Panthers Hire Baylor’s Matt Rhule

[Yosef10]

As a Panther fan I will be WAY more concerned if they give Cam a new 5 year $150M guaranteed contract. Couldn't care less about the length of the coaching contracts. Those can go away with zero hit to the cap.

I think if we can find an affordable way to kick the tires on Cam for another season or two, you do it. As we have seen, you can’t just put the flavor of the month under center and expect to win. Defensive Coordinators just need a little bit of film to negate an average QB. A healthy Cam offers too many ways to hurt NFL defenses. The guy took these receivers to the super bowl- Bersin, Ginn, Cotchery, and downtown Philly Brown. 15-1, 60% comp, and 35 TDs..... so STUPID how good of a season that was,

and hasn't shown to be that good since then.

https://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-pant ... atform=amp

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/n ... orv-turner

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... utType=amp

Cam Newton makes people stupid.

Those were opinion pieces and he has been good at times but he can't stay healthy. He has either missed time or played hurt. The ESPN.com piece was in October. That is just halfway through the year. Remember, the most important ability is availability.

Here is the most important link that matters with his numbers each year: http://www.nfl.com/player/camnewton/2495455/careerstats

As you can see, he has been a good player but not great player outside of that 2015 season.
There has been talk of him being let go, which I would not do yet, because they still won without him some when that Kyle Allen took over.

He is not even considered top 10 in the NFL now. I would take Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Jimmy G, Rodgers, Watson, Matt Ryan, etc over him right now.

His draft position and being talked about so much by the talking heads is what makes people cloud his true value. Don't ever use SB Nation and ESPN opinion pieces as a fact source to back up an opinion. LOL. You can look at the stats this year and the facts don't back up that he is a great QB over the last 5 years. He is solid but not great. A little overrated based on general public opinion.

Do you know who votes on MVP? It’s NFL writers. Do you know who wrote those “opinion pieces”? NFL writers. He was also on the board in Vegas with listed odds for MVP as late as week 8. So hardly a year ago and hardly an opinion. He was playing MVP ball until TJ Watt lit him up. Cam Newton Makes People Stupid.

[AppStFan1]

I think if we can find an affordable way to kick the tires on Cam for another season or two, you do it. As we have seen, you can’t just put the flavor of the month under center and expect to win. Defensive Coordinators just need a little bit of film to negate an average QB. A healthy Cam offers too many ways to hurt NFL defenses. The guy took these receivers to the super bowl- Bersin, Ginn, Cotchery, and downtown Philly Brown. 15-1, 60% comp, and 35 TDs..... so STUPID how good of a season that was,

and hasn't shown to be that good since then.

https://www.espn.com/blog/carolina-pant ... atform=amp

https://www.sbnation.com/platform/amp/n ... orv-turner

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2 ... utType=amp

Cam Newton makes people stupid.

Those were opinion pieces and he has been good at times but he can't stay healthy. He has either missed time or played hurt. The ESPN.com piece was in October. That is just halfway through the year. Remember, the most important ability is availability.

Here is the most important link that matters with his numbers each year: http://www.nfl.com/player/camnewton/2495455/careerstats

As you can see, he has been a good player but not great player outside of that 2015 season.
There has been talk of him being let go, which I would not do yet, because they still won without him some when that Kyle Allen took over.

He is not even considered top 10 in the NFL now. I would take Mahomes, Russell Wilson, Lamar Jackson, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Jimmy G, Rodgers, Watson, Matt Ryan, etc over him right now.

His draft position and being talked about so much by the talking heads is what makes people cloud his true value. Don't ever use SB Nation and ESPN opinion pieces as a fact source to back up an opinion. LOL. You can look at the stats this year and the facts don't back up that he is a great QB over the last 5 years. He is solid but not great. A little overrated based on general public opinion.

Do you know who votes on MVP? It’s NFL writers. Do you know who wrote those “opinion pieces”? NFL writers. He was also on the board in Vegas with listed odds for MVP as late as week 8. So hardly a year ago and hardly an opinion. He was playing MVP ball until TJ Watt lit him up. Cam Newton Makes People Stupid.

Were those writers among the voters? I would have to go searching the AP website but I'm pretty sure the guy at SB Nation and Vegas were not among them. And again go look at the stats the last 3 years on NFL.com that I posted.

Someone else said he has not been good at all since the one year and that is not true but he has not been a legit MVP candidate at the end of the year. He is always talked about early on and in the preseason but never in the discussion after 4-5 weeks since 2015. He was never in the hunt this year because he only played 2 games and prior to the injury did not have a TD pass and had one pick. Talking about 2018 he had 24 TDs and 13 picks through the air. That is good but nowhere near MVP worthy.

