Opening statement:

“Given the roller coaster season we had, I’m just really proud of the accomplishments in where we finished. Ron, his staff, and the players just did a great job of keeping on it. They believed, they kept working, and the proof is in the pudding. We finished strong. Yes, we lost to Seattle Saturday night, but we certainly played them into the fourth quarter. It’s 31-17, we’re sitting on the 13-yard line. We get the ball in the end zone there, the game is on, there’s five minutes left. So I’m really proud about that. And I’m excited. As you guys know, I know you can read, we had a lot of young guys playing this year at the end of the season. We’re excited about those guys. I guess I’m like Ron, I’m an optimistic guy, you guys know that. I’m just really pleased with the way those young kids got inserted when they did and played the way they played. You guys know how many young kids we played, so I’m really excited about that. Obviously we have work to do. There’s no resting on your laurels. We have some work to do, and we’re going to get it done. We’re going to continue to build this right. We’ll get into the evaluation season and just get this right. Like I said, I’m just really excited about what we have to work with and where we’re going. Just so you guys understand, nothing’s changed. I’m not going to talk about contracts, so don’t go there. And guys, I’m not going to talk about the future of specific players. I have not had the opportunity to speak to everybody and that’s a process that’s going to take place over the next couple of weeks. I also haven’t had time to really climb into the film. Obviously, I watch film every week, and I’ve got feelings, but I learned a long time ago that until you go through the process, you have to be really careful in this business about being emotional about players. That’s where we’re at. And like I said, again, for the 15th time—I’m excited.”

Any positions you feel need a major upgrade?

“Ron and I have talked the last couple days, we’d like to get faster. We need more speed, we know that. We’re not silly. We’re not going to miss the obvious. You want to upgrade every position, everywhere. If you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. We’ve talked about that. You don’t want to maintain the status quo. We can’t maintain the status quo. We’ve had two kind of crazy, really interesting seasons. In terms of upgrading, of course we’re going to look to upgrade.”

Why did it take so long to realize you didn’t have speed?

“I don’t think it took time to realize it. More than anything else, with every guy it’s a process. When you insert rookies in there, it’s going to take time. It’s a proven fact — they’re not going to play as fast until they know what they’re doing. We just felt we’re not going to put a guy out there until we feel he’s ready. We put them out there when they were ready. Obviously Bene and Tre made us faster in the backend. They were hurt. Tre comes in; we’ve got to do hernia surgery right away. We knew that. He’s hurt. We finally get him on the field in training camp. He pulls a scar tissue, so now he’s out again. So it took time. We had to get him healthy first. And then because of all the lost time, he had to figure out what he was doing. Bene missed six games. He missed seven weeks. It was difficult. It was really frustrating, is what it was.”

Were the free agents you brought in slower than you thought when you signed them?

“No. It was about economics. I told you guys last year at the post-season presser, that we were going to struggle and it was economic driven. I’ve also said that when that cap jumped five million, that put us in a bad spot. I told you guys last offseason, again, it’s the credit card concept. I owe 15 grand on the credit card, all of a sudden I got a big raise, oh boy, now I can jump it up to 20? Uh uh, you can’t do it. That cap jumping and the UFA signings we did in the offseason was economics driven. I told you guys we have to get out of this situation, and we are in a better place right now than we were a year ago.”

Are you still not out of your cap difficulties?

“We’re better this year than we were last year. The cap is something we work at every day. We look at it and look at it and look at it. Now that we know where we’re at, what excites me is last year when I was sitting here talking to you guys, we had 22 UFAs. This year I think it’s 11. We’re in a better place. We’ve got younger talent under contract, and young talent that everybody in Charlotte should be excited about. So we’re in a better place.”

Is it a priority to get Cam Newton under a long-term contract this year?

“I’m not going to talk about contracts. I’m not.”

Do you still feel he’s your franchise quarterback?

“Yes.”

Do you want a long-term deal with Cam?

“I just told you I believe he’s a franchise quarterback. I just told you that.”

What are your thoughts on the upcoming draft?

“We had meetings back in December. It’s going to be strong at wide receiver again, that’s what it looks like again. It looks like it’s going to be strong at offensive tackle again. It looks there’s going to be some depth at defensive end, pass rushers. You know how I feel about pass rushers. But really, the first process is free agency. We’ve got to see what’s there. That’s the first place you look. We’ve got to see how many juniors come out. I think that comes this week.”

Any areas that you mentioned excite you the most?

“I think all three spots excite me. But it’s a process, and you’ve got to see who’s left.”

Will bringing back Greg  Hardy be tied to his court date?

“Until his situation changes, there’s nothing to talk about. It’s all hypothetical.”

