PANTHERS ADD BRIAN DECKER, FORMER GREEN BERET, AS VP OF DEVELOPMENT

If he can't whip 'em into shape, nobody can 

Panthers add Brian Decker, former "GM for Special Forces"

Welcome to Carolina!


CHARLOTTE — Panthers head coach Frank Reich wants to build here, and he wants to develop something bigger than a football team.

So as he began picking the people he wanted to build with, he knew one of the first calls he'd make was to Brian Decker.

The Panthers have added the former Special Forces captain as their new vice president of development, a wide-ranging job that will encompass a number of duties here, from helping evaluate incoming players to developing players and coaches alike once they arrive.

It's a big job. And as Reich found out in their five years together in Indianapolis, it's hard to find a challenge that Decker isn't up for.

"Some people, you just rub shoulders with, and you say, 'Wow, I want to be on that guy's team, or I want that guy to be on my team," Reich said Thursday.

It doesn't take long to see why.

This hire is fascinating. Hope it’s great!

I think Josh nailed it...... Fascinating..

This is one of those hires that will be mostly invisible to the world as a "behind the scenes" guy. He will be on staff in the front office as part of "Football Operations" is my guess..... alongside Suleiman, Kate Calloway (Performance Nutrition), Rob Hanrahan (Pro Scouting) & Taylor Rajack (Analytics)......among others.  Maybe one of the really 'industrious' people who work at a frenetic pace and who get little credit like Kate Calloway. She works her butt off, but only gets recognized occasionally.

I like the idea of a "Development" guy. And this guy SHOULD be a real "burner".

The deeper we get into this retooling of staff and coaching, the more impressed I become.  It looks like Tepper did it right with Frank Reich. And all of the subsequent hires are looking good. Building a rock-solid staff will make all of the process-oriented stuff so much easier.

I'm impressed.  

Here ya go….

Here ya go….