With former head coach Frank Reich out of the picture, the Carolina Panthers may be taking a different approach with the face of their franchise.
As part of his Week 14 takeaways, Sports Illustrated senior NFL reporter Albert Breer disclosed a bit of information he’s heard regarding quarterback Bryce Young and the team’s coaching staff (or whatever’s left of it). Breer, after Carolina’s 28-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints, wrote the following:
Bryce Young didn’t look much better Sunday, going 13-of-36 for 137 yards and a 48.0 passer rating. But the Panthers are trying to do more to get him going. With QBs coach Josh McCown gone, Jim Caldwell is now in the quarterback room every day, and interim coach Chris Tabor has pushed, in colorful language, for a tougher approach with the quarterback. The good news is that, as I’ve heard it, OC Thomas Brown was already an advocate for pushing more accountability with the team’s No. 1 pick.
Last week’s report from Joe Person and Dianna Russini of The Athletic noted that some within the organization believed Reich and former quarterbacks Josh McCown “weren’t tough enough” on the 22-year-old rookie. McCown and assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley were dismissed by interim head coach Chris Tabor just hours after Reich’s firing on Nov. 27.
Taking accountability, however, certainly hasn’t been a weakness for Young—who has repeatedly shouldered the blame for the offense’s ongoing struggles.
Either way, Brown, Young and the rest of their unit—through 14 painful weeks—keep leaving us with more questions than answers.
