Big Cat On The Prowl: NFL Panthers Snag Giants' Gettleman As New GM

The NFL Panthers yesterday named Giants Senior Personnel Analyst Dave Gettleman "as the third general manager in the team's history," according to Joseph Person of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, and a team spokesperson said that it "might be next week before Gettleman is formally introduced in Charlotte." Gettleman is one of four "known external candidates to interview for the post, all of whom had extensive scouting experience." He "inherits a Panthers' team" that is $16M over next year's projected salary cap. Giants President & CEO John Mara said that he had "mixed emotions about Gettleman's news." Mara said, "Dave certainly deserves to be a general manager, but I am very sorry to lose him." Former Bills, Panthers and Colts GM Bill Polian "gave Gettleman his start as a scout" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/10). The AP's Steve Reed noted Gettleman "spent 13 seasons with the Giants as their director of pro personnel prior to taking over last year" as Senior Personnel Analyst (AP, 1/9).

GETTING THEIR MAN: ESPN.com's Pat Yasinskas noted Gettleman might be "wise to learn from the mistakes" of former Panthers GM Marty Hurney, who was fired in October. The Panthers are in a "brutal salary-cap situation," so Gettleman is going to have to become a "salary-cap wizard in a hurry because he’s going to have to trim" about $15M between now and the start of free agency in March. He is going to "have to be a jack-of-all trades and pull things together quickly because this team hasn't won since 2008 and patience is wearing very thin" (ESPN.com, 1/9). In Charlotte, Tom Sorensen writes Gettleman is a "worker, a grinder and an NFL lifer" who fits the "Panthers prototype." The team's "trajectory needs to be changed." The Panthers entered the NFL in '95 and have "yet to have consecutive winning seasons." This is why Gettleman is "one of the most essential hires" Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson has made (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 1/10).