Who would’ve known that being a head coach in the NFL actually involves, well, coaching? Perhaps not the last guy who the Carolina Panthers had in that spot.
In a new interview with Mike Kaye of The Charlotte Observer, tight end Tommy Tremble lauded the team’s current coaching staff for their work thus far. But, as you’ll see below, you won’t be able to read between the lines without picking up on the thinly-veiled shots at the previous group.
The excerpt from Kaye reads:
“This is the first time that we’ve really been coached up, receiving-wise, other than us trying to figure it out on our own,” Tremble said in a phone interview with The Observer on Tuesday. “This is really the first opportunity we’ve had to excel in the receiving game, and have points, and (receive) teaching points on how to attack this kind of leverage, attack this kind of defense. . . . Before it was more, you run it, you run what’s on paper and you try to make it work, and if it didn’t work, you’d try to figure it out yourself.
“So, having that kind of backing, that kind of support — from all over the coaching staff to the players, themselves — I think it’s been a world of difference in what our accelerating (of) the receiving game has been.”
Geez.
Before Frank Reich and his crew stepped into the building, it was ruled (with a brief detour under Steve Wilks) by Matt Rhule. Rhule, of course, was fired through five weeks of the 2022 campaign after going 11-27 over an embarrassing three-year run.
Tremble’s comments, while interesting, really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to those who have been paying attention. From owner David Tepper to franchise legends Cam Newton and Steve Smith Sr., Rhule hasn’t exactly received the greatest of reviews for his work in Carolina.
And neither, maybe as a byproduct, did Panthers tight ends in that time.
Between 2020 and 2022, the team’s tight ends churned out a combined 1,173 receiving yards and six touchdown grabs. By comparison, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce posted 1,338 yards and 12 scores in 2022 alone.
But now, with Reich and tight end coach John Lilly onboard, there’s a renewed sense of hope for Tremble and his position partners in 2023.
