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February 1, 2004
Moderation in All Things
Panthers learned to be frugal with money, draft picks
By Joe Menzer | JOURNAL REPORTER
RB Stephen Davis (2003): Cut by the Redskins, Davis ran for a franchise record 1,444 yards.
QB Jake Delhomme (2003): Directed eight game-winning drives in the fourth quarter or overtime.
WR Ricky Proehl (2003): Caught the winning touchdown pass in season-opening comeback against Jacksonville.
LB Greg Favors (2003): Turned out to be a decent substitute at strongside linebacker when Mark Fields unexpectedly fell ill.
LB Mark Fields (2002): Missed this season after contracting Hodgkin's disease; he was defensive MVP last season.
DT Shane Burton (2002): A valuable veteran backup for the last two seasons.
CB Terry Cousin (2002): Started all 16 games last season and now operates as the nickel back.
QB Rodney Peete (2002): As the staring quarterback last season, he bought the team time and provided instant respectability.
RT Jordan Gross (2003): First-round pick has been outstanding, starting all 19 games at right tackle.
CB Ricky Manning (2003): Four interceptions in the postseason, three in the NFC title game.
DE Julius Peppers (2002): First-round draft pick always requires extra attention from opposing blockers.
RB DeShaun Foster (2002): Now over a knee injury that cost him his rookie season, he's a valuable backup for Davis.
LB Will Witherspoon (2002): Versatile linebacker is unsung hero of the rugged defense.
DE Al Wallace (2002): A throw-in when disgruntled Jay Williams was sent to Miami, he has been a top-notch pass rusher.
Rod Smart (2002): Good enough as a kickoff returner that Steve Smith is able to focus more on being a receiver.
Brian Allen (2002): Another dependable backup at linebacker.
To understand how the Carolina Panthers went from 1-15 to a berth in Super Bowl XXXVIII against the New England Patriots in just two years, a basic review of franchise history is in order.
Remember, this is the organization that seemed smarter than everyone else back in 1996, when the Panthers won the NFC West division title with a 12-4 regular-season record, defeated the defending Super Bowl champion Dallas Cowboys in a home playoff game and advanced all the way to the NFC championship game in which they lost at Green Bay.
That magical season may very well be what prevented another magical season from occurring for the next seven years, according to owner Jerry Richardson.
"I think it was a total setup for us to fall into the trap," Richardson said.
The trap of instant gratification, that is. Thinking for the next several years that they were on the cusp of taking that next step to reach and perhaps even win a Super Bowl, the Panthers kept groping for something that wasn't there.
They reached to fill needs in the college draft. They overpaid aging veteran free agents who were considered the final pieces to a puzzle that, in reality, was far from completion. Eventually, they even changed head coaches - but for several years, they kept making many of the same mistakes.
"The salary cap, when we came in (as an expansion team in 1995), was new. And a lot of people played games with it, and jumped out there and overpaid players and really didn't understand the implications if you made a mistake overpaying a player, the prices you had to pay for it," Richardson said. "And we sure led the league in that area."
It wasn't until John Fox was hired as the head coach and Marty Hurney, who had been with the team in another capacity, was promoted to general manager that the Panthers finally sorted through the rubble and started getting it right. That was in the first two months of 2002, shortly after Coach George Seifert, who had the final and sometimes alarmingly indifferent say in all personnel matters over the previous three years, had been fired.
Preaching communication among all branches of the front office, Hurney, a former sportswriter, paved the way for the Panthers to set in motion a process that would land them in today's Super Bowl. It sounds simple.
"You observe and listen, and you try to make sure that we make sound decisions and everybody is on the same page," Hurney said. "Everybody in our organization knows and does their role. The scouts scout, the coaches coach, and both sides evaluate players, and we try to come together and pick players both sides agree on."
Patience pays off
Before the Panthers were able to start picking better players, they had to get rid of some bad ones. More specifically, they had to rid themselves of players whose outrageous salaries did not match their on-field production.
First, the Panthers cut high-priced veterans such as Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Doug Evans and Jimmy Hitchcock before last season. They held on to defensive lineman Sean Gilbert for a year to lessen the salary-cap hit they would have to take but soon added him to the discard pile after he spent most of last season on injured reserve.
It was a symbolic departure from the past way of doing business. When the Panthers had given up two first-round draft picks and more to sign Gilbert to a seven-year, $46.5 million contract before the 1997 season, they had unwittingly crippled themselves for the next several years.
"Sean Gilbert is a fine young man and a good football player, but in hindsight, we gave up too much currency - the draft currency and the free-agency salary-cap currency. That was a mistake," Richardson said.
By cutting several veterans before last season, the Panthers took a big salary-cap hit. It added up to more than $13 million in so-called "dead money" that they had to carry on last year's cap; i.e., salary-cap space occupied by players no longer on the roster.
