The NFL Panthers yesterday fired GM Marty Hurney amid another losing season, and the "real surprise was that it didn't happen sooner," according to Scott Fowler of the CHARLOTTE OBSERVER. Hurney, who ran the Panthers from '02-'12 and then again beginning in '17, had a "good run" with the team, but "it was time" to go. The NFL is a "results-driven business," and the Panthers have not "made the playoffs for the past three years," going 16-30 in that time. Hurney was "one of the last vestiges of the Jerry Richardson era" that team Owner David Tepper has "systematically been scrubbing from Bank of America Stadium." Hurney is an "old-school traditionalist; a guy who likes to go out and watch football players in person." He "believes in his eyes and his gut, rather than taking the data-driven 'Moneyball' approach that Tepper wants to be more integrated into the organization" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 12/22).
IN WITH THE NEW: SI.com's Albert Breer wrote early on in Tepper's ownership, Hurney was a "trusted ear and a great resource for the new boss as he learned the ropes in pro football." But, "having already been a minority owner in Pittsburgh, Tepper had a pretty strong idea of how he wanted his team to look." Breer: "Tepper, I'm told, knew a modern structure was going to be part of the solution, which meant having a general manager, with football operations and scouting reporting up to that person." More Breer: "I don't think Hurney knew it would lead to his dismissal. But I also don't think this parting of ways was any sort of shock for him, either" (SI.com, 12/21). THE ATHLETIC's Joseph Person wrote Tepper "clearly viewed" Hurney as a "bridge between the old regime and the new one" headed by coach Matt Rhule. Tepper "liked the idea of having Hurney help Rhule, who had only one year of NFL experience on an impressive resume, navigate the draft and steer him through his first season as an NFL head coach." If the Panthers "happened to catch lightning in a bottle" in '20, then Tepper "could have extended Hurney" (THEATHLETIC.com, 12/21).
