One of, if not the greatest downfall of Matt Rhule’s tenure in Carolina was the failure to secure a franchise quarterback. Nonetheless, the former Panthers head coach claims that he doesn’t regret how he handled his drafts.
The new University of Nebraska head coach joined The Rich Eisen Show on Tuesday. When reflecting on Rhule’s time with the Panthers, host Rich Eisen asked him if he would’ve drafted a quarterback earlier on given what he knows now.
“No,” he replied. “‘Cause there was really no one—ah, I shouldn’t say that, Justin Fields is playing really well and Mac Jones is someone that I have a lot of respect for. Sometimes articles come out after you get fired that go, ‘Hey, why didn’t you guys get Justin Herbert?’ Well, ya know, because he got drafted in front of us. And, ya know, I wasn’t the GM. I didn’t make the picks. I had a lot of input. I worked with two great guys in Marty Hurney and Scott Fitterer.”
Hmm . . .
Well, given Rhule’s czar-like, um, rule over the franchise, he probably had more than just “a lot of input.” Rhule, as included in his massive seven-year, $62 million contract, had final say over all roster decisions in Carolina.
Nonetheless, he went on to big up what he and his front office didn’t pass up on.
“I think when you look at the three first-round draft picks that we had—Derrick Brown, Jaycee Horn and Ickey Ekwonu—I think they’re all future Pro Bowlers,” he added. “So, there’s some really good quarterbacks that went before us. Would’ve loved to have one of those guys, but they weren’t there. Mac is a really good player for New England and Justin’s running wild right now—so you can maybe look back at those. But I love the guys that we drafted. And I just think, in time, they’re gonna be great, great NFL players.”
To be fair, the Panthers do have themselves one heck of a trio there. Brown is having an emergent campaign, Horn is already one of the best cornerbacks in the game and the rookie Ekwonu has gone 10 straight games without allowing a sack.
So despite the mess he left behind, Rhule also left Carolina a few sweet parting gifts.
