Looking ahead to predict the award winners for the year to come always requires us to go out on a limb. Rarely, however, are we as far out on a shaky branch as with the look ahead to the 2024 North State Journal Coach of the Year.
We can’t tell you who next year’s top coach is yet because he still hasn’t gotten the job. But we’re going to roll the dice and say the Carolina Panthers will have a bounce-back year that should help vault whoever gets their head coaching job into the honor.
Simply put, things couldn’t get any worse in Pantherland. Carolina fired a coach in the middle of the season for the second straight year and headed into the final game of the season with a 2-14 record. That wrapped up the top pick in the draft, but the Panthers have already traded that away so they could pick Bryce Young first overall last spring. The fan base has revolted against owner David Tepper, staying away from Bank of America Stadium in droves. For a December game against Atlanta, tickets were available on the secondary market for a mere 45 cents, and they were a tough sell at that price based on the embarrassingly weak turnout for the game.
Still, there are a few building blocks that provide some optimism for the immediate future. The Panthers have had one of the top defenses in the NFL this season. While Brian Burns may be tough to retain after a prolonged contract dispute heading into this year, the rest of the unit should return. The defense is an even stronger positive if the team can somehow hold onto coordinator Ejiro Evero, who did an outstanding job this year but is about to be snubbed by Tepper for the third straight time. He was passed over for the head coaching job given to Frank Reich last offseason, then didn’t get the interim gig when Reich was fired. Now, he should be a top candidate for the job again, but Tepper has indicated he wants another offensive coach to help develop Young.
Young is another promising building block. The top draft pick struggled throughout much of the year. Of course, the coaching change, which was preceded by multiple changes in playcalling duties on the staff, made it far from an ideal environment for an NFL rookie quarterback, as did a line that provided shaky pass protection and had Young running for his life.
Young has shown signs of progress late in the season, however, posting two of his three best passer ratings of the year in Weeks 15 and 16. His 312 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions on Christmas Eve against Green Bay was his best outing of the year as the Panthers put up a season-best 30 points.
So, who will inherit these promising assets and begin their journey to the NSJ Coach of the Year Award? If Tepper has his way, it will be Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, who has worked wonders with Jared Goff and the Detroit offense. Johnson was reportedly the top choice last year but opted to withdraw from all coaching searches. If he’s ready to make the jump and hasn’t soured on Carolina — rumor has it members of the team’s roster and staff have warned him about the work environment — the job is likely his.
Of course, Carolina won’t be the only vacancy, and it’s possible another situation may be more promising to Johnson, including staying in Detroit for another year. If the Panthers’ search needs to move on, there are plenty of promising candidates.
Frank Smith could get some interest. The Dolphins’ offensive coordinator presides over the most creative and explosive offense in the league, although head coach Mike McDaniel deserves much of the credit for that. Much like everyone associated with Sean McVay was a must-hire a few years ago, the McDaniel magic could help Smith here, as will his experience working with an Alabama quarterback who struggled early in his NFL career.
Houston offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik has been mentioned as a candidate after second overall draft pick CJ Stroud put up better numbers than Young for most of the year under Slowik’s tutelage. He only has one year’s experience as coordinator, however.
Philadelphia’s Brian Johnson, the Chargers’ Kellen Moore, Washington’s Eric Bienemy, Baltimore’s Todd Monken and Seattle’s Shane Waldron round out the offensive coordinator pool. It’s also possible Tepper goes outside the box and bypasses NFL coordinators for a splashy big-name hire like Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh or soon-to-be-former Patriots coach Bill Belichick.
Our best guess is Ben Johnson gets the job and gets the team headed toward .500, which, in the weak NFC South, will have them in the divisional race. And that will be more than enough to earn our nod as 2024’s coach of the year.
