After firing Marty Hurney, the Panthers need to answer a big question this offseason about who they’re going to pair with Matt Rhule moving forward. The team apparently has their eye on Patriots exec Nick Caserio. Carolina has requested to interview Caserio for their GM vacancy, a source told Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Caserio’s current title is director of pro personnel with New England. He’s been sought after before, as the Texans very nearly hired him in 2019 before the Pats threatened to file tampering charges and the whole thing fell apart. Caserio was just extended by the Pats back in February, so it’s unclear if they’ll let him jump this time. If they do, the Panthers will likely face competition for his services.
Houston is expected to have interest once again this cycle, and the Giants have him in their crosshairs should they fire Dave Gettleman. Caserio is clearly highly regarded, and it seems like only a matter of time before he ends up a front office head somewhere. On paper the Panthers job is a mixed bag. Rhule has done a great job turning the culture around and has guys fighting hard, but they struggled mightily the second half of the season.
There’s some young talent on defense, but the future at quarterback is unsettled with Teddy Bridgewater being competent but underwhelming in his first year as the starter. We’ll keep you posted on this situation.
Is GM higher ranking than Director of Pro Personnel?
stug14 Yes but the Pats can still block it like they did with Houston. BB’s most likely getting close to retiring, so I wouldn’t doubt that there’s a handshake agreement with Caserio that the Pats GM job is his once BB retires, and the same with McDaniels for the HC job.
It would explain why their both happy to stay in NE in their current roles when they could get promotions now somewhere else.