The Carolina Panthers are entering a new era of football. Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly and Ron Rivera are out of the picture. This team is now led by the likes of Teddy Bridgewater, Christian McCaffrey and Matt Rhule.
It took Rhule two years to turn around the programs at Temple and Baylor at his previous stops. In his first season as coach he’ll face an extraordinary number of challenges both on and off the field. Let’s review the five biggest ones he’ll have to deal with in year one.
1. Pass protection
The problem: Last year, the Panthers allowed more sacks (58) than any other team in the league. Some of them you can chalk up to Kyle Allen holding onto the ball too long. Most were due to poor pass blocking, though. As a team, Carolina also ranked relatively low in advanced metrics like pass block win rate and adjusted sack rate.
What’s changed: The offensive line has turned over three starters from last season. Russell Okung will start at left tackle and both guard positions will also change, with John Miller and Michael Schofield projected to start in place of Greg Van Roten and Trai Turner.
The x-factor: The personnel changes on the field are important, but in this case the crucial one is likely a coaching one. Long-time offensive line coach John Matsko is gone and has been replaced by Pat Meyer. If he can get this group to exel in pass protection the way it has in run blocking in recent years, it will likely bring a massive improvement for the team’s passing offense.