Walking the walk is more important than talking the talk.
Since day one, Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has stressed the importance of family. Monday morning, he put his money where his mouth is – excusing Mike Davis and Kawann Short from practice so that they can be with their children for their first day of school.
“Every coach, staff member and player who has kids, I think, should be there for their kid’s first day of school,” Rhule said when asked why Davis and Short were late to practice. “I believe very much in family. Being a father is the most important thing that I am and our players are. So I asked them to please take that time.”
Rhule added that even with the excused time away, both Short and Davis were on the field for the beginning of practice.
“What a pro KK is and what a pro Mike Davis is,” Rhule said he told the team. “They did that and were there for the beginning of practice, pretty much. They didn’t stop at Starbucks and get a coffee and relax,” he joked.
The Panthers were in full pads for the first time since training camp began roughly two weeks ago. You can check out Coach Rhule talk about that and more during his full press conference here.