WEBVTT - The Group Chat Episode 23: We Need To Talk 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.840 Hey, guys, we got together for an additional group chat 0:00:02.960 --> 0:00:06.680 because well, it was a really busy week for the 0:00:06.720 --> 0:00:09.639 Carolina Panthers. Let's jump right into it. This is the 0:00:09.640 --> 0:00:22.599 group chat. You've been added to the group chat with 0:00:22.680 --> 0:00:28.360 your friends Caroline, can Max Sensen, and Will Brian. Well, 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:32.400 like all good group chats, when something happens, the group 0:00:32.440 --> 0:00:34.479 chat blows up and you've got to talk about it. 0:00:34.720 --> 0:00:37.240 So that's why we're here. This week at Bank America 0:00:37.280 --> 0:00:41.400 Stadium with the Carolina Panthers has been all but normal. 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:44.120 And we all agree on that this has not been 0:00:44.159 --> 0:00:47.720 a normal week for any of us. Yeah, I mean 0:00:47.720 --> 0:00:51.479 this is the first time I've experienced head coaching change Carolina. No, 0:00:51.560 --> 0:00:54.160 you've experienced one before before you got here. But it 0:00:55.120 --> 0:00:59.720 man quite a few days um in and then in 0:00:59.800 --> 0:01:03.240 some many different ways, really emotionally for the people in 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:07.160 this building from a just work standpoint, and made for 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:10.640 a long night. Um just a lot on your plate 0:01:10.640 --> 0:01:14.800 all of a sudden. Uh. And obviously, this this new 0:01:14.800 --> 0:01:17.080 owner here in Carolina does things a little bit differently. 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:18.880 He sat down with the media and there was a 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:22.520 lot to kind of soak in after that discussion. As 0:01:22.520 --> 0:01:24.520 you start thinking about the future. So just just a 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:28.840 lot really to digest there. It definitely is is Max, 0:01:28.880 --> 0:01:30.520 as you touched on for all of us, you know, 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:32.840 just it's a little bit different when you do have 0:01:33.480 --> 0:01:36.679 those personal emotions that you're dealing with as you have 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:40.160 to continue working. And I think that's from a business side, 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:43.040 from a football side, from you know, all the way 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:46.560 around of you know, and and we'll kind of touch 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:48.400 on this as we go forward. Caroline's gonna touch on 0:01:48.400 --> 0:01:50.400 this a little bit. But just what we did and 0:01:50.400 --> 0:01:52.400 what the last forty eight hours were in this building 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:54.559 is a little bit unique and a little bit different 0:01:54.680 --> 0:01:58.680 than a lot bit a lot big and and and 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:01.120 so that kind of led to just some I think, 0:02:01.120 --> 0:02:03.880 some challenges, but also just some kind of weird emotions 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:06.400 as you kind of went through it. Yeah, you mentioned 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.720 it of of Max. You said, I've been through this before. 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:13.480 I was in Indianapolis when they parted ways or whatever. 0:02:13.600 --> 0:02:17.280 The terminology has always find that interesting too. There's relieved 0:02:17.320 --> 0:02:22.480 of duties fired, parted ways. That's always a careful consideration 0:02:22.520 --> 0:02:24.840 by the organization. But this one was the Panthers parted 0:02:24.840 --> 0:02:27.280 ways with Ron Rivera. I don't remember what the verbiage 0:02:27.400 --> 0:02:30.040 was when Pagano was um like, oh, but that was 0:02:30.200 --> 0:02:33.919 after the season. It was immediately following the very last 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:38.240 game of the season, when this did not wait until Monday. 