Scott Fitterer hadn’t been able to relax since mid-January. But it was a sunny Tuesday in Phoenix, and the Carolina Panthers general manager was sitting in a chair on the patio area of the Arizona Biltmore hotel.
Following an exhaustive coaching search, a blockbuster trade for the first overall draft pick and a measured but aggressive spending spree in free agency, Fitterer took a brief pause to catch his breath at the NFL’s annual meeting in the desert.
During that break from the action, Fitterer spoke about his collaboration process with his right-hand men — assistant GM Dan Morgan and vice president of football administration Samir Suleiman — this offseason. Suleiman and Morgan also weighed in on the trio’s work together last week.
The executive trio — with input from Panthers owner David Tepper and chief administrative officer Nicole Tepper — has collaborated on every major decision the franchise has made since the completion of last season. If the decision-makers were a three-piece rock band, Fitterer would be the guitar-playing frontman — with Morgan on the drums and Suleiman playing bass.
Morgan and Suleiman have supported Fitterer as he has made move after move as the leader of the front office.
Fitterer credits Seahawks GM John Schneider with teaching him the importance of collaboration during their time in Seattle. That lesson has stuck with Fitterer in Carolina and aided him through what has already been a whirlwind offseason ahead of the draft.
“Any idea is a good idea,” Fitterer said. “Just because we’ve been doing this for 20 years, it doesn’t mean this isn’t a new or different idea. Why wouldn’t we consider that? If it’s a good idea, let’s explore it.”
Suleiman is the chief negotiator on all football contracts, while Morgan — a former Panthers linebacker — is counted on as the franchise’s leader in talent evaluation. Together, Morgan and Suleiman have assisted Fitterer in his quest to build the best possible roster to begin the Frank Reich era.
‘We weren’t going to settle’
In February, Fitterer met with Chicago Bears GM Ryan Poles multiple times during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The two major decision-makers discussed a monumental draft trade that could change the trajectories of their respective franchises.
But Poles and Fitterer didn’t agree on a deal before returning to their respective cities.
When Fitterer got back to Charlotte, he spoke with the fellow members of the Panthers’ brain trust group — the Teppers, Suleiman, Morgan and Reich, among others — and continued to exchange proposals with Poles. Eventually, the two sides reached a blockbuster agreement, just before the start of the new league year.
The Panthers sent wide receiver DJ Moore, this year’s ninth and 61st overall picks, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick to the Bears for the upcoming first overall pick.
“I think the biggest thing behind the trade up to No. 1 is, at the end of the day, we weren’t going to settle for a quarterback that other teams didn’t want,” Morgan told The Observer in a phone conversation. “We were going to be able to choose who we wanted to take at No. 1. So I think, from that sense, we wanted to be aggressive, and choose the quarterback that we want to be the face of our franchise.”
The Panthers’ scouting department — led by Morgan — had done its work on this year’s consensus top quarterbacks during this past season.
When Reich and his coaching staff — featuring offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and senior assistant Jim Caldwell — got to town, they did their evaluations, as well.
Ultimately, the group knew it needed to make a move, or settle for someone lower on their board.
“I think it was really a collaborative thing, just in terms of we’re always looking to get our roster better,” Morgan said. “I think when you’re at No. 9 — hopefully we’re not at No. 9 moving forward — this was an opportunity that we felt like, ‘Hey, this is the highest, hopefully, that we’re going to be in the future, so let’s take advantage of this, let’s be aggressive. Let’s trade up and let’s try to go get our quarterback.’ ”
Moore — and his contract — made the trade haul attractive to the Bears. Moore signed a three-year, $61.8 million contract extension last offseason, and he received a $19.5 million signing bonus immediately after putting pen to paper.
With the signing bonus already paid out by the Panthers, the Bears acquired Moore on a long-term contract without the immediate need for a lump sum payment. Moore would have topped this year’s wide receiver free agency class, and instead of having to reset the market in a negotiation with the talented playmaker, the Bears got him on a team-friendly three-year deal.
The Panthers didn’t want to trade Moore, but his inclusion in the deal helped Carolina keep notable draft picks, this year and beyond.
“I think we all were really pleased that we were able to trade up to No. 1, but we are also able to keep our top pick in Round 2, which was No. 39,” Morgan said.
Suleiman, who has worked in the NFL since 1997, has never worked for a franchise that has owned the top pick.
“We had the No. 2 pick in St. Louis in 2008,” Suleiman explained. “But you know, it’s different to be in a position where you can dictate pretty much how the draft goes for your organization, and acquire the person going forward that you want.”
Finding the next franchise QB
When the Panthers acquired the first overall pick in March, they did so with the idea of finding a franchise quarterback. After failing with retreads like Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield during the Matt Rhule era, Carolina’s top executives decided to make an aggressive move to solve a long-term problem.
In an effort to be as thorough with the evaluation process as possible, the Panthers put together a massive search party for a quarterback pro day tour with four stops. Fitterer, Suleiman, Morgan, Reich, Brown, Caldwell and McCown were fixtures of the traveling group.
During the first three stops of the tour, the Panthers’ entire quarterback search party hosted Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Alabama’s Bryce Young, and Kentucky’s Will Levis for dinners in their respective college towns.
“We tried to make the focus on the player in as informal a setting as possible, without it just being a firing session of interview questions,” Suleiman said. “And a couple of times, I felt bad that the players were talking to all of us and addressing all of our questions so much that they didn’t have a chance to complete their meal.”
