WEBVTT - Happy Half Hour Episode 30: Exit Interviews 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.320 Hi, this is Dewey Jenkins. After my four years in 0:00:03.360 --> 0:00:05.640 the Navy, you're an A and I moved to Charlotte. 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:08.520 Even though neither of us were from here. I was 0:00:08.600 --> 0:00:11.200 from the mountains of Virginia and she was from Florida. 0:00:11.520 --> 0:00:14.160 We agreed that Charlotte was where we wanted to build 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:17.320 our future together. I was a full time student at 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.200 U n c C by day and ran a janitorial 0:00:20.280 --> 0:00:23.079 business that night. And a few years later I bought 0:00:23.120 --> 0:00:26.279 a little air conditioning company and that's how I met you, 0:00:26.560 --> 0:00:36.280 and I'm really glad I did. It's time for the 0:00:36.479 --> 0:00:40.920 Happy Half Hour with your friends Kristin Balboni and Will 0:00:41.080 --> 0:00:51.160 Brian presented by Morris Jenkins. That's right, it's that time 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:53.440 of the week, The Happy Half Hour podcast presented by 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.920 Morris Jenkins and Mr Jenkins told me his plumbers and 0:00:56.000 --> 0:00:59.120 a c Tex secretly where panthers jerseys under their uniforms. 0:00:59.160 --> 0:01:01.960 When you're plumbing her conditioning is acting up. Cole Morris Jenkins, 0:01:02.000 --> 0:01:04.800 or visit Morris Jenkins dot com. Kristin here with my 0:01:04.920 --> 0:01:08.440 good buddies Will and Matt and guys. A lot has 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:12.560 happened since the last time we spoke. Last Wednesday, the 0:01:12.640 --> 0:01:16.360 season has concluded for the Panthers, and UM, we are 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.120 in the throes of of a GM search right now 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.759 and it is it's going quickly. So excited to talk 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.440 about both of those things with you guys. But will 0:01:24.440 --> 0:01:27.000 I think we should start with the latest on the 0:01:27.040 --> 0:01:30.119 GM search. And you know, again we're recording this Wednesday morning. 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:32.720 It could all change by the time this comes out. 0:01:32.800 --> 0:01:35.160 But but this is what we know right now, which 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:38.280 is that the Panthers have interviewed six candidates already, will 0:01:38.319 --> 0:01:40.840 go through them in just a second, UM, and we 0:01:40.920 --> 0:01:45.679 expect them to continue interviewing candidates. UM. So that's where 0:01:45.680 --> 0:01:48.200 we are. If you if you remember this time, literally 0:01:48.320 --> 0:01:51.280 this time last year, the Panthers were interviewing head coach 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:54.120 candidates and you thought, you know, maybe they're this the 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.000 process might take a little bit, there'll be a lot 0:01:56.000 --> 0:01:59.600 of interviews, UM, and then May zeroed in on Matt Rule. 0:01:59.680 --> 0:02:02.960 They made that decision quickly, and things happened very quickly. 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.840 So that's why we're you know, we're recording Wednesday morning. 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:07.840 But by the time this comes out or you might 0:02:07.880 --> 0:02:09.880 get a chance to listen to it, things could be 0:02:10.120 --> 0:02:13.839 UM moving in place. Really really really quickly. So UM, 0:02:13.880 --> 0:02:16.799 it's exciting. I definitely am looking forward to to kind 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.520 of seeing um who they end up zeroing in on 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.280 and kind of what what's gonna come next. Yeah, let's 0:02:22.280 --> 0:02:26.400 go through the candidates that they have interviewed already. There's 0:02:26.440 --> 0:02:29.160 a great piece on Panthers dot com detailing all of 0:02:29.160 --> 0:02:31.799 those candidates and it goes in alphabetical order, So that's 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.200 what we'll do as well. So first up as Quaisi 0:02:34.240 --> 0:02:37.519 Adapo Mensa will what do we know about him? Very young? 