0:02:38.280 --> 0:02:41.720 If I remember correctly, it was Sunday night. It happened 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:45.080 directly after the game. There was riding on the wall, 0:02:45.200 --> 0:02:48.040 And I think that was such a different experience because, 0:02:48.720 --> 0:02:51.320 like you've heard Ron Rivera say throughout the last couple 0:02:51.320 --> 0:02:54.680 of days, and even I heard Stephanie Rivera say it too, 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:57.400 this is the business there in and when you go 0:02:57.440 --> 0:03:00.280 into this, you think that this may happen. So are 0:03:00.320 --> 0:03:05.440 they overly surprised by this? No? I think the timing 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.280 is what is surprising everyone. But then when you hear, 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:10.760 you know, Tepper's reasoning behind it, you can't help but 0:03:10.880 --> 0:03:14.600 respect that. But with Pagano, he did not have that 0:03:14.680 --> 0:03:19.080 abrupt ending. He knew about a month out that this 0:03:19.160 --> 0:03:21.400 could be happening, and the more that the team was 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:24.040 struggling ended up with a four and twelve record that season. 0:03:24.960 --> 0:03:28.520 He knew what was coming. And the last show that 0:03:28.600 --> 0:03:31.079 we did together, the last interview we did together, all 0:03:31.120 --> 0:03:33.560 of these things, it was a hug and you know, 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:37.480 thank you, coach. I sat down with Ron Rivera last week, 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.840 and we had no idea that that was the last 0:03:40.040 --> 0:03:43.920 interview with me and him as the head coach of 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:47.520 the Carolina Panthers. So that is an odd piece of this, 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:50.480 of of why it was abrupt and why it was 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:54.200 a surprise to a lot of people. But I think 0:03:55.000 --> 0:03:59.120 the reaction from fans, the thank you and response that 0:03:59.480 --> 0:04:02.119 he's gotten from the organization and the players in this 0:04:02.560 --> 0:04:07.680 almost grieving is what it felt like from the players 0:04:07.760 --> 0:04:11.360 of we're losing our leader that we've had here for 0:04:11.360 --> 0:04:13.760 so long. Especially, that's how it felt with Greg Olsen 0:04:13.840 --> 0:04:15.680 and Luke Keickley and these guys that have been with 0:04:15.760 --> 0:04:18.960 him their entire time here for this long time that 0:04:19.000 --> 0:04:21.400 they've been in Carolina, he has been their coach, So 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:23.880 it has been unique. I think it's been very cool 0:04:23.920 --> 0:04:27.320 to see and the southern hospitality that everyone talks about 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:31.719 is so true and it's more so of Okay, the 0:04:31.760 --> 0:04:34.520 football piece is why he was let go, but let's 0:04:34.520 --> 0:04:37.680 not make that who all. Yeah, I mean, nine years 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:39.039 is a really long time, right, was one of the 0:04:39.080 --> 0:04:42.640 longest tenured coaches in the NFL. UM I mean, look, 0:04:42.680 --> 0:04:44.719 we we saw Steve Wilkes get one year. You know, 0:04:44.839 --> 0:04:47.360 I mean like this is this is unusual to have 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:51.440 somebody here this long. And we all know what made 0:04:51.560 --> 0:04:57.360 Ron so um loved here was how personal personal he 0:04:57.520 --> 0:05:00.719 was and how he connected with people. He was not 0:05:01.080 --> 0:05:04.719 a screamer, he was not an intimidating guy. He was 0:05:04.760 --> 0:05:06.159 a guy who was going to kind of put his 0:05:06.240 --> 0:05:08.600 arm around you and he wanted you to be part 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.000 of the family here. And I think that's why, Yes, 0:05:11.040 --> 0:05:13.279 everybody got very frustrated with how the season went these 0:05:13.279 --> 0:05:15.599 past two years. But I think that's why everybody really 0:05:15.600 --> 0:05:19.039 respected Ron was because he treated everybody that way. All 0:05:19.080 --> 0:05:21.720 of his players vouch for him. He is he is 0:05:21.760 --> 0:05:24.040 what the cliche would be a players coach. I mean 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:27.159 to a t that that that's who Ron was. Um 