Perry Fewell?

I think Fewell will be the guy. Just have a feeling. Seems to fit all of the Panthers' prerequisites. Not a bad hire, but not super excited about it.

 

If they want somebody to put some excitement back in the fan base, he's NOT the guy. But I guess we'll see soon enough. I'm not excited about him at all.

 

He seems to be the kind of guy they'd be impressed by. Not that I'm excited about it, but I think he's probably the most probable hire.

 

Gantt, suggesting (via twit) that the next HC candidate could be a "big surprise"

 

I still have my wildcard as Gary Patterson. Not endorsing it. Just saying.

 

It's me. I can't really talk about it yet.

 

Having him make the jump from non-AQ to the NFL would be insane, but I love him as a college coach. And no to Fewell, please. He wouldn't be disastrous by any means, but I'm hoping (futilely) for someone more dynamic. Rivera doesn't really fit that either, but would be a little better.

 

I keep going back to Mike Smith. Say whatever we want, but he has a very good record (almost unblemished at home), and their organization not only got their QB, but put together a strong offensive line and an exceptional ST unit.

Smith was LAFFED AT by everyone when hired, FWIW.

Patterson: no, I am NOT endorsing it. Would be a disaster. But every time I see that fucker Morrison with his shit-eating grin, I keep thinking of his connection to GP. Morrison seems like a dunce, but I think he's running a lot more than he was 12 months ago, and he's probably in a better position to give our dying owner guidance on the next steps.

 

Mike Smith has a better GM than we have, in my opinion, and an owner who swore off of meddling in personnel, if he ever did.

I really don't know what we're gonna be able to do without better FO, whether it's all Hurney or combined with JR's involvement. I'm figuring JR is involved since if Hurney had done some things on his own he could have easily been fired. I know I'd have fired him before I let him go trade up crazy.

 

Smith is not the reason why the Falcons are successful. He's basically a poor man's John Fox, which is solid asset as long as you have all the other stuff around him. Tom Dimitroff is responsible for Atlanta becoming what they are (and Blank being willing to stfu). In fact, let's just hire anyone we can get from the Patriots' organization to be general manager here. I don't care if it's the video assistant, that guy would still do a better job than Hurney.

But getting back to the Falcons, Ryan is still drastically overrated (above average QB, but not a top 10 guy by any stretch of the imagination), and anyone who says "Matty Ice" should be shot on general principle. Having a good QB who can make plays and won't do anything stupid is a big step, but what impresses me so much about them is that they make intelligent decisions about complementary players. They get the right guys at fullback, and make the right choices for cheap offensive linemen. They don't spend a crapload of money on mediocre players, but rather they spend their cap space on potential difference-makers. I was not a believer in Sam Baker, so I guess I was wrong, but they have built all aspects of that roster with intelligence.