The Carolina Panthers hiring Frank Reich as their head coach was one more the many George Oscar Bluth huge mistakes this moribund NFC South franchise made this past offseason. Reich was as cooked as a Thanksgiving turkey when he arrived in Charlotte. Owner David Tepper thought Reich had the secret sauce to get the most out of his new franchise quarterback. Instead, Tepper invested in spoiled milk.
Only in Charlotte is Frank an expletive. To say the Panthers are hot garbage should be taken as a compliment. They wish they could be hot garbage. Saddled with a 5-foot-something quarterback, no draft picks, no weapons and no head coach, you can safely say the Panthers are now between a rock and a hard place. Despite being in a division where everyone is below .500, Carolina looks pitiful.
So what is Tepper to do besides sell the team? He may be the new worst owner in the NFL, but there are only 32 of these jobs across the board. Yes, somebody is going to want to be the proud head coach of this train-wrecked 1-10 football team. Tepper is a billionaire, so he has made good financial decisions before. If he's smart, he should try to hire one of these ideal head-coaching candidates.
The only thing that matters right now is for Tepper to find himself Young's version of Doug Pederson...
3. Brian Johnson is the next smart offensive mind out of Philadelphia
It sounds strange to say, but there are fewer places in the NFL with a stronger track records of producing top-flight offensive minds in the game than Philadelphia. Since Jon Gruden served as an offensive coordinator there a generation ago, Philadelphia has been home to great play-callers like Andy Reid, Chip Kelly, Doug Pederson, Reich honestly at one point, Nick Sirianni and Shane Steichen.
With Steichen having early success in Indianapolis, that has us turning our attention to newly promoted offensive coordinator Brian Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles. Johnson had been the Eagles' quarterbacks coach the two previous seasons, helping Philadelphia get the most out of Jalen Hurts' talent. His offenses shoot to thrill, as the Eagles play to kill with their delightful Brotherly Shove.
Young is a more talented, albeit smaller, version of Hurts. They both starred collegiately at Alabama. Johnson may be new on the scene in terms of getting serious NFL head-coaching opportunities, but Sirianni isn't going anywhere, so he is the next best thing. As long as the Eagles keep winning at a prolifically high level, I would envision that Johnson will become an NFL head coach before too long.
He may need to wait until 2025 to get his best shot at it, but the Panthers could help him skip the line.
2. Jim Harbaugh could power through the awkwardness of David Tepper
If I had to put money on the one head-coaching candidate who would put David Tepper in his place immediately upon arrival, it would have to be Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh. He may be back on the sidelines in Indianapolis this weekend for what should be a cakewalk of a Big Ten Championship Game for the Wolverines vs. the Iowa Hawkeyes, but this could be his final season over in Ann Arbor.
This has everything to do with the Michigan sign-stealing scandal, as well as Harbaugh potentially being tired of the college game all together. He has won everywhere he has been, including a four-year stint leading the San Francisco 49ers nearly a decade ago. Harbaugh is pushing 60, but he is as youthful in spirit as a pre-teen. It is why his childlike enthusiasm could help the Panthers out big time.
Harbaugh would elevate the play of Bryce Young to what it was when he was starting games for Nick Saban at Alabama. Given that he has been coaching in the college game since 2015, Harbaugh would have a huge scouting advantage when it came to drafting players coming out the next two years. While he did finish playing for the 2001 Panthers, Harbaugh will have many better options than this.
If I were Harbaugh and wanted to leave Michigan, I would go to the Las Vegas Raiders over Carolina.
1. Ben Johnson should have been hired as Carolina's head coach last year
If David Tepper wants to stop being an idiot billionaire owner, he should look at what three historically bottom-feeding franchises have done across the league in recent years. After promoting Freddie Kitchens from within, Jimmy Haslam has gotten it right with Kevin Stefanski as the Cleveland Browns head coach. Shahid Khan netted Doug Pederson after that Urban Meyer disaster in Jacksonville.
Then, there are the Detroit Lions. Firing Jim Caldwell was a bad idea, but hiring Matt Patricia was even worse. Rather than exacerbating things, newish Lions majority Sheila Ford Hamp went outside the box in hiring Dan Campbell. The lovable meathead has quickly transformed the Lions from a doormat into an NFC juggernaut. Much of that has to do with his great coordinators, including Ben Johnson.
Johnson interviewed for the Panthers gig last season, but did not go to Carolina. A similar situation occurred in Cleveland with Stefanski, who went back to the Minnesota Vikings for one more year before getting what should have been his to begin with in Cleveland. This isn't that hard. Johnson is the guy the Panthers needed to hire last year. If they pass on him again, Tepper should sell the team.
Johnson has taken Jared Goff from a Sean McVay castoff and turned him into a Motor City superstar.
