Carolina Panthers: Matt Rhule Wasn't The Only Problem

Well there it is, the first firing of the 2022 NFL season starts with the Carolina Panthers. After a 1-4 start, the team decided to part ways with HC Matt Rhule and take the team in a different direction going forward. Not only did Rhule get fired, but he takes with him Phil Snow and Ed Foley to the unemployment line. But the Panthers should be looking higher up the food chain instead of letting their HC be the scapegoat.

While Matt Rhule might be the problem with the on-the-field play, the problem runs much deeper. Let’s take a look at the tenure of GM Scott Fitterer. As of now, his job is safe, but his head should be the first on the chopping block. The two moves designed to fix the Carolina Panthers were his two trades at quarterback. First, there’s Sam Darnold in 2021, which didn’t exactly work out as planned. Then there’s the trade for Baker Mayfield in 2022, which has been, let’s say less than spectacular.

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Both Darnold and Mayfield came from struggling teams and each struggled to get to the next level in the NFL. Yet, knowing this, Carolina skipped trying to find a quarterback to develop in a QB-heavy draft in 2021. Darnold didn’t live up to expectations but Carolina only gave up a sixth that year, with a second and a fourth-round pick this year. in 2022, they’d actually draft a quarterback in a very weak draft class at the position, but they’d also trade for Mayfield. Luckily for them, it was a late-round pick and some contract money moved around. You have to applaud Fitterer for moving quarterbacks for late picks each year, but he missed the boat both years in terms of QBs.

Rarely does a new destination fix all the issues with struggling quarterbacks, especially when that team is struggling as well. Had the GM addressed the QB position when the draft had more to choose from, they might have been better off. Four picks in total went to the QB position which wasn’t exactly guaranteed to fix the problem.

In a year when Matt Ryan was traded to the Colts, Russell Wilson was traded to the Broncos, and Deshaun Watson, Mitch Trubisky, and Marcus Mariota were on the move, Carolina whiffed again on finding a replacement quarterback. All because Fitterer evaluated Baker Mayfield on taking the run-first Browns to the playoffs. That’s not to say Mayfield hadn’t had a big game here and there but neither quarterback was worth going all-in on and putting all of Carolina’s eggs in one basket. Fitterer seemed like he settled for scraps at the end of free agency just to prove to fans he was trying to make things happen.

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Now let’s go back to those picks for a moment. While most of the NFL isn’t exactly hitting home runs with picks in the 4th-7th rounds of the NFL Draft. In two drafts and six rounds, you could’ve at least found a diamond in the rough player, or a practice squad guy to eventually become a special teams ace. Obviously finding the replacement at quarterback is way more important, but that speaks to his style at GM. Now you whiff on the first move, you suffer for one year. Then you try to make up for it, and whiff on a quarterback in your second year.

Now you’re stuck with your draft class for two years and aren’t going to see improvement and more than likely will leave via better offers in free agency when their time comes. Fitterer might be assessing damage control, only to find out he’s traded away any opportunity at depth with his developmental players and reserves. In that time frame, he will have fixed nothing and Matt Rhule took the blame.

The Carolina Panthers won’t have their playmakers from early draft picks. They won’t have their depth either. They’ll have to overspend in free agency to try and keep fans engaged. But they’ll still have to address the QB position. Matt Rhule might not be the answer, but he sure as hell wasn’t the only problem.