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.000 So yeah, I think he deserved and it was fitting 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:32.600 for him to have a send off. Really, this is 0:05:32.640 --> 0:05:35.240 not a slammed the door, see you later, I'm out 0:05:35.279 --> 0:05:38.200 of here. Ron was fired and he stayed in the 0:05:38.200 --> 0:05:41.480 building to help Harry Fuel get ready, and that's that's 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:45.440 just not that's not common. Ron was fired, and I 0:05:45.480 --> 0:05:47.719 walked down to his office and did an interview with 0:05:47.800 --> 0:05:50.279 him while they were packing up his stuff in boxes. 0:05:51.160 --> 0:05:54.920 And I'm one, I'll say, extremely proud of the collective 0:05:54.960 --> 0:05:57.320 effort from our digital apartment and covering this. I don't 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.480 think a lot of teams cover the way that we did. 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:02.880 But I would be remiss if I didn't say that 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:05.279 Ron is a big part of that. Ron allowed a 0:06:05.279 --> 0:06:07.560 lot of that to happen, and I think it speaks 0:06:07.600 --> 0:06:09.640 to what his tenure was like here. Not not a 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:11.719 lot of head coaches are gonna sit down with somebody 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.719 like me in that situation and do an interview for 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.960 the team website that was that was uncommon. And then 0:06:17.960 --> 0:06:20.039 of course the next day he has the press conference, 0:06:20.080 --> 0:06:22.479 which is when's the last time you've seen that from 0:06:22.480 --> 0:06:24.880 a guy who's who just got fired? And then he 0:06:24.920 --> 0:06:28.160 does a presser in that building to say goodbye. I mean, 0:06:28.240 --> 0:06:31.480 all of that I think speaks to what Ron's time 0:06:31.520 --> 0:06:34.440 here was, and I think I think it speaks to 0:06:34.560 --> 0:06:37.680 what Dave understood about this situation as well. Yeah, I 0:06:38.000 --> 0:06:40.200 think you know, Dave didn't say no, no, listen, you 0:06:40.240 --> 0:06:42.680 gotta go, like gave him that chance. Dave gave him 0:06:42.680 --> 0:06:44.640 that chance. I think one of the things that I 0:06:44.680 --> 0:06:47.200 saw in kind of monitoring, you know, kind of seeing 0:06:47.400 --> 0:06:49.320 live comments on all the feeds, and you know, there 0:06:49.360 --> 0:06:51.000 are some fans that are like, man, you guys were 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.560 making him do a press conference, like this man gets 0:06:53.560 --> 0:06:55.360 fired and you're making him do all this stuff. And 0:06:55.680 --> 0:06:57.760 you know, as we understood, like, no, this was an 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:01.359 opportunity presented to you to Ron, do you want to 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.840 you know, Ron gave his heart and he made a 0:07:03.880 --> 0:07:05.840 pitch for kind of you know, what he wants to 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:07.640 do next year. He kind of you know, he used 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:09.600 that as an opportunity for himself, which you know, he 0:07:09.680 --> 0:07:11.360 deserves to be able to do that a little bit, 0:07:11.560 --> 0:07:13.720 which I think that you know, maybe other coaches might 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:16.720 deserve that opportunity to in in these senses that they 0:07:16.720 --> 0:07:19.760 don't get. But you know, Dave, Dave took it upon 0:07:19.840 --> 0:07:24.400 himself to explain himself, to explain what was going on, 0:07:24.520 --> 0:07:26.720 and then to give Ron an opportunity to have some 0:07:26.760 --> 0:07:29.600 closure and this organization to have some closure. Yeah, and 0:07:29.640 --> 0:07:33.559 I think honestly everybody sort of felt like it was time. 0:07:34.280 --> 0:07:37.360 It's these things are hard. But I think even in 0:07:37.400 --> 0:07:39.920 listening to Ron the past few weeks, it kind of 0:07:39.960 --> 0:07:42.080 sounded like he sort of new, I mean, and maybe 0:07:42.080 --> 0:07:45.840 he didn't expect it to happen with four games left. Um. 0:07:45.880 --> 0:07:48.680 But there's like a certain natural life cycle that exists 0:07:49.000 --> 0:07:52.640 for a coach, right, I mean, it just doesn't last forever, Um, 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:54.520 And I think, as Dave said, sometimes you need some 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:56.960 fresh blood. I think that could simply be the case here. 