According to Suleiman, the dinners gave the quarterback prospects the opportunity to speak to the entire table. Reich and his staff would ask mostly non-football questions to get background on the players.
“Just kind of get a feel for him throughout the night and throughout the meal,” Suleiman said.
And while Suleiman is known for his negotiation skills, the longtime NFL exec said he wanted to be part of the quarterback evaluation process because of the monumental decision that awaits the franchise in a matter of weeks.
“Much like the head-coaching search, I wanted to be involved in it,” Suleiman said. “I’ve been involved in almost every major decision with several organizations now, and I just feel like I have a vested interest.”
The Panthers wrapped up their tour last week in Gainesville, where they met with and evaluated Florida’s Anthony Richardson. And while the on-field evaluations are complete, there’s still more work to be done.
Young, Stroud, Richardson and Levis are all expected to visit Bank of America Stadium before the draft gets underway later this month. Those meetings, in theory, will help the Panthers make an informed decision to kick off draft weekend.
While the top pick comes with a lot of pressure, Morgan is grateful to be in that spot.
“If we would have traded up to No. 3 or No. 4 or something — somewhere like that — then we’re really settling,” Morgan said. “We really wanted to go for this, and we wanted to be able to choose who we wanted to choose, at the end of the day.”
Collaboration is key
By the time the Panthers’ leadership group had reached the third stop on their quarterback pro day tour, Fitterer and Suleiman had been negotiating with wideout D.J. Chark’s agent, Todd France, for nearly a week.
After taking Levis to dinner the night before, Fitterer, Morgan and Suleiman arrived at the University of Kentucky to see the quarterback prospect throw. But instead of watching Levis warm up, Fitterer and Suleiman were in a corner negotiating on their phones with France to seal the Chark deal.
Suleiman’s presence at the pro day helped the Panthers land the free-agent wide receiver. Fitterer and Suleiman were able to discuss a final financial proposal, check in with David Tepper, and then reach an agreement with France, roughly 400 miles away from the Panthers’ offices in Charlotte.
“I think with the way technology is now, you don’t have to be sitting in your office anymore,” Fitterer said. “It’s just from a communication standpoint, it’s good to be together.”
Following the agreement, Chark joined veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen as a new addition to the receivers room. Thielen, 32, is entering the twilight of his career, but the Panthers feel like his skills won’t dramatically diminish because he is a route-running technician.
Still, Thielen is coming off his worst NFL season since 2019, and the Panthers’ brain trust needed to huddle about his worth before agreeing to a three-year, $25 million contract with him during the first week of free agency.
During their evaluation, the Panthers keyed in on Thielen’s red-zone efficiency. During the past five seasons, Thielen has produced 45 receiving touchdowns.
The front office also appreciated Thielen’s intangibles as a leader, especially with a rookie quarterback on the way.
“He’s a little bit older of a guy, but I think sometimes you gotta maybe pay a little bit more money for a guy like him, that brings a lot more than just on-the-field production,” Morgan said.
The Panthers’ most notable additions in free agency were Pro Bowl running back Miles Sanders and safety Vonn Bell. Sanders signed a four-year, $25.4 million contract, while Bell inked a three-year, $22.5 million pact.
While both players received lucrative long-term deals, their contracts didn’t break the bank for the Panthers.
“That’s kind of our philosophy — we don’t chase, in free agency, the big-name guys,” Fitterer said. “We don’t feel like we’re a team that’s like one player away. Like, if you’re doing that, you feel like that’s your missing piece. We try to stay at that mid-level market.”
When Morgan and Fitterer determine — with input from the coaching staff — who they want to target in free agency, the pair then turns to Suleiman to figure out the price range for each player.
With a salary cap in place, a bad contract can have a major impact on future spending. It’s Suleiman’s job to make sure the rest of the front office understands how each move can impact them in the future.
“We talk a lot,” Morgan said about his collaboration with Suleiman. “I think when we talk, it’s definitely more numbers driven. ‘Hey where do we think this guy slots in free agency? Who do they compare to?’ And really kind of going through comparables.”
For negotiations with agents, Fitterer tosses the baton to Suleiman to close the deals.
“I think he trusts me implicitly,” Suleiman said. “You know, obviously, I keep him and Mr. Tepper and Coach (Reich) informed of how things are going. But for the most part, once we reach a decision about this player we want, I go to work, do my job and try to get the player signed.”
Ever the collaborator, Fitterer has no problem asking the coaching staff for help with a free-agent target. If running backs/assistant head coach Duce Staley didn’t recruit Chark — who he was with in Detroit last year — the Panthers might not have landed the receiver.
“Duce was a big factor in D.J. coming here,” Fitterer said. “He reached out to him once we hit free agency and he was a free agent. He reached out and said, ‘Hey, listen, here’s the role, what do you want to do? I’ve been with you, I know your toughness, I know you played injured last year with that ankle.’ And really, he recruited him.”
Morgan, who also worked with Fitterer in Seattle, believes the GM’s willingness to consider other staff members’ suggestions has made this offseason — from the coaching search to the blockbuster trade to free agency — run as smoothly as possible.
“He’s consistently himself … and I think he thrives in high-pressure situations,” Morgan said. “He does a great job keeping himself cool. He’s got a very thorough mind. I would say he thinks through everything, and just does a great job of really taking in other people’s opinions.”
