The Panthers have more than just a new head coach to find. They have to decide whether or not to retain a dozen or so pending free agents on defense, hire an assistant general manager and make a choice about what to do with starting quarterback Cam Newton.
If they end up hiring Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy (who interviewed with the team on Thursday), it sounds like Newton will be part of the puzzle. Speaking in an appearance on WFNZ, team reporter Carolina Cann said Bieniemy’s interview went well and he likes Cam Newton and wants to work with him.
Per #Panthers team reporter @ncarolinecann on @WFNZ the Eric Bieniemy interview went well and he “likes Cam Newton and wants to work with Cam Newton.”
Says team turns its attention to #Baylor HC Matt Rhule early next week, and Josh McDaniels later in the week.
— Nick Carboni (@NickCarboniWCNC) January 3, 2020
We don’t have any indication on what Matt Rhule, Josh McDaniels or Mike McCarthy think about Cam, but if they’re smart they would agree with Bieniemy.
Kyle Allen and Will Grier may yet develop into respectable starters in this league. Right now though Newton is the best option at QB1 for the Panthers and neither backup is remotely close to catching him. If the next head coach doesn’t understand that, then tough times are ahead.
From where we’re sitting, Bieniemy is the most promising of the top four candidates who have been connected to the job thus far. While critics are quick to point out that Andy Reid calls the plays for the Chiefs, they should also listen to what Reid has been saying about his assistant, such as “hire him right now.”
It’s also worth mentioning that Reid has a prosperous coaching tree. John Harbaugh and Doug Pederson have both won Super Bowls, Ron Rivera took his team there and won two Coach of the Year awards and Sean McDermott appears to be building something in Buffalo.
McCarthy has the edge over the other candidates when it comes to experience, but unless he’s dramatically changed his offensive philosophy in the last year, it’s hard to picture what a McCarthy/Cam Newton partnership would look like.
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