Newton does not make people stupid. The point was you said he is one of the best in the NFL right now and he is a MVP candidate. He had one great year and then a very good year in 2018 but outside of that he has been an average starter who can't stay healthy. This owner and HC did not draft him so Newton is not guaranteed to stay.

[spong]

Someone help me with my Western Carolina trivia.

Matt Rhule spent several years as Western and was the AHC in 2005 which is often times a coach in waiting position. The head coach at the time was Kent Briggs who went on to be a high school coach at Cherokee HS.

Matt Rhule leaves to be a position coach Temple in 2006 and the rest is history.

Western Carolina has a VERY long coaching search involving outside firms and stuff and hires in Dennis Wagner 2008. It was a bad hire.

Did Western interview or even consider Matt Rhule for the job in 2008?

It's fun to think of what might have happened if this guy was coaching against us for the Mountain Jug back in the day.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

Someone help me with my Western Carolina trivia.

Matt Rhule spent several years as Western and was the AHC in 2005 which is often times a coach in waiting position. The head coach at the time was Kent Briggs who went on to be a high school coach at Cherokee HS.

Matt Rhule leaves to be a position coach Temple in 2006 and the rest is history.

Western Carolina has a VERY long coaching search involving outside firms and stuff and hires in Dennis Wagner 2008. It was a bad hire.

Did Western interview or even consider Matt Rhule for the job in 2008?

It's fun to think of what might have happened if this guy was coaching against us for the Mountain Jug back in the day.

Having bad hiring decisions more often than not does seem to be the WCU MO.

[BeauFoster]

I think Rhule left before the coaching change (if I remember correctly).

[AppStFan1]

I think Rhule left before the coaching change (if I remember correctly).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matt_Rhule

Yes. Rhule left after 2005 season and Briggs was still there. Briggs got fired after 2007 I believe? Was it Briggs or Wagner whose wife had sex with a player? I remember laughing because the player got suspended for a violation of team rules and I wondered how on earth that was a rule written down? LOL

[appstatealum]

Those were opinion pieces and he has been good at times but he can't stay healthy. He has either missed time or played hurt. The ESPN.com piece was in October. That is just halfway through the year. Remember, the most important ability is availability.

Here is the most important link that matters with his numbers each year: http://www.nfl.com/player/camnewton/2495455/careerstats

Someone else said he has not been good at all since the one year and that is not true but he has not been a legit MVP candidate at the end of the year. He is always talked about early on and in the preseason but never in the discussion after 4-5 weeks since 2015. He was never in the hunt this year because he only played 2 games and prior to the injury did not have a TD pass and had one pick. Talking about 2018 he had 24 TDs and 13 picks through the air. That is good but nowhere near MVP worthy.

Newton does not make people stupid. The point was you said he is one of the best in the NFL right now and he is a MVP candidate. He had one great year and then a very good year in 2018 but outside of that he has been an average starter who can't stay healthy. This owner and HC did not draft him so Newton is not guaranteed to stay.

There is more to winning in the NFL than one guy, and clearly the Panther's last 10 years of management has struggled to properly build around Cam. With all that being said, he has been great more than just 2015.

Rookie year- 4800 total yards / 35 total TDs /60% completion

2013- 3900 total yards/ 30 total TDs/ 62% comp

2017- 4000 total yards/ 28 total TDs/ 60% comp

2018- 3800 total yards/ 28 total TDs/ 68% comp (14 games)

Injuries have clearly plagued Cam, but the lack of support around him is just as big of a problem. When a QB is forced to do everything to try and help a team win, it's never going to work and the QB is never going to progress in development. As much as everyone wants to crown Mahomes, his season last year wasn't too far off from Cam's MVP season and I'd argue Cam did it with less talent around him- not to mention Cam actually made it to the big game and Mahomes didn't.

He is very polarizing, and it's an umbrella statement, but he indeed makes people stupid. I have too many pointless arguments with fans about Cam and when I start mentioning facts, their criticism just becomes narrowed down to "he dresses stupid and he is selfish". I'm not talking fashion, I'm talking football. If there is a chance he bounces back fully healthy, he is right back in the mix as one of the greats. When the best receiver you have thrown too is a slow white TE and Steve Smith on the backend of his career, and you've been to a Superbowl and the playoffs in half of the seasons you have played.....thats pretty impressive.

[AppStFan1]

Those were opinion pieces and he has been good at times but he can't stay healthy. He has either missed time or played hurt. The ESPN.com piece was in October. That is just halfway through the year. Remember, the most important ability is availability.

