The Carolina Panthers have had another tumultuous offseason. While the owner and the general manager remain the same, almost everything else has changed. There’s a new head coach, a new staff, a new starting quarterback and a dozen new faces on the roster.
More change is likely on the way soon, as general manager Marty Hurney’s contract is up after the end of the 2020 draft. That lack of job security makes it hard to consider him one of the more powerful GMs in the league.
As is appropriate, Hurney only came in at No. 21 in NFL.com’s annual GM power rankings. Here’s what Gregg Rosenthal said about Hurney.
“Hurney is a survivor. It’s remarkable that he returned to the Panthers in 2017, five years after getting fired by the team, and has since survived a change in ownership, an investigation into whether he violated the league’s personal conduct policy and, most improbable, a change in coaching staff with Matt Rhule’s hiring in January. Hurney worked well with Ron Rivera in executing the coach’s vision, and that will be the goal with Rhule, who is clearly the alpha in Carolina.”
Rosenthal has it right. Rhule’s contract is for seven years and makes him one of the highest-paid coaches in the league (he’s making even more than Andy Reid per year). While Hurney may technically outrank him when it comes to personnel decisions, the writing is on the wall.
By this time next year, coach Rhule could be the new face of the franchise.
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