Things haven’t felt this exciting around the Carolina Panthers since Cam Newton shouted, “I’m back!” 56 long weeks ago. But while Newton’s cry was a swan song, Sunday’s win under interim coach Steve Wilks could inspire an encore.
“That’s a playoff team that we played, a good football team,” Wilks said Sunday after the Panthers defeated the Seahawks. “To be able to get a win like this on the road, in a hostile environment (against) the 12th man, I think it’s definitely a momentum-builder for us. And we definitely have to continue to build off this. We got to go home and protect the bank.”
Sunday’s win was the type of signature victory that molds skeptics into believers. Panthers owner David Tepper plans on casting a wide search for the team’s next head coach. When the season ends, Carolina must conduct in-person interviews with at least two external minority candidates, per the Rooney Rule. There will be other hot names that surface during the next four weeks, as well, but barring a collapse, impeding what Wilks is building would be reckless.
