What to Do with Peppers

Julius Peppers wants out of Carolina. He’s all but said he’s looking to leave the Panthers next year as his contract with Carolina is up, but there’s still a lingering chance that the defensive captain and standout DE will be back in Carolina blue next season. For this to happen, several things may have to change.

First and foremost, Peppers’ agent recently announced that the DE is shopping around for other teams because of his desire to play a 3-4 defense. Carolina plays a 4-3 defense, and with new defensive coordinator Ron Meeks taking the reins, it is likely to stay that way. If it does change, however, Peppers could be inclined to sign a contract extension with the Panthers.

Another factor weighing into the Peppers resolution is regarding pay. Although Peppers’ decision to leave the Panthers is not solely about the money, a franchise tag could change the outcome of things. Peppers is currently the highest paid non-quarterback in the NFL, and to franchise him the Panthers would have to cough up a whopping $16.6 million, which is $7.6 million over the average franchise number. This is mainly because of an agreement that requires teams who franchise players to give them either  an average of the top five 2008 salary caps of players in their position (for a one-year tender) or a 20% raise over their own salary, depending on which is greater. Peppers falls in the latter category, which makes him one expensive commodity should the Panthers choose to put the franchise tag on him.

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Smith Heads to Tampa, but Not for Football

Building playgrounds is not exactly the activity that Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith hoped to travel to Tampa for this winter. The Panthers were knocked out of the playoffs by the Super Bowl bound Arizona Cardinals earlier this month, casting them out of the running for playing in the championship game in Tampa, and while the Cards are getting ready to head down south to compete against the Pittsburgh Steelers in this Sunday’s big game, Steve Smith is helping another cause in Florida – the Home Depot NFL Neighborhood MVP Program.

Along with Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, Eagles safety Brian Dawkins, Falcons linebacker Keith Brooking, Giants receiver Amani Toomer, Texans receiver Andre Johnson and Lions receiver Mike Furrey, Smith traveled to East Tampa to help build a new public playground this week, also constructing one nearby at the King’s Kids Christian Academy. These seven NFL stars were chosen as finalists for the Home Depot Neighborhood MVP Program, and although Witten ended up winning the award (a trophy and $25,000 for his charity), the time spent in Tampa for these football stars was undoubtedly worth their time.

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Panthers Say Bye-Bye to PSL Owners without Playoff Tickets

The January 10 playoff game between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals was a tough one to watch at Charlotte’s Bank of America Stadium, but for some personal seat license owners, it would prove to be an even tougher one not to watch at the Panthers’ den. Last week, the Panthers front office started mailing out letters to PSL owners that their PSLs would be revoked if they hadn’t bought playoff tickets this year. Part of the deal with Carolina PSL owners is that the people who purchase these permanent seat licenses will purchase playoff tickets, and now the team is cracking down on PSL owners who didn’t follow the rules this year.

In the midst of a flailing economy, playoff tickets sure aren’t cheap (and neither are those PSLs!), but fans who are now threatened to lose their PSLs for violating the team’s rules need not worry – they can get their seats back for a fee. The letter the Panthers recently mailed to PSL owners states: “Due to your past support, the Carolina Panthers, under no legal obligation, hereby offer you the opportunity to reinstate your account by paying a reinstatement fee.” These fees can run up to $280, but if patrons don’t pay up, the team could cancel the entire PSL account, which could be at a loss of up to thousands of dollars. Carolina fans will seemingly do anything to support their team, so stay tuned to see how this sour situation works out!

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Meeks Makes Jump from Indy to Charlotte

It’s been just a few days since Carolina defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac turned down a contract extension to free himself from the grip of the mighty Panthers, but coach John Fox has already found his new replacement - from the ranks of the Indianapolis Colts. Longtime football coach and former Indianapolis Colts defensive coordinator Ron Meeks was officially hired by the Panthers as the team’s new D-coordinator yesterday, just six days after resigning from the Colts.

54-year-old Meeks joins Fox and the Panthers in Charlotte after spending six years with the Colts, where he helped the team’s struggling defense go from 29th to an eighth-ranked total defense. Prior to lending a hoof to the Colts, Ron Meeks coached for other NFL teams the St. Louis Rams (2001), Washington Redskins (2000), Atlanta Falcons (1997-1999), Cincinnati Bengals (1992-1996) and Dallas Cowboys (1991). Before leaping into the NFL, Meeks coached for college teams Fresno State (1989-1990), New Mexico State (1988), Miami (1986-1987) and Arkansas State (1984-1985). Meeks played football in college at Arkansas State and joined the Canadian Football League playing for the Hamilton Tiger Cats (1977-1979), Ottawa Roughriders (1979) and Toronto Agronauts (1980-1981) before starting a coaching career.

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Lewis Likely Out until Summer

Just over a month after injuring his rotator cuff in an intense game against the New York Giants (on Dec. 21), Carolina DT Damione Lewis has announced that he will likely be out of commission until at least June after enduring surgery on his shoulder recently. Lewis played through his shoulder injury in December (sitting out for the Panthers’ regular season finale against the New Orleans Saints but coming back for the playoffs) instead of undergoing surgery immediately after, and the delayed surgery could in part account for the long recovery Lewis is about to endure.

