Firing Panther GM Marty Hurney now makes no sense

   Why now?

    Why would the Carolina Panthers fire general manager Marty Hurney six games into the season? How will a new general manager fix the roster now?

     Obviously, the Panthers are flawed. A team doesn't lose as many games as it has, close or otherwise, without flaws on its roster and with its philosophy.

     But owner Jerry Richardson told me before the season that he wouldn't trade Hurney for any general manager in football. The Panthers were undefeated then. They've lost four straight and are 1-5 now.

     If a sacrifice was required, Hurney was the obvious candidate. Every player and almost every employee on the football side of the operation went through him, was hired by him.

     Hurney doesn't call plays or devise strategy. But he hired the people who do.

     Perhaps a fall guy was required.

     But the Panthers have never been so fragile that they would fire a key employee to satisfy angry fans.

      The timing makes no sense.

       Meanwhile, it's just another quiet week in Pantherland.

 

 

Comments

[Neil]

Tom, you're so iconoclastic these days. It's getting old.

[Voice of Reason]

Why fire him mid season? Because it prevents him from doing any further damage this year by signing other below-average players to ridiculous contracts.
It also potentially gives the team (and new GM) an opportunity to do some house cleaning prior to the trade deadline.
This is a lost season from a wins standpoint, but positive things can still come out of it. Canning Hurney just clears the way for an intelligent GM to come in and start getting this team prepared for next year and the future.

[Rick]

Why not fire him now. We might lose some more games?

[Jon]

Anybody who would pick the best player off the 10th best team of a half rate football conference when SEC players were still on the board should not be in the position of GM in the NFL. Enough said...

[Old Skool]

..to allow a new GM to come in and work with the current personnel first-hand (rather than on tape), to see the dynamic in the locker room and be able to make knowledgeable decisions once the off-season gets here. That is why.

[ScottS]

Tom, you must be kidding !!!! What good could Marty possibly do the remainder of this season? Take the keys & checkbook away from him now to stop the bleeding. This move was two to three years too late as is. Feel bad for the new GM, Hurney has left us with a huge salary cap issue. Not much flexibility to turn things around quickly.

[Mitch Treadaway]

Why now Tom??? Well I'll give you one great reason. Because I'm tried of watching the visiting fans have a party in our stadium (I guess you don't get that in the press box)! I know nothing is going to change right now, but at least it tells the fans that Richardson understands the situation and he cares.

[Joe]

They fired him this early to send a message through the organization. Nobody's job is safe, so they better start performing better now.

[Big Daddy]

Not only should Rivera be nervous but some of these washed up not playing with heart overpaid players need to be worried!

[Allen]

I look at it from the flipside...if Jerry has decided he no longer wants Hurney, why keep him around as a lame-duck GM, mid-season or not???

[Not Chas.Johnson]

It makes perfect sense, Sorenson. JR can start a search now and have someone preparing for the #1 pick in the draft immediately. That's a no-brainer. Marty wasn't doing anything constructive except for showing up for talk shows trying to put a positive spin on this year's disaster.

[appman27]

I think they fired him to give them time to look for a new GM have that person come in and then have time to look and see what was working and what was not working then make changes at the end of the season. It will allow the new GM additional time to take a look at all personel before just firing everyone. I am alright with the move, although I thought he should have been fired at the same time they fired John Fox.

[Dilbert]

Sends a strong message to the coaches and players. Get your act together or more heads will roll......

[CHAZ]

ME SO SAD DAS HURNERY GETS A FIRED!

[RandyD]

What a difference a year makes. Last year fans were screaming, "Pay Chud whatever you have to to keep him," and now the "Fire Chud" bandwagon is filling up. Ridiculous.

[Lloyd]

Firing coaches and executives mid-season, during a free-fall like this usually makes sense. Where the Panthers are is unacceptable, and he orchestrated this mess. If the Panthers somehow went 6-2 over the next eight games (and that ain't happening), it would not change the fact that the team/organization is underachieving. You might as well fire the guy while it's obvious what the problem is (underachievement). His horrible decisions date back to Delhomme's big contract. He has given away top draft choices to pick bust players, and the team has recently had enough top draft picks to get out of the NFC South basement. Right now Carolina is worse than the St. Louis Rams. That's pretty dang bad.