0:02:37.560 --> 0:02:40.480 The VP of football operations for the Browns. Um went 0:02:40.520 --> 0:02:43.320 to Princeton, kind of has a background that's a little 0:02:43.320 --> 0:02:47.200 bit interesting. Not necessarily tons of years in in kind 0:02:47.200 --> 0:02:50.560 of scouting or personnel, but Um has spent time as 0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.840 a commodities trader. He was with the forty nine for 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:57.320 seven years prior to the Browns football research and development, 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.040 So you know, kind of these words that we've heard 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:02.840 a lot on the Panthers organization, uh with Dave Tepper 0:03:02.919 --> 0:03:05.079 and kind of looking at a different way of of 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:10.480 seeing this. So UM really really interesting and UM intriguing candidate. Obviously, 0:03:10.520 --> 0:03:12.600 Cleveland going to the playoffs this year for the first 0:03:12.600 --> 0:03:14.800 time in a long time, so you know, has that 0:03:14.840 --> 0:03:16.960 going for him. And he was one of the two 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:20.839 persons um that were interviewed on Monday, so too were 0:03:21.080 --> 0:03:23.280 he and Jerry Reece for re interviewed on Monday, and 0:03:23.280 --> 0:03:25.720 then the other four yesterday on Tuesday. You know, it's 0:03:25.760 --> 0:03:29.840 interesting because anytime there is something in a candidate's background 0:03:30.000 --> 0:03:32.680 or a football person's background that doesn't start with like 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:35.240 they were in the football front office right out of college, 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.760 we always talk about it. But he did spend seven 0:03:37.840 --> 0:03:41.160 years with the fort so and so in my opinion, 0:03:41.240 --> 0:03:45.600 that just adds to the football knowledge that he's acquired. Um, 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.160 and and then this year with the Browns. So um 0:03:48.240 --> 0:03:51.360 eight years in football and as you said, will former 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:55.000 life as a commodities trader just really interesting. He seems 0:03:55.120 --> 0:03:59.920 just um. He seems like a very cool, engaging candidate 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:04.000 from the interviews that I've watched on him before. And certainly, um, 0:04:04.040 --> 0:04:06.720 what the Browns have done this season. Certainly hope everyone 0:04:06.840 --> 0:04:09.600 is healthy and safe there with the news yesterday, but 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.720 what they have done over all the season has been 0:04:11.720 --> 0:04:14.040 great and he has a lot to be proud of. UM. 0:04:14.080 --> 0:04:16.440 So let's go next. As I said, alphabetical order, we 0:04:16.480 --> 0:04:18.919 got Nick kiss Ario. We just take him out. We 0:04:18.920 --> 0:04:21.200 already know that he has been hired by the Texans, 0:04:21.279 --> 0:04:25.560 right well, yeah, the New England Patriots director of player personnel. 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:28.359 The report last night UM that they came to an 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.640 agreement with the Texans. UM. I don't know that that's finalized, 0:04:31.720 --> 0:04:34.400 finalized yet, but it seems like he's pretty much pegged 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:37.440 to go to Houston, all right. Next up in alphabetical order, 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:39.839 Jeff Ireland, as you said, one of the candidates that 0:04:39.880 --> 0:04:43.360 they spoke to yesterday, and of course this is one 0:04:43.400 --> 0:04:45.960 of the more well known names on this list. Yeah, 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.560 he was the former general manager with the Miami Dolphins, UM, 0:04:49.640 --> 0:04:53.080 and he's currently the assistant GM for the New Orleans Saints. Obviously, 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:56.839 we know what the Saints have done the last twenty years, UM, 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.440 but he's uh, he's been with them more and more 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:02.320 more rea and ly obviously that draft in two thousand 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:06.920 seventeen with yeah, I mean, oh my goodness, like that's 