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:58.800 I think Ron could go somewhere else and have great 0:07:58.800 --> 0:08:03.040 success again. I think sometimes it's just in a specific place, 0:08:03.480 --> 0:08:06.360 it's time for a change. And after nine really good 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:08.880 years he leaves as the winning is coach and franchise history, 0:08:08.960 --> 0:08:11.680 took this team so close to the ultimate prize, it 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:13.960 was time for a change here. And I think that's 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:17.840 that's a healthy natural part of sports, as tough as 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:19.679 it is, as tough as as it is to watch 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:22.040 that happen to a guy, Um, with how much he 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:24.880 meant to this place, and these players, coaches get hired 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.840 and fired, and that's just that's the reality of the business. 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:30.840 And we we are fortunate and that we haven't seen 0:08:30.880 --> 0:08:32.319 that here in a long time. One of the things 0:08:32.400 --> 0:08:34.400 that stood out to me in his press conference he 0:08:34.520 --> 0:08:37.559 was asked or he talked about the conversation you had 0:08:37.600 --> 0:08:41.240 with Jerry Richardson when he was first hired and Richardson 0:08:41.280 --> 0:08:43.120 asked him, do you how long do you want to 0:08:43.160 --> 0:08:46.559 be here? And he surprised him by saying eight, ten, 0:08:46.920 --> 0:08:50.000 eleven years and said, you know why, you don't want 0:08:50.000 --> 0:08:52.360 to be here forever? And you know, he said, I 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:54.400 think that's I think that sounds about right. That just 0:08:54.440 --> 0:08:56.319 seems you know, if if you've been here that long, 0:08:56.360 --> 0:08:58.600 it means you've done some things right. But that that's 0:08:58.720 --> 0:09:01.800 kind of that's kind of what the NFL life cycle is. 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.280 And I think, you know, I don't want to put 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.600 words in his mouth, but I think Ron didn't necessarily 0:09:06.640 --> 0:09:09.480 want to be here another four or five years. He 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.640 wanted these years to be able to compete for Super Bowl. Well, 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:14.240 he even said that. They said, would you want to 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:16.200 stay for the rest of the season, He said, only 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:18.559 if I could guarantee me win all of them. I 0:09:18.640 --> 0:09:20.839 think that's it. I think another piece of this though, 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:25.000 that that I this is a personal opinion for me, 0:09:25.040 --> 0:09:26.880 and this is not something that Ron has come out 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:31.640 and said blatantly. But this was an opportunity for him 0:09:31.679 --> 0:09:33.840 to get his next job, So we can say it 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.240 was a wonderful thing for him to be, you know, 0:09:36.400 --> 0:09:39.440 for Temper to give him this opportunity, and it absolutely was. 0:09:40.720 --> 0:09:43.839 But Ron over is a competitive man and he instantly 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:46.920 flipped the switch to go find his next job, as 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:50.160 he should. There should be no ill will about that. 0:09:50.679 --> 0:09:54.360 He's absolutely putting himself out there because a lot of 0:09:54.400 --> 0:09:56.480 times these coaches you don't hear from them, and the 0:09:56.600 --> 0:10:00.160 question does become when he's had the you know, but 0:10:00.280 --> 0:10:03.280 thirty three years of being involved in the NFL, of 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:05.719 is he done? You know? Is this is this it 0:10:05.920 --> 0:10:08.600 for him? Is it? Is he going to retire? No? 0:10:09.480 --> 0:10:11.320 And he got to say that that's when thing you 0:10:11.400 --> 0:10:13.800 always wonder, and then you know, maybe they take a 0:10:13.880 --> 0:10:15.800 year off and then they come back. I remember that 0:10:15.840 --> 0:10:18.599 with Pagano, No one everyone kind of thought that he 0:10:18.679 --> 0:10:21.280 might retire, and then he did take that year off. 