Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich knows how much credibility franchise great Thomas Davis holds amongst his peers. After all, you just don’t ask anyone to deliver some closing words of wisdom in sending your players off into their six-week summer break.
What’s also apparent is Reich’s credibility in the eyes of his new team, something Davis commented on at the end of this year’s mandatory minicamp.
The former All-Pro linebacker and 2014 Walter Payton Man of Year believes Reich, a former player himself, has a special pull over the Panthers in his first year heading the squad.
“I definitely feel like guys are going to embrace that,” Davis said, via Darin Gantt of Panthers.com. “And coach understands. He’s a former player here. So he knows what the history is like. He knows what it’s like to bring former guys back to be around the younger generation.”
Reich, of course, was the first man to ever take a regular-season snap under center for the organization. He played a total of 13 seasons in the NFL—with additional stints for the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets and Detroit Lions.
Well, sure seems like a far cry from the last man who was in Reich’s position, doesn’t it?