That left the Panthers with little room with which to operate under the salary cap as they prepared for Fox's first season, but that fit in with the new strategy espoused by Hurney and the new coach. They no longer wanted to be free spenders in free agency.
"Jumping out there and feeling like we had to sign a guy within 12 hours (of the opening of the free-agency signing period), that is not even part of our approach to free agency now. That's not even part of our deal," Richardson said.
"Marty gives the example to me that they try to identify 10 or 20 potential different free-agent possibilities, and we have to get the ones that make the most sense for us, that fit within the cash and the cap count restrictions we have to consider - which is not the way we did it at the beginning."
Thus began the team's frugal approach to free agency. No big names were signed for big money in the 2002 off-season, but by waiting until the market settled, the Panthers were able to sign four 2002 starters in quarterback Rodney Peete, linebacker Mark Fields, cornerback Terry Cousin and running back Lamar Smith. None of the deals broke the bank.
When this season rolled around, the Panthers had a little more money to spend and did so wisely on running back Stephen Davis, quarterback Jake Delhomme, linebacker Greg Favors and wide receiver Ricky Proehl, among others. The approach is such that if one player doesn't pan out, it doesn't drag the entire team down. The Panthers now have a greater margin for error in free agency, although they also seem to be developing a keener eye for catching younger players on the rise (Delhomme) or veterans who are hungry to prove that they're still among the game's elite (Davis, Fields).
"We try not to run out on the first or second day (of free agency) and throw the biggest contract at somebody," Hurney said. "Our pro scouts last year did a great job. They get in a room, and we look at everybody. We get a group of players we like and then we basically try to monitor the market.
"Instead of having one guy you fall in love with, you have 10 guys that you like and you just monitor the market and you just be patient and when the right fit comes along then you try to sign that player."
Hitting home runs
Finally, the Panthers started doing a better job in the NFL Draft, and for that, much of the credit must go to Jack Bushofsky, the former director of player personnel who retired shortly after guiding the Panthers through last April's draft.
After years of high-profile, high-round busts such as Biakabutuka, Rae Carruth, Jason Peter and Rashard Anderson - selections that were made by a variety of personnel men and coaches who have since left the organization - the Panthers started turning around their draft fortunes in 2001, George Seifert's final year as head coach.
That year, the Panthers selected linebacker Dan Morgan with their first pick, the 11th overall, and followed that with the selections of defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, wide receiver Steve Smith, quarterback Chris Weinke and special-teamer Jarrod Cooper in each of the next four rounds. All remain on the team, and all but Weinke, a third-string quarterback, play highly significant roles.
In the 2002 draft, the Panthers took defensive end Julius Peppers with the No. 2 overall pick, resisting the urge to trade down and turn it into multiple picks as critics thought a 1-15 team needing lots of better players should do. They also picked up running back DeShaun Foster in the second round, starting linebacker Will Witherspoon in the third and Dante Wesley, a reserve cornerback and special-teams player, in the fourth.
Richardson said that the Panthers finally are making the most of their draft currency, which they too often squandered in the past. And, he pointed out, the team owned better currency in 2002 because of its 1-15 season.
"Had we not had that painful season, I think it's highly unlikely we'd have had Julius, DeShaun or Will Witherspoon, who are all outstanding players on our team now," Richardson said.
Richardson heaps much of the credit for the team's turnaround in philosophy and on the field on Hurney.
"My view is, what are you going to do with the the draft currency? And what are you going to do with the free agency currency to get ready for the next year? And Marty's done an extraordinary job," Richardson said. "Marty came here working with Dom (Capers, the head coach before Seifert) and his primary responsibilities were the salary cap and other related football responsibilities. Over time, that grew and grew and grew to the point where I think he's an extraordinary, very competent general manager that clearly understands how we want to operate our team."
Included in Hurney's plan is the obvious strategy to methodically identify and lock up for the long term several of the key players. The Panthers have already signed their entire starting defensive line to long-term deals and are soon expected to rework and extend the contracts of Delhomme and Steve Smith. Fox and Hurney can expect off-season raises as well.
Meanwhile, it appears that the Panthers struck gold in the draft again in 2003, taking starting right tackle Jordan Gross with their first-round pick and cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. with their third-round selection.
Each of the other six remaining draft choices made the team as well, filling lesser roles but setting themselves up for possibly more significant ones in the future.
Hurney knows that the future will arrive very quickly, and he wants to be prepared for it. Asked the other day when he would start preparing in earnest for free agency and this year's draft, Hurney cracked a weak smile.
"Monday morning, probably," Hurney answered.
"We have lost a lot of the off-season, and we have a few free agents up, so hopefully if it does happen and we win the game we can enjoy it Sunday night, and then Monday morning we can start looking forward to next year. That is how it works."
At least now it looks as if the Panthers truly do know how it works.