The NFC South champion Panthers are set to take on the Cardinals tomorrow in the NFC Championship, and while wait for that contest, let’s take a quick look at some notes out of Carolina’s division:
- Falcons secondary coach Marquand Manuel turned an offer to become the Jaguars defensive passing game coordinator and will remain with Atlanta, reports D. Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Manuel, who interviewed for Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator vacancy before the club promoted internal candidate Todd Wash, will enter his second season with the Falcons.
- In a separate piece for the AJC, Ledbetter examines whether the Falcons should consider reuniting with linebacker Sean Weatherspoon, who’s spent the 2015 season with the Cardinals after five years with Atlanta. The Falcons did offer Weatherspoon an incentive-laden deal last offseason, reports Ledbetter, but Arizona offered $1.25MM in guarantees. For his part, Weatherspoon seems happy with his current situation, but did allow that “part of [his] heart is in Atlanta.”
- Tight end Greg Olsen is the Panthers‘ No. 1 option in the receiving game, but at one point not long ago, he looked like a middling pass-catcher as a member of the Bears. Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune looks back at the 2011 trade that brought Olsen from the Windy City to Carolina.