Four years ago a video of then Portland Trailblazers’ shooting guard CJ McCollum surfaced on Twitter criticizing super-teams and ring-chasers on China Central Television (CCTV). At the time, Kevin Durant was in Golden State while they signed DeMarcus Cousins. McCollum said in the video that he thought star players joining the Warriors was ‘disgusting’ and would never do that. Twitter twittered, and McCollum responded that folks had him sounding like a bitter ex and told fans to stop making him look like a scorned man.
Enter @ChocDelight1980, better known as Jennifer. She told him to “win a playoff game then talk” McCollum’s response? “I’m Trying Jennifer.”
The Carolina Panthers are trying, Yall! They are trying to change the culture. They are trying to fix themselves. They are trying to put themselves in a position to win next season. They cleared salary cap space and dismissed eight coaches from last season’s 5-12 campaign. Carolina replaced Joe Brady, Frisman Jackson, Brian Angelichio, Pat Meyer, Tony Sparano, Jr, Frank Okam, Jason Simmons, and Chase Blackburn. Now, they have:
Ben McAdoo (OC)
Joe Dailey (WR Coach)
Kevin Gilbride (TE Coach)
James Campen (OL Coach)
Robert Kugler (Assist. OL Coach)
Paul Pasqualoni (DL Coach)
Steve Wilks (Secondary Coach)
Chris Tabor (Special Teams)
These coaches have a plethora of experience and they also will have no problems holding Rhule accountable when needed.
“You never want to be around people that are just ‘yes men’,” Rhule said of his coaches during OTAs “You want to be around alphas, leaders, people with great ideas. At the same time, we are going to debate, we’re gonna argue, we’re going to do all these things. But when we decide something, we’re going to carry it on out.”
Remember, Rhule’s background is in college football and after two seasons as Panthers’ Head Coach he still has a lot to learn. So why not have a council of coaches around with different ideas, a ton of experience, and will challenge if necessary? This is another step in the right direction, and regardless of next season’s record, there’s signs of action and progress and that’s always encouraging in any circumstance.