What’s your level of satisfaction in the past draft class?

“Kelvin obviously didn’t disappoint. He was everything that we thought he could be. He’s just scratching the surface. He’s got a chance to be a tremendous player. Kony came a long way. He came a long way. Early on, it was difficult for him, but at the end of the season, he closed strong and we’re certainly excited about him. Trai Turner, he got hurt in camp. He had a groin issue, then he got hurt again, and he really finished well. Tre, obviously we’re pleased with Tre. Yes, he made a rookie mistake. In fact, Seattle got him twice, unfortunately. It’s a process. He’s a wild guy. He’s got a wild hair on him, and we’re excited about Tre. And then Bene, obviously came a long way. We know he can play the nickel. The question with Bene and Tre, I think in time they’re going to be real quality NFL players. So you say, ‘Why were they there in the fourth? Why were they there in the fifth?’ I believe they were there in the fourth and fifth because of their timed speed. Neither guy is a burner on a watch in his underwear. But the game’s not played in underwear, it’s played in pads. If you think about it, the question was, could Bene play outside. That was the question, because of the 40-yard time. You go back to Saturday night, the play where unfortunately Paul Richardson got hurt. We all know Paul Richardson’s a legitimate 4.4 guy, and Bene was right in his underwear 40 yards down the field. Sixth-round pick, we know we don’t have anymore. As far as the college free agents were concerned, one of the things we decided to do last year was we were going to focus on particular guys and get them. I wasn’t interested in having 25 college free agents at training camp because I’ve seen what that does. Andrew was a guy that we wanted. Adarius was a guy we wanted. Corey was a guy we wanted and we got him. I’m excited. This is a really nice draft class. I’m excited about this group from top to bottom.”

As an organization, would the Panthers shy away from a guy with a history of domestic violence?

“It would be something you’d have to really think about.”

How do you feel the organization and league handled the Greg Hardy situation?

“Obviously it had an impact. Let me say this to you — nobody in this room is trained to handle that. Nobody. That was an incredibly difficult situation. I’ll leave it there. What I also will say is when last year happened, when we came out, we saw where we were at. You had the offensive lineman; guys retiring. We made the decision on Steve. The economic stuff happened with the cap jump. We knew that we were going to rebuild the secondary, the offensive line, and the wide receivers. We knew we were going to have to do that. I’ve told you guys this before, I believe defense wins championships. Offense scores points; defense wins championships. I thought it was extremely important that we keep the front together. That’s why we made the decision to franchise Greg, and obviously it blew up. That was the decision we made. That’s the reason we made that decision. And what happened happened.”

Last year you warned us not to expect any big free agents. Your cap situation is better, but would you give the same warning this year?

“No. Last year we were shopping in the dollar store. This year we may be able to move up in class a little bit.”

Do you feel like the front seven played well enough that you don’t have to go after a high-priced guy like a Greg Hardy?

“I said we’re going to move up in class. I didn’t say we’re going to go out and spend big money on a player. You guys know my philosophy, I believe in the front. If you can’t stop the run, you’re not going to get the opportunity to rush the passer. And whether anybody will argue with me or not, the offensive football has evolved, but the concepts are still the same. You look at the teams that get deep: They can run the ball, they can stop the run, they can rush the passer. It doesn’t change. There were plenty of people that when we took Kony looked at me like I had brain damage. If there’s a quality defensive end or defensive lineman there, it’s hard for me to pass them up. And I don’t believe we need this or we’re going to draft this, or we’re going to go buy this. It’s about evaluation and looking at what’s there.”

Do you think you have the right left tackle on the roster?

“Byron showed flashes. It’s about consistency. I give him a little bit of the benefit of the doubt; it was his first year playing there. But I think we’ve shown if a player shows up that we think is going to make us better, we’re going to go get him. We have to sit down and evaluate. Byron is a UFA. I learned, fortunately not the hard way, I learned a long time ago, especially doing the team evaluation, if you’re emotional about your decision, you’re going to really do something stupid. So it’s a matter of the body of work. It’s what he did over the season, and we’re going to evaluate. Nobody’s getting a free pass.”

Is there a move you’re most proud of, and on the flip side, is there a move you made or didn’t make that you regret the most?

“I’m not good at patting myself on the back. I though as a group we made a lot of good moves. You can always second-guess yourself. Anybody who doesn’t step back and think about the things that they’ve done, decisions they’ve made, if you don’t go back and pull them apart, you’re not going to get better at it. Do we think about things? Absolutely. Listen, I’m a human being. You open this vein, it’s going to be red. We make decisions based on the information we have at that time. And I felt good about the decisions we made going into the season based on the three positions we were going to have to rework, based on the economics, based on the decision of keeping the front together. I felt good about it. And then we had a season that you couldn’t make it up.”

