Carolina Panthers greats Greg Olsen and Dan Morgan never crossed paths on the playing field. But the former still recognizes the game of the latter—both on the gridiron and off of it.
Olsen joined Tuesday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show and talked a bit about Morgan’s promotion to the president of football operations and general manager posts. The former pass catcher waxed poetic about the former defender.
“You remove the playing days and you remove the Mike linebacker that wanted to rip your face off, Dan is a really intelligent guy,” Olsen told McAfee. “Cut his teeth through Seattle, then he went to Buffalo for a little bit before he came to Carolina. He’s a really highly-respected guy. He’s very intelligent. I think he uses a lot of his playing days—lessons learned, now he’s carried it into the front office as he’s made his journey now to this position.”
While those playing days were shortened by numerous injuries, Morgan made quite the impact for Carolina over his seven-year career. His best season came in 2004—when he recorded 102 tackles, 2.0 sacks and two interceptions en route to his first and only Pro Bowl nod.
Morgan started behind the scenes as a scouting intern for the Seattle Seahawks in 2010. He’d go on to rise up the ranks, picking up stints as the director of pro personnel for the Seahawks and then as the director of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills before being hired as the Panthers assistant general manager in 2021.
Olsen believes that track record gives Morgan a chance to thrive in his newest role.
“This dude is like highly intelligent, great communicator, great evaluator of talent,” he added. “Listen, and I want them to do well. I live here, I want my kids to cheer for the home team. I want them to succeed, and hopefully Dan does that.”