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.160 that's kind of set them up for for all these 0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.680 NFC South titles that they've had. So certainly he has 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:14.719 a lot kind of on his resume. But as you said, 0:05:14.920 --> 0:05:17.640 which I think is an interesting point, um assistant GM 0:05:17.680 --> 0:05:21.040 in college scouting director, but he, to my knowledge, will 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:24.760 focuses pretty heavily on on that on the college side, 0:05:24.839 --> 0:05:29.279 on the draft. That's kind of his niche with the Saints, 0:05:29.480 --> 0:05:31.280 which is which is just an interesting point when you 0:05:31.320 --> 0:05:33.960 look at what, um, what the Panthers have said they 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:35.760 are looking at overall, which of course he's been a 0:05:35.760 --> 0:05:37.920 GM in the past, but um, that is kind of 0:05:37.960 --> 0:05:40.120 his role. I'm trying to, you know, drill down on 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:42.719 what each of these guys is doing currently and where 0:05:42.760 --> 0:05:45.720 they're um, I guess strengths or experiences lie. Yeah, And 0:05:46.080 --> 0:05:47.880 I think we can talk about this a little bit 0:05:47.880 --> 0:05:49.280 more after we go through these. But you know, I 0:05:49.320 --> 0:05:52.080 think the Panthers are certainly looking for you know, a 0:05:52.120 --> 0:05:55.279 little bit of everything. Um. You know, very obviously strong 0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:58.960 background in that college scouting universe, UM, you know, really 0:05:59.400 --> 0:06:03.359 strong set for success, um and knowing that well. But 0:06:03.440 --> 0:06:06.360 I think also you know, a sense of you know, 0:06:06.400 --> 0:06:09.280 not to be puny here, but you know, general management. 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:11.520 You know, like literally don't seem like to be important 0:06:11.560 --> 0:06:15.719 for the job, right, But it's not. It's not just 0:06:16.960 --> 0:06:19.800 looking at film and scouting. It's it's so much more. 0:06:20.520 --> 0:06:23.640 It's building a team, it's it's coordinating that team, it's 0:06:23.680 --> 0:06:26.360 working with Matt Rule and the coaching staff, and let's 0:06:26.360 --> 0:06:28.880 be real, it's there's an understanding of where this thing 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.159 is going in the next several years down to Rock Hill, 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:34.679 and you have to be engaged with a much larger 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:38.400 vision for the football operations within that world. You know, 0:06:38.440 --> 0:06:40.520 this this world is getting a lot bigger than it 0:06:40.560 --> 0:06:43.680 has been in Carolina, up here in Uptown Charlotte, and 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:47.560 I think having someone that's ready to embrace that rather 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:49.920 than see it maybe as a distraction, you know, I'm 0:06:49.960 --> 0:06:52.920 not sure, but I think at least someone that embraces 0:06:53.040 --> 0:06:56.520 all of the new opportunities that that presents UM as 0:06:56.560 --> 0:06:59.159 well as making sure we're getting the right players in here, 0:06:59.360 --> 0:07:03.119 absolutely all right. Next, we have Monte Austin fort Um, 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.400 director of player personnel for the Titans, but spent a 0:07:06.440 --> 0:07:09.960 long time with the Patriots organization. Yeah, so I think 0:07:10.360 --> 0:07:13.440 his background, obviously with with the Patriots, you know, kind 0:07:13.440 --> 0:07:16.760 of lens to uh, you know, seeing their success, seeing 0:07:16.760 --> 0:07:19.800 what they were able to do with UM with relatively little. 