ESPN analyst raves about Carolina Panthers staff, ability to develop draft picks
Louis Riddick of ESPN believes the Carolina Panthers coaching staff is going tremendous for the development of whichever quarterback they choose in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Everyone knows the franchise is going with a quarterback at first overall, but it’s just a question of which one the Panthers will stake their future on. The favorite is Alabama’s Bryce Young, but Ohio State’s CJ Stroud and Florida’s Anthony Richardson are keeping things interesting.
Regardless, Riddick believes the Panthers will maximize the talents of their next face of the franchise no matter who it is, as he’s a huge fan of Carolina’s new look coaching staff, led by former Indianapolis Colts head coach Frank Reich.
“Take a look at the Carolina Panthers coaching staff. There is no doubt in my mind they are uniquely positioned to maximize their picks in this draft in terms of development and utilization as well as any team in the #NFL,” tweeted Riddick. “Multiple serious high level HC candidates on staff. I would be praying for them to draft me.”
In addition to Reich, the offensive side of the football boasts some impressive names for the Panthers, starting with offensive coordinator Thomas Brown. After spending many seasons at multiple high-level college programs, Brown spent the last couple of years in Los Angeles, learning from Sean McVay with the Rams.
Additionally, Reich brought in the highly-touted Josh McCown, who the Houston Texans reportedly wanted to hire as their head coach even though he had no experience at the time, as his quarterbacks coach. That’ll be huge for whichever quarterback the Panthers end up drafting.
Continuing, Duce Staley joined Reich’s staff as the assistant head coach and running backs coach as well. It wasn’t too long ago Staley was being talked about for open head coaching gigs, so landing him in Carolina really fills out Reich’s staff.
While the defensive side of the football won’t be developing whichever quarterback the Panthers decide on, defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero was also a huge coup for Reich to bring with him to Carolina. He left the Denver Broncos last season after garnering a ton of praise for his work, and is one of the brightest head coaching candidates in the league.
As you can see, Frank Reich has the Carolina Panthers primed for success due to his coaching staff. With the first overall pick and a quarterback on the horizon, it’s going to be fascinating to watch how long it takes before the franchise is back in contention for the playoffs.