Here is the most important link that matters with his numbers each year: http://www.nfl.com/player/camnewton/2495455/careerstats

Someone else said he has not been good at all since the one year and that is not true but he has not been a legit MVP candidate at the end of the year. He is always talked about early on and in the preseason but never in the discussion after 4-5 weeks since 2015. He was never in the hunt this year because he only played 2 games and prior to the injury did not have a TD pass and had one pick. Talking about 2018 he had 24 TDs and 13 picks through the air. That is good but nowhere near MVP worthy.

Newton does not make people stupid. The point was you said he is one of the best in the NFL right now and he is a MVP candidate. He had one great year and then a very good year in 2018 but outside of that he has been an average starter who can't stay healthy. This owner and HC did not draft him so Newton is not guaranteed to stay.

There is more to winning in the NFL than one guy, and clearly the Panther's last 10 years of management has struggled to properly build around Cam. With all that being said, he has been great more than just 2015.

Rookie year- 4800 total yards / 35 total TDs /60% completion

2013- 3900 total yards/ 30 total TDs/ 62% comp

2017- 4000 total yards/ 28 total TDs/ 60% comp

2018- 3800 total yards/ 28 total TDs/ 68% comp (14 games)

Injuries have clearly plagued Cam, but the lack of support around him is just as big of a problem. When a QB is forced to do everything to try and help a team win, it's never going to work and the QB is never going to progress in development. As much as everyone wants to crown Mahomes, his season last year wasn't too far off from Cam's MVP season and I'd argue Cam did it with less talent around him- not to mention Cam actually made it to the big game and Mahomes didn't.

He is very polarizing, and it's an umbrella statement, but he indeed makes people stupid. I have too many pointless arguments with fans about Cam and when I start mentioning facts, their criticism just becomes narrowed down to "he dresses stupid and he is selfish". I'm not talking fashion, I'm talking football. If there is a chance he bounces back fully healthy, he is right back in the mix as one of the greats. When the best receiver you have thrown too is a slow white TE and Steve Smith on the backend of his career, and you've been to a Superbowl and the playoffs in half of the seasons you have played.....thats pretty impressive.

He has elite talent but I think the word great is used way too much. The most important ability is availability and he has not been the best with his health. You have to factor in the health when talking about a player. There are a lot of great college players who could have been real good or great in the NFL but they could not stay healthy. Cam is a very good QB who could be great if he stayed healthy and had more around him.

Cam is polarizing but yes how he dresses is not relevant here. I don't like what he did at Florida and I know his dad sold him to Florida, his dad is a huge issue, but that is not the argument.

Panthers fans are always a little more bias towards Cam just like they were towards Jake Delhomme. Many fans and their front office thought he was an elite QB but he was not. He was an average QB who had a stacked roster to take them to the Super Bowl.

Do you think Rhule will 100% keep him or look around? If you have a great QB you don't look around in free agency or take a QB in the 1st round. I think Rhule will push Hurney out the door if he is going to get the most out of Cam. Hurney overpays players, keeps them too long, and is not great in the draft. I'm not a Panthers fan and so I hope they keep Hurney because that will limit Rhule but if I'm Matt Rhule I'm getting Hurney out of there and seeing if Cam can get healthy. If Cam is 100% healthy then I would keep him but if he has anything that hampers him from being 100% I would look to the draft for his replacement. Once QBs hit 30 staying healthy is even more important.

[BUTCH1991]

I know of no one that thought Jake was a great QB. Jake was a game manager and a good leader.

[BeauFoster]

I know of no one that thought Jake was a great QB. Jake was a game manager and a good leader.

And a decent radio guy, too. I enjoy listening to him when I'm on the golf course on Sundays.

[AppStFan1]

I know of no one that thought Jake was a great QB. Jake was a game manager and a good leader.

I know some people who worked for Carolina back when he played. They thought he was way better than a game manager. That is why they stuck with him for several years.

[AppStFan1]

I look at Cam Newton like this. He is a very good player who has not lived up to hype because of immaturity and injury for most part. He is not a HOF player now but if he stays healthy and gets a Super Bowl win along with putting up big numbers consistently for a few more years.

He was not a MVP candidate in 2018 or 2019. The last time he was a candidate was in 2015. He did not even make the Pro Bowl in 2018. The last time he made it was 2015 and he only has 3 Pro Bowls through 9 years. He made the 2012 Pro Bowl in with just a 21-17 ratio mainly off the hype and as an injury replacement. He has really made just 2 Pro Bowls, deservingly, in 9 years.