0:07:20.080 --> 0:07:21.840 You know, they were able to bring people in and 0:07:21.880 --> 0:07:23.760 put them in in the right places. And they want 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:27.120 a lot of championships doing it. So I think whenever 0:07:27.200 --> 0:07:30.880 you see that Patriots line on a resume, you know 0:07:31.000 --> 0:07:34.440 it means something, UM, and I think that that's that's 0:07:34.640 --> 0:07:38.480 a big stamp for him. Absolutely. Next in alphabetical order 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:41.440 is Jerry Rees. You mentioned that he along with Quasi 0:07:41.520 --> 0:07:45.520 Adapa Mensa, were one of the two candidates that interviewed 0:07:45.800 --> 0:07:49.360 Monday night. UM. You know, of course a well known 0:07:49.600 --> 0:07:52.240 name as well. Yeah, he was the general manager for 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:56.640 the Giants. UM was was let go in two thousand seventeen. UM, 0:07:56.680 --> 0:08:00.000 I'm pretty sure that that's who Dave Gentleman took his position, 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:02.600 and UM when when Gettleman went up to New York, 0:08:02.720 --> 0:08:05.840 the former Panthers GM that took his position in New York. So, 0:08:05.960 --> 0:08:08.520 but I mean he's obviously years and years and years 0:08:08.520 --> 0:08:11.320 of experience, UM in the job, has done it before. 0:08:11.880 --> 0:08:14.600 UM won some Super Bowls with the Giants, so you know, 0:08:14.760 --> 0:08:18.040 very experienced kind of knows knows what he's doing for sure. 0:08:18.480 --> 0:08:21.360 And then finally UM in alphabetical order of the candidates 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:25.200 that the Panthers have spoken to for GM is Joe Shane, 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:28.600 who UM is currently the assistant GM under Brandon Bean 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:32.280 with the Buffalo Bills um, but has a panther's background, 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.439 a heavy panther's background, got his start with the Panthers. Yeah. 0:08:35.480 --> 0:08:37.920 I mean it feels like almost everyone in Buffalo has 0:08:37.960 --> 0:08:41.480 some sort of panther's background. But it has been incredible, 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:44.520 incredible and really great to see how much success. You know, 0:08:44.520 --> 0:08:46.840 people were talking about Brandon Bean is the executive of 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:50.079 the year up there. Obviously Joe Shane's worked very closely 0:08:50.120 --> 0:08:52.760 with him. Um, you have Dan Morgan that's up there 0:08:52.760 --> 0:08:55.720 working in that in that department. Um. So there's a 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.360 lot of names. And Shane you know, started here, you 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:01.240 know as an intern, um, you know, working in the 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:05.360 scouting department with the Panthers. So he knows the organization. Um, 0:09:05.440 --> 0:09:09.000 he knows what Carolina is about. Uh, and he's kind 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:11.920 of seen a lot of things with the way that 0:09:11.920 --> 0:09:14.600 that being has kind of tried to set that organization up. 0:09:14.600 --> 0:09:17.400 And obviously, you know, if you can have success people 0:09:17.400 --> 0:09:20.600 talk about sometimes in in free agency and in the 0:09:20.880 --> 0:09:23.679 you know, in the the scouting realm of like oh, 0:09:23.720 --> 0:09:25.280 you know, can you sign a free agent to a 0:09:25.280 --> 0:09:27.960 place that's not a huge market. If you can get 0:09:28.080 --> 0:09:31.040 people to come to Buffalo and be successful in Buffalo, 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:34.280 then you can be successful anywhere is you know, I 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:36.960 mean they're what they're doing up there is is incredible 0:09:37.040 --> 0:09:39.720 and I think that's a new kind of stamp of 0:09:39.840 --> 0:09:43.199 people wanting to to find some Buffalo people to bring 0:09:43.200 --> 0:09:46.720 into the organization. Yeah. Absolutely, So those are the six 0:09:46.800 --> 0:09:50.240 candidates UM that have been interviewed by the Panthers. That's 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.360 what we know right now. As we've said, uh quite 0:09:53.360 --> 0:09:55.280 a few times already, this could all change by the 0:09:55.320 --> 0:09:58.440 time this episode comes out. But but even so, it 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:01.360 is I think value able to see the people that 0:10:01.400 --> 0:10:04.880 they are bringing in UM and and and what they're 0:10:04.920 --> 0:10:07.160 looking for. So will you talked about it a little bit, 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.080 but let's talk a little bit deeper about you know, 0:10:10.120 --> 0:10:12.120 what we know that that David Pepper and that rule 0:10:12.160 --> 0:10:15.079 are looking for in a general manager. As