During his introductory press conference on Tuesday, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich expressed his excitement about getting to work. Well, he wasn’t kidding.
As first reported by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the Panthers have requested permission to speak with Jacksonville Jaguars passing game coordinator Jim Bob Cooter for their offensive coordinator position.
Cooter cracked into the NFL as an offensive assistant with the Indianapolis Colts, a job he’d maintain from 2009 to 2011. Over the next two seasons, he’d go on to become an offensive quality control coach for the Kansas City Chiefs and then an offensive assistant for the Denver Broncos.
His next step came with the Detroit Lions, as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2014. Cooter was then promoted to offensive coordinator during the 2015 campaign, where he’d last through 2018.
The Fayetteville, Tenn. native would go on to serve as the running backs coach for the New York Jets (2019-2020) and a consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles (2021) before winding up in Jacksonville in 2022.
Rapoport also noted that the Panthers requested permission to speak with Lions assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley for an “elevated position” on their staff. This somewhat conflicts with an earlier report from ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano, who tweeted that Staley was already leaving Detroit to join Frank Reich in Carolina.
