The Carolina Panthers just fired the winningest head coach in franchise history with four games to go in the 2019 season.
Panther’s owner David Tepper spent his first season with the team evaluating and growing the business side of the organization. Now, he will spend the end of his second season replacing Ron Rivera, his first real chance to put his stamp on football operations.
With Ron Rivera out, here is a list of names that make sense to start the coaching search:
Photo by Billie Weiss/Getty Images Baltimore Offensive Coordinator Greg Roman: His candidate stock has shot through the roof thanks to the emergence of MVP candidate Lamar Jackson, but Roman has had success in the NFL with offenses built around Tyrod Taylor and Colin Kaepernick, too. He has a healthy amount of NFL experience and is currently a part of one of the more progressive organizations with regards to analytics in the NFL.
Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Images San Francisco Defensive Coordinator Robert Saleh: Our first candidate from the defensive side of the ball, Saleh is young, energetic and has terrific communication skills. Factor in his ability to integrate analytics as a coordinator and he would seem to check a lot of hypothetical boxes for Tepper.
Photo by Lachlan Cunningham/Getty Image Minnesota Offensive Coordinator Kevin Stefanski: He interviewed for the Browns head coaching job last year and has been a huge part of the Vikings offensive resurgence this season. Stefanski is another young offensive mind with a predilection towards analytics. He should be a hot commodity this offseason.
Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images Kansas City Offensive Coordinator Eric Bieniemy: Head coach Andy Reid gets all the credit for the success of Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, but he’s always quick to push the compliments towards Bieniemy. With over a decade of NFL experience and previous head coaching interviews to his record, the big question mark with Bieniemy is whether he’d fully embrace analytics the way Tepper would prefer.
Photo by David Eulitt/Getty Images Indianapolis Offensive Coordinator Nick Sirianni: Just 38 years old, Sirianni helped engineer an offense that transitioned seamlessly from Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brisset. He’s also Philip Rivers’ former quarterbacks coach in San Diego. He comes from a family of football coaches and spent the last decade in the NFL.
© Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports Former Washington Head Coach Jay Gruden: This one isn’t going to excite anyone in particular, but Gruden was a well-respected coordinator before his time in Washington. His .418 winning percentage in the NFL isn’t sexy either, but he’s a solid offensive mind with head coaching experience. Will Tepper (or anyone else for that matter) cut him some slack considering the problems in Washington start with owner Dan Snyder and team president Bruce Allen?
Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images Other Names: Dallas DC Kris Richard; Buffalo OC Brian Daboll; Philadelphia Asstistant Head Coach Duce Staley & OC Mike Groh; San Francisco OC Mike Lafleur; Minnesota Senior Offensive Assistant Gary Kubiak.
There is no shortage of interesting names for Tepper to choose from. Let’s just hope for our sakes, he makes the right decision.