you said, 0:10:15.240 --> 0:10:18.000 it seems like based on what we've heard, they want 0:10:18.080 --> 0:10:20.680 someone that's going to be um, you know, more than 0:10:20.720 --> 0:10:22.480 just the football side, as you as you put it 0:10:22.480 --> 0:10:26.440 so well, general managing, right, I think there's certainly going 0:10:26.480 --> 0:10:28.880 to be an element of you know, that catch word 0:10:28.920 --> 0:10:32.000 analytics and all the various things that that means. I 0:10:32.040 --> 0:10:37.280 think that's become it's almost become a mockery of itself 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.160 that like this word oh, you know, like going for 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:43.520 fourth down and so you know, there's what it really 0:10:43.720 --> 0:10:46.320 entails is just it's a larger view of all the 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:49.360 different tools that could be used to help do your 0:10:49.440 --> 0:10:53.640 job better. And uh, it's not just one stat it's 0:10:53.679 --> 0:10:57.600 not a computer program, it's not some you know, I 0:10:57.760 --> 0:11:00.320 T person that you it's it's all of these things 0:11:00.360 --> 0:11:04.079 that make help make decision making easier. Yeah. I think 0:11:04.120 --> 0:11:07.280 baseball went through this, you know, with saber metrics and 0:11:07.320 --> 0:11:10.920 analytics several years ago. And that doesn't mean that you 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:13.640 know that they just use those numbers and that's it, 0:11:13.760 --> 0:11:16.160 and there aren't scouts and things like that. It's just 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.880 a I mean, this is right up there with Will 0:11:18.880 --> 0:11:20.680 saying that someone needs to be able to general manage 0:11:20.720 --> 0:11:22.280 to be a general manager. But it's I think you're 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:25.120 looking for a well rounded candidate that um you know, 0:11:25.200 --> 0:11:28.280 puts a good puts a good scouting team into place, 0:11:28.640 --> 0:11:32.760 puts a great evaluators into place, but also um has 0:11:32.800 --> 0:11:35.520 the bigger picture in mind in terms of all of 0:11:35.559 --> 0:11:38.000 the different things that are that are going on, and 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.760 that that role entails. I also think, you know, as 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:44.280 you said, analytics is a buzzword, but with the salary 0:11:44.320 --> 0:11:47.720 cap projected to be much lower, UM, I think everyone's 0:11:47.760 --> 0:11:50.200 gonna have to get creative. And so I would imagine 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:52.480 that that that is UM on their minds as they 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:54.520 look for someone who can really come in, as you said, 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.760 look at everything and then try to make the best 0:11:56.800 --> 0:12:00.400 decisions with the widest amount of information available. And and 0:12:00.440 --> 0:12:03.160 it really is it's working with with head coach Matt 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:06.200 Rule and kind of his vision for UM. You know, 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:11.000 he he has a very clear vision for building a program. UM. 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.000 And this isn't you know that this is a there's 0:12:13.040 --> 0:12:15.439 a long term view to this UM. As I mentioned, 0:12:15.480 --> 0:12:18.640 you know, there's rock hills on the horizon. Uh, there's 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.600 a really really young defense. UM. Obviously there's question marks 0:12:22.960 --> 0:12:25.480 kind of in different places on the offense, maybe a 0:12:25.480 --> 0:12:28.520 little bit UM in terms of you know, who's who's 0:12:28.559 --> 0:12:30.320 going to be a free agent coming up this year. 0:12:30.480 --> 0:12:32.079 So there's some of those things to deal with in 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.160 the near term. But in the long term, I do 0:12:35.240 --> 0:12:37.520 think it really is about putting a lot of things 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:41.360 in place to have sustained success. UM. You know that's 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:45.880 something that that uh, David Tepper has talked about he 0:12:45.880 --> 0:12:48.840 he wants us to be great for a long time. UM. 