After keeping their playoff hopes alive for an absurdly long time, the Carolina Panthers were officially eliminated from postseason contention with a 30-24 loss to Tampa Bay on the road Sunday afternoon.
Sitting at 6-10 entering the final week of the regular season, the Panthers are anticipating an offseason full of change. One decision Carolina will have to make quickly is whether to retain interim head coach Steve Wilks or bring in someone new for the position.
Wilks deserves his fair share of credit for helping turn things around this season. At the time of Matt Rhule’s firing, the Panthers were 1-4 and had one of the most inept offenses in the entire league. When Wilks took over the head job, he focused on establishing the run and creating a smash-mouth identity for his team. The Panthers rank 12th in the NFL in rushing yards per game (127.4), and most of that production has come after trading All-Pro Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers midway through the season.
Couple that with his knowledge of defensive schemes and his likable personality, and Wilks was exactly the right man for the job. But is he the right choice going forward?
I don’t think so.
To complete their turnaround, the Panthers need to bring in an offensive coach to maximize the talent already on the roster and mentor a new starting quarterback who can become the face of the franchise.
The Panthers have never really had an offensive-minded head coach, per se. After playing under defensive guru John Fox from 2002 to 2010, Carolina hired defensive coordinator Ron Rivera to become its next head coach. Both Fox and Rivera had varying levels of success, each coaching the Panthers to a Super Bowl appearance, but even the best team’s they coached — including the one led by 2015 MVP Cam Newton — always leaned on their defense to set the tone.
The introduction of new concepts and rules into the NFL over the past decade have undoubtedly benefited offenses, but Carolina always seems a step behind the pack in terms of having a schematic edge over their opponent.
What Carolina needs is an offensive mind, and at the top of my wish list for the team is Buffalo offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey.
A former starting quarterback at the University of Miami, Dorsey already has experience working in Charlotte. After starting as a scouting intern in 2011-12, he officially joined the Panthers staff as their quarterbacks coach in 2013. During his time with the Panthers, he helped develop Cam Newton into one of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the entire NFL.
After a one-year hiatus in 2018, Dorsey returned to coaching in 2019 as the quarterbacks coach in Buffalo under former Panthers defensive coordinator Sean McDermott. Over the past several seasons, Dorsey has been partly responsible from turning Josh Allen from an inaccurate gunslinger to a perennial MVP candidate.
This year’s Bills rank fourth in the league in total offense (381.4 yards per game) and ninth in passing offense (243.3). Despite Allen dealing with an elbow injury, Dorsey has constructed an offense that has been able to withstand any adversity that has come their way.
If the Panthers are able to convince Dorsey to return, the next step in completing their rebuild will be finding a new quarterback. For as solid as Sam Darnold has been the last month of the season, he is not a difference-maker at the position, and in today’s NFL, you either have a guy you can depend on in the playoffs, or you’re actively searching for that guy.
If Carolina loses in Week 18 to the Saints, they’ll lock in a top-10 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Whatever happens over these next few months, the Panthers need to put themselves in position to take one of the top players available at quarterback in this year’s class.
While Alabama’s Bryce Young is the current favorite to go No. 1 overall, several other teams slated inside the top five — Arizona, Seattle and Detroit — aren’t in desperate need of a new quarterback, and might be willing to trade down with the Panthers to acquire more draft capital.
If I’m Carolina, I’m doing everything I can to draft C.J. Stroud, the Ohio State quarterback who will likely be the No. 2 ranked prospect at the position come draft time.
Stroud has had his ups and downs this year, but he ended the season on an extreme high note with a 348-yard, four touchdown performance in a losing effort against No. 1 Georgia in the College Football Playoff Semifinals on New Year’s Eve.
If the Panthers can somehow bag both Dorsey and Stroud, it will assuredly do wonders to team’s rebuilding effort, as well as appease fans who have been clamoring for a bit of good news after several seasons wallowing in mediocrity.
Fans like me.
Please.
Sports Editor Jeremy Vernon can be reached at jeremy@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @jbo_vernon.