Carolina Panthers

The only head coach that wasn’t hired from within the NFL this season was Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule. He was coaching the Baylor Bears, who placed second in the Big 12 to the University of Oklahoma. I’m interested to see how Rhule’s coaching translates to the NFL. He’s not the Kliff Kingsbury type of coach that’s supposed to be an offensive innovator. Instead, he’s a guy who is supposed to be a leader of men and bring a winning culture to Charlotte.

The big decision Rhule will have to make during this season is what to do at the quarterback position. He’s got an all-time great in Cam Newton coming off of a Lisfranc injury, and then there’s Kyle Allen who went 5-7 as a starter in 2019. I suspect that Rhule could cut Newton loose, keep Allen as a bridge starter and draft his guy or bring someone in as a free agent. No matter what happens, this opponent is an interesting one to keep an eye on for the 2020 season.