0:12:48.880 --> 0:12:50.480 And in order to do that, you have to you 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:51.960 have to kind of have a plan in place. You 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:54.319 have to create that foundation, and then you have to 0:12:54.400 --> 0:12:57.120 kind of win on the margins. Um is something that 0:12:57.160 --> 0:12:59.719 you've heard him talk about before. The NFL is a 0:12:59.760 --> 0:13:02.800 play that wants a team to be in the playoffs 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:04.600 one year and out of it the next, and another 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:06.559 team to be out of the playoffs and always have 0:13:06.600 --> 0:13:09.400 a chance to go right back in. UM. It's a 0:13:09.800 --> 0:13:12.680 league of parody that tries to make things as equal 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.000 as possible. So to have sustained success, you have to 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:20.200 have kind of ways to to win in places where um, 0:13:20.240 --> 0:13:22.440 you know other people aren't you know, to to find 0:13:22.559 --> 0:13:26.000 to find those little edges, um, to to to gain 0:13:26.040 --> 0:13:28.200 and to hold them. Um. And I think that will 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:30.640 be really important in this search. Just listening to you 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:32.559 talk right there, did you throw your hat in the 0:13:32.640 --> 0:13:34.640 ring for GM? I think you just made your pitch. 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:37.280 Is that a good well? Your stats guy, you take 0:13:37.320 --> 0:13:38.760 a bit, you know, but you take a larger view. 0:13:39.480 --> 0:13:41.319 I was an intern for the Panthers back in the day, 0:13:41.320 --> 0:13:45.640 which apparently, you know, makes makes me a candidate. You 0:13:45.679 --> 0:13:48.800 and Joe Shane Uh, We're going to take a quick 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:51.200 break here on the Happy Half Hour Podcast and we 0:13:51.240 --> 0:13:53.520 come back. We're gonna wrap up the season with our 0:13:53.559 --> 0:13:58.160 own version of exit Interviews. Hi, this is Dewey Jenkins. 0:13:58.400 --> 0:14:00.720 After my four years in the Night the RNE and 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.760 I moved to Charlotte, even though neither of us were 0:14:03.840 --> 0:14:06.280 from here. I was from the Mountains of Virginia and 0:14:06.360 --> 0:14:09.240 she was from Florida, but we agreed that Charlotte was 0:14:09.240 --> 0:14:12.120 where we wanted to build our future together. I was 0:14:12.160 --> 0:14:14.600 a full time student at U n c C by 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:17.920 day and ran a janitorial business that night. And a 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:21.000 few years later I bought a little air conditioning company 0:14:21.160 --> 0:14:23.840 and that's how I met you, and I'm really glad 0:14:23.880 --> 0:14:26.680 I did. Back here on the Happy Half Hour podcast 0:14:26.720 --> 0:14:28.880 presented by Morris Jenkins, and Mr Jenkins told me that 0:14:28.920 --> 0:14:31.280 he loves football and he looks forward to this show 0:14:31.360 --> 0:14:33.560 all week. When you're plumbing your air conditioning is acting up, 0:14:33.560 --> 0:14:36.600 called Morris Jenkins or visit Morris Jenkins dot com. All right, So, 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:39.640 at the end of the seasons, as most football fans know, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.800 the guys come in, they clean out their lockers, and 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:44.760 they do exit interviews. You do it an evaluation. They're 0:14:44.800 --> 0:14:47.440 just like any any job when it's time to say goodbye. