Carolina Panthers are beginning a front-office shake-up

Another coveted general manager position has opened with the firing of Marty Hurney. 

When Matt Rhule agreed to become the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers, fans should have known it was the start of a rebuild. After all, the franchise signed him to a seven-year deal to bring the crown of the NFL back to the Queen City.

Marty Hurney however, never was told he would be a part of the long-term plan. On Monday, his watch has ended.

The Panthers announced they had parted ways with Hurney after his second stint with the franchise as their general manager. Hurney’s contract was set to expire in June of 2021.

“I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh,” Tepper said, according to the team’s website. “We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side. Maybe it should have been. I’m sure people may say that, or otherwise, on both sides.”

Tepper also stated that Rhule would be a vital piece in helping with the GM search.

“To think that you can do that without some sort of alignment is nuts,” Tepper said. “So to not have a head coach with some input into that is stupid. I don’t want to be stupid, OK?”

Thank goodness for Panthers fans

Hurney initially joined the staff in 1998 under the Richardson family’s regime as a director of football administration. In 2002, he was promoted to GM and helped the franchise make its first Super Bowl in 2003.

Hurney returned to the franchise following the firing of now-Giants GM David Gettleman in 2017. What was expected to be an interim role eventually led to full-time once more. However, the results of bringing playoff football back to Charlotte never came to fruition this time around.

Overall, his draft record likely spared him a few more seasons than expected by the fan base. Since 2018, Hurney helped the team add talents such as DJ Moore, Donte Jackson, Brian Burns, Derrick Brown and Jeremy Chinn.

Last draft, Carolina used all seven picks on defensive players, hoping to transform one of the league’s worst units around. That didn’t happen but the building blocks are there. This could be the prized jewel front office job come 2021. With Christian McCaffery, plus a near-guaranteed top-five selection, whoever takes over will have plenty to build around for the future.