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:24.000 His daughter was getting married, he got to spend some 0:10:24.040 --> 0:10:26.680 time with his family. He was still getting paid in 0:10:26.760 --> 0:10:29.079 his contract, so he got to take that year off 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:31.720 and then he got back into coaching. No, Ronevera has 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:35.600 made it very clear that in a month that job 0:10:35.640 --> 0:10:38.520 cycle begins and that's when they start hiring. I wouldn't 0:10:38.520 --> 0:10:40.319 have been shocked if ron said, like, I'm gonna take 0:10:40.360 --> 0:10:44.240 some time, you know, I don't know. But to your point, Karl, 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:46.440 he came right out and said, and he gave himself 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.839 like a really good pitch. I thought, Um, so, I 0:10:49.880 --> 0:10:53.120 don't know what's next for Ron. I do know this though, 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:55.920 It's why isn't any profession to keep your options open? 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:58.400 And I think what Ron just did was kept that 0:10:58.480 --> 0:11:00.800 option open. And if somebody he wants to pick up 0:11:00.840 --> 0:11:03.600 the phone and call Ron and his Asian and and see, 0:11:04.160 --> 0:11:06.480 he's made it very clear he's open to that. If 0:11:06.600 --> 0:11:09.040 Ron wants to be choosy and maybe take some time 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:12.560 in Tahoe, he can do that too. I mean I think, yeah, 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:14.640 as you said, Ron set himself up pretty well for 0:11:14.679 --> 0:11:16.920 the next chapter, and obviously Dave Pepper and the Panthers 0:11:16.960 --> 0:11:18.680 are going to try to do the same on their in. Yeah, 0:11:18.679 --> 0:11:21.200 it has been a crazy week, as many of you know. 0:11:21.320 --> 0:11:24.520 But what has been also interesting about this week is 0:11:24.559 --> 0:11:26.640 that for the past two days we have gotten to 0:11:26.679 --> 0:11:29.560 know more about Perry Fuel than we ever thought we 0:11:29.559 --> 0:11:33.200 would know, including his hot yoga schedule, You've got that correct. 0:11:33.360 --> 0:11:36.520 We know that this man enjoys waking up on game 0:11:36.600 --> 0:11:39.160 day and if it's an away game, putting a towel 0:11:39.240 --> 0:11:44.000 under his door and hot boxing his room to do yoga. Okay, 0:11:44.040 --> 0:11:46.920 that's what he's doing, and he is. He is sweating 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:50.920 it out, being all sin, firing up the YouTube just yep, 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:55.520 just sin the YouTube before becoming crazy. So we've learned 0:11:55.520 --> 0:11:57.640 a lot about Perry Fuel and I've been in practice 0:11:57.800 --> 0:12:00.559 watching a little bit just because I knew what was 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:03.719 going to be different. There's a different demeanor at the 0:12:03.760 --> 0:12:06.679 press conference, there's a different demeanor walking around the hallways 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:09.800 because Perry feels a different man than Ron rivera both 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.800 defensive minded coach. I think that's an important piece that 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:17.480 that keeps this team rolling. Is not much changes as 0:12:17.480 --> 0:12:19.880 far as you know. The offense is still intact and 0:12:19.920 --> 0:12:22.480 they they have their staff and yeah there's some personnel 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:25.680 changes that will we'll get into, but they're still rolling 0:12:25.840 --> 0:12:27.400 in this way that they know. And I remember talking 0:12:27.400 --> 0:12:30.360 to Scott Turner earlier in the season. I was walking 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.360 out at I think it was not close to nine 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:35.360 o'clock on a Monday night, walking out to my car 0:12:35.400 --> 0:12:37.240 and he's walking out to his car and I was like, wow, 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:40.400 Monday night, nine o'clock, this is not what I'm expecting 0:12:40.400 --> 0:12:42.480 you to leave. And he said, we've been doing this 0:12:42.559 --> 0:12:45.600 together for so long. We have it down. We we 0:12:45.800 --> 0:12:49.480 know how to flip that, you know, report over very quickly. 0:12:49.559 --> 0:12:51.440 And and he said, We've got some more work to do, 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:53.120 but I'm gonna go see my kids, you know, before 0:12:53.120 --> 0:12:54.880 they go to bed. And so they have this this 0:12:55.080 --> 0:12:57.280 going on on the offensive side, they can roll the 0:12:57.320 --> 0:13:00.520 defensive side. Now it is different, obviously, and the team 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:02.760 is different, but Perry Fueld just brings a different energy 0:13:02.760 --> 0:13:05.120 and it's it has been a different practice. I'm excited 0:13:05.160 --> 0:13:08.080 to see Perry Fuel on the sidelines for the Carolina Panthers. 0:13:08.120 --> 0:13:10.080 He he has not been down there this season. I 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:12.280 will be down there and watching him very closely see 0:13:12.280 --> 0:13:15.040 if that zin has worn off. And as he put it, 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:19.520 he's become ornerary and very cranky. So I'm excited to 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.160 see this. I think I think it is a new chapter. 0:13:22.240 --> 0:13:24.240 And like you said, it's it's new blood down there, 0:13:24.280 --> 0:13:27.440 and that's what that's what Dave Pepper wants, and he 0:13:27.520 --> 0:13:29.920 it may not be the blood that sticks around, but 0:13:30.000 --> 0:13:32.800 this is certainly an opportunity for Perry Fuel to add 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:35.360 to his resume as this is the second time being 0:13:35.360 --> 0:13:37.320 an interim head coach. Yeah, I think he's a logical 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:39.000 choice for this, as you just mentioned there, and he's 0:13:39.040 --> 0:13:41.720 done this before with Buffalo in two thousand nine. He's 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.280 been around the league of a long time, coordinated for 0:13:44.320 --> 0:13:46.920 a long time, has been an interim head coach, So 0:13:47.280 --> 0:13:49.319 I think this was the logical choice. I think people 0:13:49.360 --> 0:13:51.240 may be wondering North Turner is a guy who has 0:13:51.280 --> 0:13:53.920 head coaching experience would have also maybe been a candidate 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:57.000 for this. But I'm excited to see what Scott can do. Um. 0:13:57.040 --> 0:14:00.280 He's never called place before ever, so this is his 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:03.360 first opportunity to do that, and that's a big opportunity 0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:05.440 for a guy, especially on the offensive side of the ball. 0:14:05.480 --> 0:14:07.960 Everyone in this league right now wants to see who's innovative, 0:14:07.960 --> 0:14:10.760 who's doing something new, What new wrinkles is he gonna add? 0:14:11.400 --> 0:14:14.120 Um And and obviously the personnel is the personnel. He's 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.240 not gonna make wholesale changes. But I'm curious to see 0:14:17.280 --> 0:14:20.240 how Scott handles the offense. And look with Perry on 0:14:20.280 --> 0:14:23.040 the defensive side, I think he's been here long enough 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.000 now we kind of know what we're gonna we're gonna 0:14:25.000 --> 0:14:28.120 see from that group. I'm mainly curious to see if 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:30.000 what the energy is from the team, this has been 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:33.320 an emotional week, right, How are these guys going to 0:14:33.400 --> 0:14:35.440 get themselves up for this game? I mean, it's one 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:38.800 thing to say we've got to win, We've got to 0:14:38.880 --> 0:14:41.720 fight for our opportunities, we're fighting for our job. It's 0:14:41.800 --> 0:14:43.840 it's now can they do it? You know? I think 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:45.680 that's what you want to see after a team that's 0:14:45.720 --> 0:14:48.160 gone through something like that, is is are they going 0:14:48.200 --> 0:14:50.200 to look like a team that just lost his leader? 