have the luxury of a first round pick - the No. 1 overall selection - due to the trade up in 2023 to take Bryce Young. That pick belongs to the Chicago Bears, who hope Caleb Williams is the answer to their decades long search for a franchise quarterback.
Morgan was part of the solution as a player in 2002. In 2024, he is tasked with getting the Panthers out of the rubble.
When John Fox was hired in 2002, he consistently talked to his team about being “smart and tough.”
While the game has changed over the last two decades, Morgan seemingly wants to use that same philosophy to rebuild the Panthers.
When Morgan was introduced as President of Football Operations and General Manager on February 1, he said this team needed “dogs.”
In free agency, Morgan added toughness - aka some dogs - with interior maulers in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to shore up the offensive line. He added A’Shawn Robinson, Josey Jewell, DJ Wonnum and Jadeveon Clowney on the defensive side of the ball.
While the Panthers have to be “smart and tough” on the field to put themselves in positions to win games - Morgan and the front office must be smart in how they navigate this particular NFL Draft.
The Panthers have not seen a lot of positive return on investment with their draft capital since David Tepper bought the team in 2018. Nobody is perfect in this business. However, the moves they’ve made have mostly backfired. This is the worst stretch of football in the history of the franchise. They are 31-68 since 2018 and haven’t had a winning season since 2017, when they last made the playoffs.
Morgan seemingly knows that this organization isn’t a player away. Trading up into the first round on Thursday will likely trigger a bad dose of déjà vu for the fans that haven’t completely turned their backs on this team.
Trading up doesn’t seem like the smart move and it’s doubtful that’s the route Morgan chooses.
Time will tell if the players that are ultimately selected turn into impact players. One thing is for sure though, Morgan will only add players that fit the mantra of the team he envisions. If the dogs show some bite, it will go a long way in restoring the hope of the fan base.