The Charlotte Observer's Darin Gantt reports the Carolina Panthers have narrowed their head coaching search to four names, all of them NFL defensive coordinators: Rob Ryan of the Cleveland Browns, Ron Rivera of the San Diego Chargers, Perry Fewell of the New York Giants, and Greg Manusky of the San Francisco 49ers.
Ryan's is the most exciting name on the list. He's the brother of New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and son of '85 (and so forth) Chicago Bears coach Buddy Ryan -- like the rest of his family, he's a character. Between him and Raheem Morris, the NFC South could quickly become a very entertaining place.
The apparent commitment to defense is interesting; it's the team's offense that underperformed in league-worst fashion this season. The defense was actually not all that bad, especially considering they were on the field all day. These things change from year to year, and it's not like a team would bring on a head coach just to fix a specific unit. But you'd think the tendency here would be to look for an offensive-minded head coach, considering the team's weaknesses.
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