The NFL Panthers have brought back former GM Marty Hurney in an interim role for the '17 season following Dave Gettleman's dismissal on Monday. In addition to his responsibilities managing the entire football operation, Hurney will help the team identify its next GM (Panthers). In Charlotte, Joseph Person noted Hurney was Panthers GM for 10-plus seasons before "being relieved of his duties" after a 1-5 start to the '12 season. Hurney, who still lives in Charlotte and owns ESPN Radio 730 Charlotte, has "remained close" with Panthers Owner Jerry Richardson and is "well respected throughout the organization" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/19).
PLAYING FAVORITES: In Charlotte, Jourdan Rodrigue writes it "appears to be a purely emotional decision" by Richardson to fire Gettleman. Context clues "continue to point toward two of Richardson's favorite players," LB Thomas Davis and TE Greg Olsen, who are both looking for contract extensions. Gettleman was "hired to be ruthless," and ultimately it "seems like he was also fired for it" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/19). ESPN’s Jeff Darlington said of the firing of Gettleman, “It wasn't all because of Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen, but it did have to do with them and it had to do with collectively the way that Dave Gettleman responded and acted in his role as general manager. It is something Jerry Richardson quite frankly did not want from the guy running his roster. ... When you cut Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams and then you wind up in the Super Bowl in 2015, you can validate those departures. When you cut and rescind the franchise tag of Josh Norman and the next year, your secondary falls off, then the internal chatter starts to develop" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/18). CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson wrote Richardson "cares deeply about the players who are part of the franchise in a way that does not necessarily fit the mold of a 2017 NFL franchise and the business surrounding that team." Richardson's "dedication to his football family is admirable," but it can "easily put his beloved Panthers at a competitive disadvantage in the hyper-competitive NFL if it's not managed correctly" (CBSSPORTS.com, 7/18). In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell notes Richardson in the past has "avoided general interviews," and he "last held a news conference" in '10 following the firing of coach John Fox (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 7/19).
STICKING UP FOR GETTLEMAN: ESPN.com's David Newton noted the Panthers are in a "better place than they were before Gettleman." They are $17M "under the salary cap," $33M ahead of where they were when Hurney was fired. But Gettleman "ran the organization known for having a great family atmosphere more like a business" (ESPN.com, 7/18). Several former Panthers, including Smith and Williams, reveled in Gettleman's firing, but current OT Michael Oher wrote on Instagram, "Guy really cares about you as a person just not the player. ... And for the people who were happy and had something to do with it downstairs, Karma's ... !" (CHARLOTTEOBSERVER.com, 7/18). ESPN’s Darlington defended Gettleman, saying, "He acquired 41 of the 60 players of that Super Bowl team in three offseasons. He inherited a salary cap situation that Hurney, in some capacity, put them in by a lot of these bolstered contracts, and that’s exactly part of the reason why I think Gettleman had to be such a cutthroat guy and ultimately it seems like that’s what got him fired. It’s weird to me and I don't really know that you can justify it for those reasons" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/18).