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:49.520 So I thought we would do our own exit interviews 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.000 for this season, just kind of wrap things up. I 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:54.200 got just a couple of questions here. I want to 0:14:54.200 --> 0:14:56.200 see what you guys think. Okay, are you are you 0:14:56.200 --> 0:14:58.920 going to evaluate my job performance? Kristen, Yep, you'll get 0:14:58.920 --> 0:15:01.960 a you'll get a grade. It's submitted to hr Man. 0:15:02.040 --> 0:15:03.640 I'm tell you right now. I'm gonna tell you right now, 0:15:03.640 --> 0:15:07.040 there's room for improvement already. We haven't even started. I 0:15:07.040 --> 0:15:10.880 feel awkward. Should I be here? Yeah, I'm kidding all right, 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.000 But isn't that very well? He's like, is this gonna 0:15:13.120 --> 0:15:14.920 is this gonna be on the test? Am I getting 0:15:14.920 --> 0:15:19.000 evaluated here? Like in high school? I got to open 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:23.120 up my notebook. First question, biggest surprise, biggest surprise of 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:26.600 the season for you. I'm surprised that we had a 0:15:26.600 --> 0:15:30.320 full season. Yes, I did not think that was possible 0:15:30.480 --> 0:15:33.120 with with everything going on. I was just fully prepared 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.320 for a the season not to start, and then when 0:15:35.360 --> 0:15:37.960 it started to have to shut down at some point, 0:15:38.080 --> 0:15:40.880 um just because of everything going on, and you know, 0:15:40.960 --> 0:15:43.920 from my perspective, I think at least in this building, 0:15:43.960 --> 0:15:47.560 they have done an incredible job with with keeping everyone safe, 0:15:47.600 --> 0:15:51.600 contact tracing, daily testing, uh, to ensure that we got here, 0:15:51.760 --> 0:15:54.120 and um, a lot of people have worked incredibly hard. 0:15:54.200 --> 0:15:56.960 So I just think it's I think it's really incredible 0:15:57.200 --> 0:15:58.920 when you look back at it, that that we were 0:15:58.920 --> 0:16:00.720 able to get to this point. You know, the playoffs 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:04.040 will continue, and that's an accomplishment. Well, what's your biggest surprise? Yeah, 0:16:04.120 --> 0:16:06.560 I mean I would add to that of I think 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:09.360 it's an accomplishment league wide, but I think it's an 0:16:09.360 --> 0:16:13.400 even more Panthers centric accomplishment of how well they handled it. 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:16.960 You know, there there obviously a few cases at different 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.680 times that you know, made things difficult, but I think 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:23.520 for the most part of this organization, this group of people, um, 0:16:23.520 --> 0:16:26.800 from staff, from Eddie Levin's, from you guys, from everyone, 0:16:27.080 --> 0:16:30.680 did a really fantastic job of keeping the Panthers as 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.000 safe as possible. And I think you know the number 0:16:33.000 --> 0:16:35.200 of cases and the things that that happened or didn't 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:38.240 happen here reflect that. So I would just add that 0:16:38.280 --> 0:16:41.840 to it. I mean, my, my, your you have yours 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:45.720 is the right answer, honestly. Uh Mine is just the 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:50.400 kind of generic Twitter answer, which is Jeremy chin Um. 0:16:50.920 --> 0:16:53.400 You know, I was that a surprise though, because he 0:16:53.480 --> 0:16:56.040 was getting he got drafted, and then immediately I saw 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.360 not a ton of stuff, but I saw some blurbs 0:16:59.360 --> 0:17:01.200 that were like, oh, the potential defensive Rookie of the 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:03.520 Year candidate. And I was like, wow, how this guy, 0:17:03.920 --> 0:17:05.760 you know, fell all the way to the Panthers in 0:17:05.760 --> 0:17:09.320 the second round, but immediately people were talking about him 0:17:09.320 --> 0:17:11.560 as soon as he got drafted. Did you see that too, 0:17:11.560 --> 0:17:13.919 Will Or was I really deep doing my research right 0:17:13.960 --> 0:17:16.440 before I was going to interview him for his draft? Yeah? 0:17:16.520 --> 0:17:18.640 But I mean it, I don't know, like so much 0:17:18.680 --> 0:17:22.040 of that stuff in in and I've been burned by it. 0:17:22.200 --> 0:17:24.200 You're like, oh my gosh, look at this this guy, 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:27.479 this guy, you know, like there's so much optimism. I 0:17:27.480 --> 0:17:30.560 think in April that another word for that is pressure. 