0:14:50.720 --> 0:14:52.120 Or are they going to look like a team that's 0:14:52.160 --> 0:14:54.040 kind of rallying behind the new guy? And we'll find 0:14:54.080 --> 0:14:55.960 out that there is a lot of pride involved here. 0:14:56.160 --> 0:14:59.440 You know, I think that I think some of those guys, 0:14:59.520 --> 0:15:02.040 like Christian McCaffrey in the locker room, you know that 0:15:02.480 --> 0:15:04.160 one of the things that I thought was somewhat unique 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:06.640 about what he said was you know, yeah, obviously, you know, 0:15:06.680 --> 0:15:09.400 we're really heartbroken where you know, we're kind of bummed 0:15:09.400 --> 0:15:12.080 about this, But you know what, if I would have 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:14.680 gotten a couple more yards, if we would have gotten 0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:16.640 in that end zone there a couple more times, you know, 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:18.920 maybe this hadn't happened. You know, this is I feel 0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.600 some personal responsibility, a lot of two very person and 0:15:22.680 --> 0:15:25.120 you you kind of think like, okay, like how what's 0:15:25.200 --> 0:15:29.120 what's that response going to be? Like it is? That's 0:15:29.120 --> 0:15:31.240 why I'm excited to see it. I think practice has 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:35.160 been a little bit more up tempo. They switched some 0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:38.120 things up, even in the individual open media part where 0:15:38.360 --> 0:15:42.800 in defensive drills they're they're changing drills with a quicker 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.360 pace and and I think I get him go ones 0:15:45.400 --> 0:15:47.440 on ones too. I mean it was a competitive period, 0:15:47.480 --> 0:15:53.280 which is different. He is a old school he said today, 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.720 what do you say? He's old school? And he will 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:57.720 get after him and he will be fiery and get 0:15:57.760 --> 0:15:59.320 in their face, but it's in a loving way. I 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.720 will scream as will counted, he said. He said the 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:05.160 word but four times in that in that little spield 0:16:05.200 --> 0:16:07.600 he gave right. You know, I gotta gotta kick some butts, 0:16:08.040 --> 0:16:10.000 kick some butts out there, and you got a hug 0:16:10.000 --> 0:16:12.920 on love on them when they do it right. Well, 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:15.840 either way, when we're watching these next four weeks of 0:16:15.920 --> 0:16:19.960 Panthers football, history is changing here. There's a new tide 0:16:19.960 --> 0:16:22.240 that is turning a new chapter for this team, a 0:16:22.240 --> 0:16:25.360 new chapter four. Potentially a lot of guys on the 0:16:25.400 --> 0:16:27.760 team now, the coaching staff that is here. We know 0:16:27.880 --> 0:16:30.480 this league never looks the same year to year, and 0:16:30.560 --> 0:16:33.840 that is now certainly true here in Carolina. So thank 0:16:33.880 --> 0:16:37.080 you so much for joining us for this. I wanted 0:16:37.280 --> 0:16:39.000 before the shows that I wanted to share one round 0:16:39.000 --> 0:16:42.160 of story. I think people will enjoy this. So this 0:16:42.200 --> 0:16:45.800 was during like the two thousand fourteen or fifteen season, 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:50.440 before Ron was going into a press conference. And Ron 0:16:50.680 --> 0:16:53.600 always thought he was really funny. I don't know that 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:55.240 he was as funny as he thought he was, but 0:16:55.280 --> 0:16:59.440 he thought he was hilarious. So he had just come 0:16:59.480 --> 0:17:01.400 out of the office to line meeting room and he 0:17:01.440 --> 0:17:02.960 was like, I need somebody to do something for me 0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:05.040 real quick, and like I was the only one in 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.639 the hallway. So it's like, Max, I need you for something. 