Just keep an eye on what happens with Newton. I am not sure if Newton will fully embrace the new culture. Rhule has a tough, team first, hard work, grind mentality. He will bring that and Cam Newton is not that type of guy. He is a good player with a lot of talent but he has to stay healthy and will have to adapt to the new culture or Rhule will send him packing.

[NavyApp]

I look at Cam Newton like this. He is a very good player who has not lived up to hype because of immaturity and injury for most part. He is not a HOF player now but if he stays healthy and gets a Super Bowl win along with putting up big numbers consistently for a few more years.

He was not a MVP candidate in 2018 or 2019. The last time he was a candidate was in 2015. He did not even make the Pro Bowl in 2018. The last time he made it was 2015 and he only has 3 Pro Bowls through 9 years. He made the 2012 Pro Bowl in with just a 21-17 ratio mainly off the hype and as an injury replacement. He has really made just 2 Pro Bowls, deservingly, in 9 years.

Just keep an eye on what happens with Newton. I am not sure if Newton will fully embrace the new culture. Rhule has a tough, team first, hard work, grind mentality. He will bring that and Cam Newton is not that type of guy. He is a good player with a lot of talent but he has to stay healthy and will have to adapt to the new culture or Rhule will send him packing.

Umm not sure where you get your information but the book on Cam over the past 5 years is that he is the hardest working player on the team. Lives in the weight room, constantly working with guys in the off season. As to being team first, I've never heard anyone who has played with him say anything besides he wants the best for his guys. He is always the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines. Mr. All America himself Greg Olsen sings Cams praises. I know not everyone likes the guy but I don't know of another player in the league who has more negative things made up about them than Cam.

[AppStFan1]

I look at Cam Newton like this. He is a very good player who has not lived up to hype because of immaturity and injury for most part. He is not a HOF player now but if he stays healthy and gets a Super Bowl win along with putting up big numbers consistently for a few more years.

He was not a MVP candidate in 2018 or 2019. The last time he was a candidate was in 2015. He did not even make the Pro Bowl in 2018. The last time he made it was 2015 and he only has 3 Pro Bowls through 9 years. He made the 2012 Pro Bowl in with just a 21-17 ratio mainly off the hype and as an injury replacement. He has really made just 2 Pro Bowls, deservingly, in 9 years.

Just keep an eye on what happens with Newton. I am not sure if Newton will fully embrace the new culture. Rhule has a tough, team first, hard work, grind mentality. He will bring that and Cam Newton is not that type of guy. He is a good player with a lot of talent but he has to stay healthy and will have to adapt to the new culture or Rhule will send him packing.

Umm not sure where you get your information but the book on Cam over the past 5 years is that he is the hardest working player on the team. Lives in the weight room, constantly working with guys in the off season. As to being team first, I've never heard anyone who has played with him say anything besides he wants the best for his guys. He is always the biggest cheerleader on the sidelines. Mr. All America himself Greg Olsen sings Cams praises. I know not everyone likes the guy but I don't know of another player in the league who has more negative things made up about them than Cam.

Let's see what Carolina does with him. You would think they would move to extend him 4-5 years but they have not yet. I'm just saying I could see Cam Newton going elsewhere and actions from ownership are clear they are open to it. My opinion is the injury history is a concern and he may or may not fit in with Rhule's mentality. I

With that said, I'm sure if Carolina was open to a trade they could get a couple good draft picks or some good players in return. Someone will gladly pay for Cam Newton. I think he is a very good player that should bring in a solid haul if they decided to trade him next year.

[appstatealum]

I look at Cam Newton like this. He is a very good player who has not lived up to hype because of immaturity and injury for most part. He is not a HOF player now but if he stays healthy and gets a Super Bowl win along with putting up big numbers consistently for a few more years.

He was not a MVP candidate in 2018 or 2019. The last time he was a candidate was in 2015. He did not even make the Pro Bowl in 2018. The last time he made it was 2015 and he only has 3 Pro Bowls through 9 years. He made the 2012 Pro Bowl in with just a 21-17 ratio mainly off the hype and as an injury replacement. He has really made just 2 Pro Bowls, deservingly, in 9 years.

Just keep an eye on what happens with Newton. I am not sure if Newton will fully embrace the new culture. Rhule has a tough, team first, hard work, grind mentality. He will bring that and Cam Newton is not that type of guy. He is a good player with a lot of talent but he has to stay healthy and will have to adapt to the new culture or Rhule will send him packing.