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:32.119 That's how I felt when I read that. You know, 0:17:32.720 --> 0:17:35.360 he just got drafted and already there are these high 0:17:35.480 --> 0:17:39.479 expectations for him, right I think coming in, you know, 0:17:39.600 --> 0:17:42.399 I didn't know how much some of these young guys 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:44.840 were going to play. You know, I don't know that 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:48.359 you knew. Uh, you know, you obviously know they're they're 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:51.119 leaning into it with seven rookies in the draft or 0:17:51.160 --> 0:17:53.960 seven defensive players in the draft, but you never really know, 0:17:54.160 --> 0:17:55.920 Like sometimes it's like we got to bring him along 0:17:55.920 --> 0:17:57.560 a little bit. You know, how much is this guy 0:17:57.600 --> 0:18:00.320 really going to be involved? And you know the fact 0:18:00.320 --> 0:18:03.080 that I mean they they had a third round pick 0:18:03.119 --> 0:18:04.919 that they trade it up to get him, So it 0:18:05.000 --> 0:18:08.040 wasn't like, you know, we had a second round grade 0:18:08.040 --> 0:18:10.960 on him. Maybe not everyone did, um, but you you 0:18:11.040 --> 0:18:13.680 go with with Shannon, He's played, you know, almost the 0:18:13.720 --> 0:18:16.600 highest percentage of snaps, he's played in almost every position 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:20.440 on the defense, lead the team in tackles, had ridiculous 0:18:20.480 --> 0:18:23.080 stat lines across the board, had the Minnesota game that 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:26.760 stood out, you know, two time defensive player of the month, 0:18:26.840 --> 0:18:30.320 Defensive rookie of the month. I mean it's hard to 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:33.679 you everyone would have laughed at any of us if 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:37.040 we would have predicted that. Um, you know, even if 0:18:37.080 --> 0:18:38.639 we were like, oh, when I really go out on 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.600 the limit, I mean it just you can't say that 0:18:41.640 --> 0:18:43.320 in April and then for him to come through and 0:18:43.680 --> 0:18:47.320 do it. Um, So yeah, I mean, I think we 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:49.960 we figured it out pretty early on, but he kept 0:18:49.960 --> 0:18:52.679 it going and he was consistent throughout the year. I 0:18:52.720 --> 0:18:56.960 was gonna say the offensive production. I thought losing Christian McCaffrey, 0:18:57.000 --> 0:18:59.320 we wouldn't put together the type of and I know 0:18:59.400 --> 0:19:00.840 we didn't score lot of points, and I know we 0:19:00.880 --> 0:19:03.200 struggled in certain areas and like the red zone and whatnot. 0:19:03.240 --> 0:19:05.679 And I know our running game wasn't super consistent, but 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.320 like what we're talking about last week, and it is 0:19:08.480 --> 0:19:11.639 in full effect now, we have four one thousand yards 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:15.400 from scrimmage players. But it's a double sided coin. I'm 0:19:15.400 --> 0:19:18.000 a little surprised in the lack of production from the 0:19:18.000 --> 0:19:21.240 tight ends because when Joe Brady was at l s 0:19:21.359 --> 0:19:23.640 U Thad Moss and a couple of the other guys, 0:19:23.640 --> 0:19:26.240 they were pretty involved. So I was a little surprised 0:19:26.240 --> 0:19:27.840 that it wasn't that. But I think Curtis kind of 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.520 filled that that tight end role and he ran the 0:19:30.520 --> 0:19:33.760 ball pretty effectively too. So I would say the offensive production, 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:37.280 in spite of losing Christian McCaffrey being so high, that's 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:41.040 a great point alright. Next one, uh, we talked a 0:19:41.040 --> 0:19:44.080 lot about how young this team is, especially on the 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:47.440 defensive side. Who's somebody you look at and say, oh, 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:49.520 that guy is gonna be good, And you can't say 0:19:49.520 --> 0:19:51.640 it about Jeremy Chin. I'm taking Jeremy Chin off the board, 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:53.680 because that's what we would all say. Who somebody will 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:55.479 that you look at and you're like, wow, give him 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:57.560