A week after his end of season press conference, Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman met individually with local media members Wednesday at the Senior Bowl. We won’t hear from Gettleman again until the NFL Combine in mid-February, so we’re going to break up his interview with us here in Mobile into three posts over the next three Wednesdays.
Part one:
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For 30 minutes, Gettleman and I talked mostly about football philosophy. I didn’t want to spend much time on questions he went over last week or on any he would answer with one sentence.He wasn’t going to delve far into Cam Newton contract talk. The Panthers have made it clear he’s their franchise quarterback. He’s going to be offered a long-term deal eventually. The ‘when’ question hangs over everyone, but the sense is it won’t happen this offseason.We weren’t going to chat much about defensive end Greg Hardy. The company line hasn’t changed. There’s nothing the Panthers are going to say until his legal situation is settled, and the organization is moving on anyway.Gettleman hasn’t sat down and talked to running back DeAngelo Williams about his future yet, so there’s nothing new there.Coach Ron Rivera is still evaluating his staff, and Gettleman isn’t going to veto Rivera’s final decisions when it comes to his coaches.Ultimately, I wanted to get a big-picture view of how Gettleman is approaching this offseason. If we can understand that, we’ll be able to better understand what the Panthers do and don’t do over the next few months.The three biggest takeaways:
1. There will be a lot of work done in 2015 for 2016.
A big part of this offseason won’t have much to do with this upcoming season. Instead, many decisions will be made about players whose contracts are scheduled to run out after 2015. Right now, 23 guys fall into that category, including a couple that look like candidates for extensions: tight end Greg Olsen and linebacker Thomas Davis.
Sure, tinkering with contracts now can free up cap space in the present, but a lot of it will mostly have to do with the future.
Gettleman: “You have to be forward thinking. It’s a huge puzzle, and you have to take everything into consideration. You can’t all of a sudden say, ‘Oh, somebody’s up.’ You have to plan ahead. You can’t put yourself in a corner where now you’re pressured.”
2. Free agency will be about value.
If there was a buzzword for our chat, ‘value’ was it. Gettleman always wants a good value, but it will be important to remember that when names like Randall Cobb and Darrelle Revis hit the open market in March.
The Panthers may be stepping up from ‘the dollar store’ to, say, Target, but they want to fill multiple trouble spots instead of spending big money on a guy who would possibly cover up just one problem.
Gettleman: “In the ideal world, your unrestricted free agency period sets you up for your draft so you can take the best player. That’s the goal. If you accomplish that, you’re in a great position.”
3. Every player the Panthers draft will again have the initials B.P.A.
During his first draft as an NFL general manager, Gettleman backed up his ‘best player available’ talk when he doubled down on defensive tackles Star Lotelelei and Kawann Short. A year later, he made many outsiders scratch their heads when he took defensive end Kony Ealy instead of a receiver or offensive tackle in the second round.
We all know the Panthers again have needs at wideout, tackle and defensive back. What we don’t know is who will be the best player available — regardless of position — when the Panthers are on the clock. And we won’t know that until after the picks are in.
Gettleman: “If you have a guy here in a position you need, and you have three guys up here at various positions that are all much better prospects than this guy, you can’t reach down here. When you reach you get in trouble.”
BlackBlueReview Is the Hardy trial going to be completed in one day or could it take months?
BlackBlueReview Is the Hardy trial going to be completed in one day or could it take months?
BlackBlueReview That is cool he sat down with you all individually. Is this a normal thing? Do other GMs do the same?
BlackBlueReview That is cool he sat down with you all individually. Is this a normal thing? Do other GMs do the same?
BlackBlueReview you say that the Panthers won’t comment on Greg Hardy, so what makes you certain he won’t be re-signed?
BlackBlueReview you say that the Panthers won’t comment on Greg Hardy, so what makes you certain he won’t be re-signed?
BlackBlueReview great post, forward and to the point! Thanks for clearing up Cam issue – I was concerned the direction was different.
BlackBlueReview great post, forward and to the point! Thanks for clearing up Cam issue – I was concerned the direction was different.
BlackBlueReview great work. I really like Mr. Gettleman. Don’t always understand his moves but they mostly work out.
BlackBlueReview great work. I really like Mr. Gettleman. Don’t always understand his moves but they mostly work out.
The_Real_AP because there’s more than what they’re not saying publicly
The_Real_AP because there’s more than what they’re not saying publicly
delahappy some, not all
delahappy some, not all
Lawson890 those things usually take about a week
Lawson890 those things usually take about a week
BlackBlueReview I just can’t wrap my head around why they wouldn’t at least attempt to bring him back, our defense is miles better with him
BlackBlueReview I just can’t wrap my head around why they wouldn’t at least attempt to bring him back, our defense is miles better with him
The_Real_AP will be writing something soon to help better explain.
The_Real_AP will be writing something soon to help better explain.
Great article and I look forward to the rest of the installment!
Great article and I look forward to the rest of the installment!
BlackBlueReview great post, enjoyed the read.
BlackBlueReview great post, enjoyed the read.
So last offseason Gettleman assembled what has to be considered the best rookie class in franchise history between the draft and UDFAs. Is the sense here that he got lucky or is this the new normal? Did the rookies who were forced into starting roles just outplay expectations or did Gettleman see something in them that others didn’t?
So last offseason Gettleman assembled what has to be considered the best rookie class in franchise history between the draft and UDFAs. Is the sense here that he got lucky or is this the new normal? Did the rookies who were forced into starting roles just outplay expectations or did Gettleman see something in them that others didn’t?
@BlackBlueReview Good Article. But here is my question. We are lauding Gettleman’s draft because most players look good or have potential. However, We lost 8 games and some weren’t close either. The Offensive line was bad for the most part and to put Bell in at LT was an injustice to him. He is a decent backup not LT material. Gettleman’s philosophy of B.P.A works in some ways but sometimes you have to reach for a need I feel. You can’t stack up one area (D-line) and ignore the O-line just because the BPA wasn’t a need.
@BlackBlueReview Good Article. But here is my question. We are lauding Gettleman’s draft because most players look good or have potential. However, We lost 8 games and some weren’t close either. The Offensive line was bad for the most part and to put Bell in at LT was an injustice to him. He is a decent backup not LT material. Gettleman’s philosophy of B.P.A works in some ways but sometimes you have to reach for a need I feel. You can’t stack up one area (D-line) and ignore the O-line just because the BPA wasn’t a need.
Please get a new offensive coordinator.
Please get a new offensive coordinator.
MangoPanther fair points, but only so much money and only so many picks and you can’t just plan for the season coming up.
MangoPanther fair points, but only so much money and only so many picks and you can’t just plan for the season coming up.
billvoth MangoPanther No you are right, he cannot plan just for the upcoming season but trusting your “franchise” QB to an LT who was already an avg RT was not the best move either. But I am exciting about this FA now that we are shopping at Target !
billvoth MangoPanther No you are right, he cannot plan just for the upcoming season but trusting your “franchise” QB to an LT who was already an avg RT was not the best move either. But I am exciting about this FA now that we are shopping at Target !