[Steve]

Too bad this was not done when we had Fox. Sounds like too little too late.

[Cooter]

Until fans realize they hold a great deal of power over the person who truly needs to go (Richardson) and exercise the same, nothing about this organization will change. Remember, Richardson fired Bill Polian – who went on to rebuild Indy and WON Superbowls. Richardson hired Hurney, a former sportswriter and continued defending him for years. There are two types of pro sports team owners. Those that want to win and those that want to make money. Jerry Richardson does not care about winning, he only cares about profits. Unless the fans stay home, save the $50 - $100 spent on food, beers, etc. - Jerry will continue providing us with what he has since the beginning … empty promises, sub-par football, poor management of the front office (ask his own children) all combining for a stellar 4 winning seasons out of 18. If you owned a stock with that record – you would have sold a long time ago. Why continue wasting any more money above what you pay for PSL’s? STOP listening to the annual hype about “this year” – STOP believing Jerry Richardson cares, STOP supporting the garbage he delivers and with your buying power, demand better! Otherwise, expect nothing different than a losing culture and a franchise quickly becoming bottom dwellers with the likes of Cleveland, Jacksonville, Oakland, etc.

[C.Bax]

This firing was just a ploy for Jerry Richardson to try to quiet the uproar the was taking hold amongst Panther Nation. Never have I see so many fans really frustrated and fed-up with how this Franchise has been operated.(PROFIT OVER CHAMPIONSHIPS)It's going to take much more than the firing of Hurney(scapegoat) to quell the uproar and right the ship. A competent GM, Head Coach, and both O AND D Coordinators would be a start. Go Panthers!!!!

[Tom]

it makes perfect sense to me. reason being that it puts all of our players and coaches on notice that if they don't perform, they have no job security anymore. if they don't produce, they are gone. great move.

[Jerry]

I know you guys love the former sportswriter GM but he was not good at his job. You cannot deny the losing record for three years straight.

[charlottean]

Wrong guy got blamed. You don't fire your gm in year 3 of a MAJOR rebuild where you lose 4 games by a possession or less with 2nd year head coach and 2nd year quarterback. Hate the move.

I don't think hurney had too much to do with firing fox, but if he did, that and drafting jimmy clausen would be the only justifiable reasons for the firing. And given kiper was talking jimmy clausen top 5, it's hard to blame marty to take him late 2nd to begin a rebuild.

james anderson, greg hardy, captain munnerlyn, byron bell, charles godfrey, brandon lafell, david gettis, charles johnson, geoff handgartner, and now nortman, norman and frank alexander. All solid 3rd round or later and I'm missing all the guys that are playing elsewhere now. This guys track record is more on than off. We're losing because talented guys are making mistakes and there have definitely been major coaching gaffs. His replacement will reep the benefits of all the young talent assembled here if he's smart. If he isn't he'll clean house.

For the idiots who don't understand the delhomme deal, what he did was give delhomme a chunk of cash in an uncapped year to get a great team under the cap for 2008. Delhomme earned every penny of it too. Look at his w/l record vs. Other starting QB's. It's exceptional.

The deal for greg olsen? Bringing in delhomme? stephen davis? are you kidding me? Complete lack of patience in a rebuild and knee jerk over extremely close losses.

Hurney isn't calling options on 3rd and inches with a 6-5 qb. Neither is bellichek. He definitely isn't calling 7 step drops on 2nd down in field goal range to set up a sack to put you out of fg range.

John fox would be 5-1 with this team and i don't believe it was hurney that refused to extend his contract.

[Fan]

Rivera should of left with him.

[Joke]

Yeah, he's a former sports writer Tom. But if you were Richardson and your head guy says he doesn't know why the ship's sinking or what to do about it, wouldn't you let him go -- nice as he is?

[Anonymous]

Tom, as always when you write about the Panthers, you write like an idiot. Why would Jerry Richardson ever tell you his secrets. You're a shill.