As expected, Brandt Tilis has landed a position in the Panthers’ new-look front office. The longtime Chiefs exec has officially been hired as Carolina’s executive vice president of football operations, per a team announcement. 
Tilis was named as a candidate to join new general manager Dan Morgan when the latter was promoted to his position. Morgan is a rookie general manager with a background on the football side of operations, so a veteran front office staffer experienced in cap management and analytics represented a logical target as his top lieutenant. The most recent update on the situation noted that Tilis had prepared to depart Kansas City’s front office despite the team preparing to play in the Super Bowl.
Tilis spent 14 years with the Chiefs, including three as the team’s VP of football operations. He interviewed with the Panthers for their general manager vacancy earlier this month, but most signs pointed to owner David Tepper elevating Morgan to replace Scott Fitterer. Still, the Panthers-Tilis connection remained strong throughout the hiring cycle, and the long-awaited agreement between the two is now in place.
Tilis will be responsible for, among other things, contract negotiations in his new Panthers position. He held the same duties for much of his Chiefs tenure, playing an integral role in allowing the defending champions to remain amongst the league’s elite teams with Patrick Mahomes‘ mega-contract on the books. Talks with a number of pending free agents – including Pro Bowl edge rusher Brian Burns – will be among the top priorities for Tilis in his first offseason with Carolina.
“It’s great to add Brandt and his experience to our organization,” a statement from Morgan reads. “He comes from a championship-caliber team in Kansas City and will play a lead role in our front office. We are looking forward to getting him here and working together to build this team.”
From his reputation, he’s certainly a type of figure the Panthers could use. But at a certain point, it doesn’t matter how many grownups there are in the room if the billionaire who signs all their checks is too moody and impatient. We’ll see.
And any success the Panthers might have will just re-enforce Tepper’s egotistical delusion that he is the smartest guy in the room.