If last year was the Dollar Store, can we write that this year it’s Nordstrom’s?

“I don’t go shopping, so where’s Norstrom on the scale? We’re not going to Tiffany’s; I’ll tell you that.”

Where do you stand with DeAngelo going forward?

“I need to talk to DeAngelo. He’s a pro’s pro. He had a tough season. The obvious, the loss of his mom was very, very difficult. He only played six games this year. It was tough for him, and before I say anything, just know he’s a pro’s pro. And they way he finished the season, he finished it like a man. And I’m proud of the way he finished.”

Steve Smith had a big year in Baltimore. Did you ever regret that decision?

“I’m thrilled for Steve, and I’m thrilled for us. I think Kelvin, as he learns how to play, he got deep Saturday night, unfortunately, it was too close to the back of the end zone. Corey definitely gives us the speed we want. No, I don’t regret the decision. I think it was a win-win.”

What needs to be done to improve special teams?

“Ron’s right. You think about it. It was Michael, Chase, Richie, you had those three guys, who are core teams guys, are hurt. Then Bene gets hurt. Now Colin’s got to play, and now we’ve got to cut him back from teams. We lost guys. It’s not easy, and maybe we’re going to have a little philosophical shift. It’s interesting, when I was with Tom Coughlin up north, Tom didn’t believe in having a blue goose team guy that wasn’t useful from the line of scrimmage. That was Tom’s philosophy, and every coach does it differently. Ron and I, that’s the conversation we’ve been having. It’s well documented there are guys that played 10-12 years in the league that were great teams guys that were not line of scrimmage players. That was their role. And that’s something we’re discussing.”

How do you think Cam played this year?

“Just like our team. We need him to be more consistent, and the players around him need to be more consistent. Step back and think about this year. So he starts with his surgery. We don’t have him during OTAs. We get him rolling in training camp. He gets the ribs in New England. Can’t play Tampa. The first two games, nobody was talking about our offensive line or our speed or anything else. We’re 2-0. We lose two, come back and beat Chicago. So we’re 3-2. We throw up 37 points against Cincinnati, so no one’s talking about it. And then the bottom fell out with the offensive line. I’m not making excuses; I’m talking about reality. Putting the whole season together. He told you himself after the Arizona game — he needs to improve his mechanics. He said that to you guys. It’s a building process. Everybody wants a player to be great yesterday. It doesn’t work that way with everybody. It doesn’t work that way with anybody. It takes time.”

When you were 3-8-1 how did you sort it out with Rivera to finish strong?

“We talked so much it was frightening. You guys know, we did not know each other before we had this blind date. The day after I got the job, we had our blind date. We did not know each other. We had two people that knew both Ron and I. Ron did a hell of a job and we talk all the time. And we’re honest with each other, there’s a crazy concept. If I’m not happy with something he’s doing, I tell him. If he’s not happy with something I’ve done, he tells me. And we look at it, and we discuss it. It doesn’t happen very often, frankly. But we talk all the time, and there’s no agendas. There’s no secrets.”

What did it mean to get the second NFC South title with all the adversity this year?

“Wow. It was amazing. People can say what they want about the schedule and this and that. But the bottom line is winning in this league is not easy. I don’t care who you play. And at the end of the day, it was one hell of an accomplishment given what we’ve been through. The whole thing, not just the injuries, the whole thing.”

Do you want to see Cam get more consistent before you do anything?

(laughs) “Good try. Good try. Next.”

Do you anticipate any staff changes?

“That’s Ron’s job. That’s a Ron question.”

You have a say in it, don’t you?

“Do I have a say in Ron’s staff? I can make suggestions. But he’s going to make the ultimate decisions.”

He said at 3-8-1 that maybe he should have been tossed out on his ear. Did you ever consider that?

“Maybe I should have been tossed out on my ear. (laughs) Ron and I are growing together, is what’s happening. We’re tied together. I have complete confidence in him and his ability to coach, his ability to motivate these players. What’s Ron’s December record? It’s mashugana. Obviously, these guys play for Ron. They play for the guy. He’s been there, he’s done it, they respect him. When I got in here in January of ’13, they won four of their last five, when I watched that film; I didn’t see guys mailing it in. So when we were 3-8-1, I said to myself, ‘These guys aren’t going to mail it in.’ They didn’t do it the first two years on Ron; they’re not doing it now. He connects with them. Coaches connect with these guys, and I’m really pleased with that.”

Are you able to confirm you’re looking at Duron Carter tomorrow and if so, what intrigues you about him?

“We’ll find out tomorrow.”