As the Carolina Panthers’ head coach search is narrowed down some, it appears that another candidate has entered the chat.
ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reports that former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is set to interview for the Panthers’ opening on Thursday.
This is somewhat surprising in that Carolina’s original search for a new head coach included 11 candidates. Of those, only three have or are receiving second interviews. That includes Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales and Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris.
This will represent Vrabel’s first interview with the Panthers’ brass, new general manager Dan Morgan included. It also leads us to believe that Morgan is the one behind the scenes that has now decided to include Vrabel in the conversation.
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Carolina was in on former Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan before he was hired by the Tennessee Titans to be their next head coach. The team is also said to have interest in Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
One thing is clear here. Morgan and owner David Tepper are not narrowing their search to offensive-minded head coaches to help young quarterback Bryce Young improve after a bad rookie season.
As for Vrabel, he is also drawing interest from the Los Angeles Chargers and Atlanta Falcons for their head coach openings.
For good reason. Vrabel led Tennessee to a 54-45 record in six seasons as the Titans head coach, including three playoff appearances.