0:17:08.040 --> 0:17:10.520 I'm like, oh God. So it's like, I need you 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:13.440 to go into the old line meeting room. Okay, and 0:17:13.440 --> 0:17:15.320 Andrew Norwell is gonna be sitting in there. I need 0:17:15.400 --> 0:17:18.240 you to say to him, nor will you really think 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:20.600 you can pull that shirt off and then walk out? 0:17:21.680 --> 0:17:24.200 And um, okay. The offensive line meeting room the most 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:29.280 intimidating of meeting rooms. The gigantic human beings. It's the 0:17:29.280 --> 0:17:31.359 one that's like their most protective about too, like they 0:17:31.359 --> 0:17:34.800 don't let anybody in there, especially then that group. Yeah, 0:17:34.840 --> 0:17:37.520 this is the Ryan khalil Oh line meeting room. So 0:17:37.600 --> 0:17:40.800 I am like already sweating, but like the head coach 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:43.080 just said, so I'm like, what am I gonna do? 0:17:43.119 --> 0:17:45.160 I have to do this, And I was also kind 0:17:45.160 --> 0:17:46.720 of like, well, what if this goes great, then I 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:49.560 can like to be like a hero. It did not 0:17:49.600 --> 0:17:52.120 go great. I walk into the old line meeting room 0:17:52.119 --> 0:17:56.000 and I'm so nervous because like if everyone every alignment 0:17:56.040 --> 0:17:58.480 is in there, and like as soon as I walk in, 0:17:58.520 --> 0:18:00.640 of course everyone looks at me and you can hear 0:18:00.640 --> 0:18:06.240 a pin drought like so the pressure. So I try 0:18:06.280 --> 0:18:08.400 to deliver the line. I look at Norwell, who's again 0:18:08.400 --> 0:18:10.919 the scariest of all of them, and he's wearing this 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:13.560 like graphic t that I guess they were like getting 0:18:13.560 --> 0:18:17.600 on him for wearing before I was. I missed that part, 0:18:17.720 --> 0:18:19.720 so I said, I said, Norwell, you really think you 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:23.920 can pull that shirt off? And nothing, just like everyone 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.719 is staring at me, and Ron was like watching this 0:18:27.800 --> 0:18:29.800 from the back. And so then not like I get 0:18:29.800 --> 0:18:31.719 out of there, I'm just like, I got what can 0:18:31.760 --> 0:18:33.919 I do? I'm out? So I get out and Ron's like, 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:37.800 you didn't deliver it, right, man, And I'm like, and 0:18:37.840 --> 0:18:39.399 I'm trying to say. I was like, I don't I 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:41.600 just don't think it was funny. So I go back 0:18:41.680 --> 0:18:44.440 in and I tell the old linement. I'm like, guys, 0:18:44.520 --> 0:18:46.240 Ron just told me to say that, and then they 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:50.000 started laughing. So it's like kind of saved me. But 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:54.200 my my always, I'll never forget this obviously, and Ron 0:18:54.280 --> 0:18:55.800 the last thing he says to me was like, hey, Max, 0:18:55.840 --> 0:18:57.040 do you ever get in the old line room? Don't 0:18:57.080 --> 0:18:59.240 blow it this time. So it's like become a running 0:18:59.280 --> 0:19:02.679 joke for all the years. But I I contest to 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.200 this day that the lion he asked me to deliver 0:19:05.359 --> 0:19:08.159 was not funny. It was never funny. Ron thinks it was. 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:10.520 So he put me in a huge position to fail 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:12.640 in front of the most intimidating group in the team, 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:14.040 and he never let me hear the end of it. 0:19:14.640 --> 0:19:18.080 That was I missed opportunity. Thank you so much for 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:20.120