A good friend of mine worked for the Panthers for years and had just left before the Jerry stuff went down. He is always pretty matter of fact in his statements about Cam (not really biased one way or the other on him), but he has always told me that Cam was one of the hardest working players on the team. He said Cam would beat most people to the stadium and already be doing his workouts etc before most of the team/staff/stadium sales folks rolled in...and would be the last to leave. He said he was a bit immature in the way he acted like a big kid, but when it came to the duties as a QB and leading by example, there was no comparison. He gets a bad rap because he clearly enjoys himself a little too much and that annoys people, but the reality is, he is in the entertainment business, and he definitely entertains. But anyone I have met through my buddy, who worked for the team for the majority of Cams career, they all laugh off the criticism of Cam because they see the work he puts in better than anyone.

[AppStFan1]

I look at Cam Newton like this. He is a very good player who has not lived up to hype because of immaturity and injury for most part. He is not a HOF player now but if he stays healthy and gets a Super Bowl win along with putting up big numbers consistently for a few more years.

He was not a MVP candidate in 2018 or 2019. The last time he was a candidate was in 2015. He did not even make the Pro Bowl in 2018. The last time he made it was 2015 and he only has 3 Pro Bowls through 9 years. He made the 2012 Pro Bowl in with just a 21-17 ratio mainly off the hype and as an injury replacement. He has really made just 2 Pro Bowls, deservingly, in 9 years.

Just keep an eye on what happens with Newton. I am not sure if Newton will fully embrace the new culture. Rhule has a tough, team first, hard work, grind mentality. He will bring that and Cam Newton is not that type of guy. He is a good player with a lot of talent but he has to stay healthy and will have to adapt to the new culture or Rhule will send him packing.

A good friend of mine worked for the Panthers for years and had just left before the Jerry stuff went down. He is always pretty matter of fact in his statements about Cam (not really biased one way or the other on him), but he has always told me that Cam was one of the hardest working players on the team. He said Cam would beat most people to the stadium and already be doing his workouts etc before most of the team/staff/stadium sales folks rolled in...and would be the last to leave. He said he was a bit immature in the way he acted like a big kid, but when it came to the duties as a QB and leading by example, there was no comparison. He gets a bad rap because he clearly enjoys himself a little too much and that annoys people, but the reality is, he is in the entertainment business, and he definitely entertains. But anyone I have met through my buddy, who worked for the team for the majority of Cams career, they all laugh off the criticism of Cam because they see the work he puts in better than anyone.

I have known a few Panthers employees as well and one thing I have learned is they are very loyal to their players. For example, I did not hear complaints about Josh Norman but folks at Coastal Carolina could not say anything good about him behind closed doors. He appears to be a good guy but he does charity stuff in public to save face and make himself look good. He treated his coaches awful but they did not tell people that publicly. They told the truth privately though.

I would think though based on what he said the Panthers have no reason not to keep Cam Newton. So he must expect they will sign him to an extension very soon?

[T-Dog]

Any decision the Panthers make about Cam will have to be 100 percent based on whether they think he can be healthy going forward. It's a tough situation going into the last year of his contract, being close to 30 and I don't know about Hurney managing it well.

Yes, he should have dove on the ball in SB50, he shouldn't have walked away from the post-SB50 presser and he shouldn't have made a sexist comment about one of the female beat writers. Everything else is nonsense from people who want him to fail IMO.

Currently, he's the best chance the Panthers have at being great in 2020. They just need 2-3 offensive linemen who can buy him just a second more of time, otherwise he'll get injured again.

Rhule as the coach is a gamble. It's like when Jerry Jones brought in Jimmy Johnson from Miami to the Cowboys when Jerry had just bought the team. I do hope they can use analytics and "computer people" to help the team gain an edge against the dinosaurs of the league.

[bigdaddyg]

There isn't a quarterback in the NFL who could succeed behind that crap of a line. If the Panthers can even upgrade 50% and Cam still tries to run (safely) enough to keep defenses honest (and stop throwing off of his back foot) the offense would be upgraded significantly.

[Yosef84]

There isn't a quarterback in the NFL who could succeed behind that crap of a line. If the Panthers can even upgrade 50% and Cam still tries to run (safely) enough to keep defenses honest (and stop throwing off of his back foot) the offense would be upgraded significantly.

This! If the Panthers want to improve, they have to start in the trenches. Without an OL, nobody will look good at QB...or WR/RB for that matter. That makes it even more amazing that McCaffrey is as good as he has been.

[appstatealum]

The trenches is where all Superbowls are won and lost. If you can protect your quarterback and disrupt the opponent's QB, you can win. It's that simple.