Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper explains why he fired general manager Marty Hurney
The Carolina Panthers have fired general manager Marty Hurney.
The move comes following the Panthers dropping to 4-10 on the season with their Saturday loss to the Green Bay Packers in the first year under head coach Matt Rhule. The team is out of playoff contention for a third straight year and on pace for a top-5 NFL draft pick.
Part of the reason that team owner David Tepper said he chose to move on was the process with which he and Rhule want to run the organization, which differed from what Hurney is accustomed to.
“I’m a very process-oriented, analytical person. Not that Marty’s not ... I think, Matt from the get go, we talked about process, process, process,” Tepper said. “It would have been, a little bit more evolving on Marty’s side on some of these new processes. I guess, new age processes, if you want to call it that. Which can happen, it’s a question when you want to happen, it’s kind of a natural time (to move on).”
The move was not a sudden decision. Tepper said he and Hurney had discussed the topic over the last week or so. The owner described the move as “what’s mutually best for both sides.” The GM’s contract was set to expire in June 2021.
Tepper has referenced the organization wanting to be more analytics-focused since he bought the team in 2018. Hurney, who helped hire Rhule, is known for his focus on scouting college players and has a more “traditional approach.”
During a call with local media Monday, Tepper referenced Hurney as a good evaluator of college talent and that part of the reason why the team did not move on from the general manager when former head coach Ron Rivera was fired with four games left in the 2019 season was that he has been valuable as a teacher as Tepper and Rhule learn how to best operate in the NFL.
“I think was good for Matt, and good for me to have another year with Marty. Marty’s a great guy to have as a teacher ... It’s crazy sometimes people think that you can come in here, and even though I wasn’t around football for a while, I wasn’t there, and know what you’re doing,” Tepper said. “Sometimes it’s not bad to have a good teacher around to teach you some aspects. And at some point you graduate and try to figure if you can do other things away from it may be better.
“... Me and Matt, I think both learned from Marty a lot, OK? Sometimes the students have to graduate.”
This is Tepper’s third season as team owner since purchasing the organization in 2018 from founder Jerry Richardson for $2.275 billion. Rhule had only one year of experience in the NFL when he was hired as head coach in January 2020 on a seven-year, $62 million contract — he was the assistant offensive line coach for the New York Giants in 2012.
“I want to thank Dave and Nicole for the opportunity to be a part of this organization over the last three seasons,” Hurney said in a statement. “I have a great relationship with Matt and everybody in the building. I believe this team is well-positioned for the future and wish Matt, the players and the entire organization all the best.”
Hurney declined further comment when reached by The Observer.
Hurney, who recently turned 65, first served as Carolina’s general manager from 2002-2012 after originally being hired in Carolina in 1998 as director of football administration and then director of football operations (1999-2001) prior to his first term as GM. He was fired during the 2012 season and replaced by David Gettleman before being re-hired for the position in 2017.
The team has gone 16-30 over the last three years, tied with Washington for the sixth-worst record over that stretch.
While many recent draft picks have been a success, including 2019 first-round pick Brian Burns and 2020 second-round pick Jeremy Chinn, there have been question marks surrounding several notable selections, including 2019 second-round left tackle Greg Little and third-round quarterback Will Grier, both of whom have been healthy scratches much of this season and have been bypassed for opportunities by other backups.
The team also signed running back Christian McCaffrey to four-year, $64 million extension this offseason, making him the highest paid running back in NFL history. He has missed 11 games so far this year with various injuries.
During his tenure as general manager, Hurney has drafted some of the most prominent names in Panthers history, including quarterback Cam Newton and linebacker Luke Kuechly.
Tepper and chief communications officer Steven Drummond will lead the search for a new general manager, which will begin immediately. Rhule is not interested in taking over general manager responsibilities, but will be involved in the franchise’s decision-making and the hiring of the next general manager. The team will not use an outside search firm.
“You look at successful organizations, and there’s a certain alignment between the head coach and the GM,” Tepper said. “To think that you can do that without some sort of alignment is nuts. So to not have a head coach with some input into that is stupid. I don’t want to be stupid, OK?”
In addition to hiring Rhule last offseason, Tepper had discussed bringing in an assistant general manager to help Hurney with his responsibilities. Instead, the team hired Pat Stewart from the Philadelphia Eagles to be director of player personnel and never directly filled an assistant general manager role. Tepper said that filling that type was considered before firing Hurney. Samir Suleiman was also hired in the offseason from the Pittsburgh Steelers to work with Hurney as director of player negotiations and salary cap manager.
Reorganizing the structure of the personnel side of the organization could come with the hiring.
The Panthers are the fifth NFL team looking to fill a GM position, joining the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars. Washington also has a general manager opening that was not filled after Rivera was hired in January. Hurney is a natural connection to that job after working with Rivera from 2011 until his firing in 2012 and then again from 2017-19. Washington was also the first team he worked for.
“I have great respect for Marty. I think some of the timing of this decision was out of that respect for Marty, ,make sure he has the opportunity to look at other places,” Tepper said. “For the organization, we’re looking for other places, people know we’re looking and they can come in and so it’s mutually beneficial in that respect.”
Whoever the Panthers hire as the team’s next general manager will have some big decisions to make with more than 20 Carolina players becoming free agents this offseason, in addition to the team’s top draft pick.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 9:12 AM with the headline "Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper explains why he fired general manager Marty Hurney."