Lewis, an eight-year NFL veteran out of Miami, will be in recovery for several months, already expecting to miss the Panthers’ minicamp in May and a three-week “summer school” session in June, also missing  out on offseason training while recouping. The defensive tackle is a crucial part of the Carolina Panthers, having started 15 games for the team last season while also posting up 43 tackles, four sacks and one fumble recovery on the season. Lewis signed a contract extension with Carolina last year after the Panthers traded Kris Jenkins, who had started above Lewis in the 2006 and 2007 seasons.

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Trgovac Out, Haslett In?

Scratch what we said earlier this week. Carolina Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac will not be staying in Charlotte, after all. After indicating earlier this week that he intended to remain with the Panthers for next season, Trgovac just announced he had a change of heart and has turned down the two-year extension offered to him from the Panthers only a few days ago. The Carolina assistant is currently with the rest of the Carolina coaching staff in Mobile, Alabama scouting the Senior Bowl practices, but he will not be scouting players for the Panthers. It is yet undetermined where Trgovac will go from here, but rumor has it the defensive coordinator could be entertaining another offer from an NFL team.

Now that Trgovac’s future (or lack thereof) with the Carolina Panthers is solidified, speculation is abuzz on who will fill his spot in Charlotte. Among other notable candidates for Trgovac’s position, former Rams and Saints coach Jim Haslett sticks out in the bunch. Haslett spent one season of his career working with Panthers head coach John Fox, and he has tremendous experience having been either a defensive coordinator or head coach for the past 13 football seasons. Haslett is also in Mobile this week for Senior Bowl practices, and he just might end up coming back to Charlotte with the rest of the Panthers coaching staff.

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Flajole Headed to St. Louis

What was speculated yesterday is now confirmed: Carolina Panthers linebacker coach Ken Flajole will indeed head to St. Louis to become the defensive coordinator for the Rams next season. Flajole is following the lead of other Carolina assistants Mike McCoy and Sal Sunseri and jumping ship, taking a better position elsewhere. The former Panthers linebacker coach was selected as part of new St. Louis Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo’s crew, where he will be filling one of the top two slots of Spagnuolo’s new coaching staff. Flajole will be joined in St. Louis by former Philadelphia Eagles quarterbacks coach Pat Shurmur, who was recently tapped as the Rams’ new offensive coordinator.

Flajole, a 54-year-old longtime football coach who has been with the Carolina Panthers since 2003, helped aid the cats to a Super Bowl appearance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. Prior to coaching in Carolina, Flajole spent time assisting in the NFL with both the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, previously serving as an assistant coach at University of Missouri. In his college days, Ken Flajole was a linebacker for Wenatchee Valley Community College and Pacific Lutheran.

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Despite Speculation, Trgovac Plans to Remain in Charlotte

After a disappointing early exit in the NFL Playoffs this season, the Carolina Panthers have watched what could be the beginning of a landslide of coaches depart Charlotte bound for other NFL and college football teams. Three assistants have already left the ranks of John Fox’s Panthers, but could there be more to come?

Panthers defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac is the next name up on the chopping block, but despite much speculation over his team’s less-than-stellar stats (the Panthers gave up a tremendous amount of points in their last six games of the season,) the D-coordinator is said to remain with Carolina next season. Trgovac is currently in Mobile with the rest of the Panthers’ coaching gang scouting draft prospects at Senior Bowl practices, and there is no word of his leaving Carolina in the upcoming weeks or months.

Although Trgovac is set to stay in Charlotte, his counterparts Mike McCoy, Ken Flajole and Sal Sunseri will not be seen next season at the Bank of America Stadium. McCoy recently took a job as the Denver Broncos’ new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach, while Flajole will likely take a position as defensive coordinator in St. Louis and Sunseri heads back to college as he takes over linebackers coach duties for the University of Alabama.

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Panthers Lose Another Coach

Mike McCoy was the first authoritative figure from the Carolina Panthers to depart the team in the post-season, but he surely wasn’t the last. Following the news of the Carolina coach earlier this week, Panthers defensive line coach Sal Sunseri is said to be following in the footsteps of McCoy, leaving the Panthers for a coaching position elsewhere. While nothing has been officially stated yet, Sunseri is said to have accepted an offer to fill a vacancy coaching for the University of Alabama under coach Nick Saban.

Sunseri is expected to join Alabama as the linebackers coach for the Crimson Tide, perhaps even seeking a higher title such as assistant head coach. The former Panthers defensive line coach is said to replace former Alabama defensive head coach Kevin Steele. Before coaching for the Panthers, Sunseri served as the interim head coach of the University of Pittsburgh football team in 1992, also spending time coaching linebackers at Louisville and then contributing his coaching skills to both Alabama A&M and LSU. Prior to coaching, Sunseri was an All-American linebacker at Pitt and was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, ultimately suffering a career-ending knee injury that forced him out of the NFL as a player.

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McCoy Set to Leave Charlotte

The first of Carolina’s post-season changes has officially occurred. Mike McCoy, a nine-year authoritative figure with the Carolina Panthers and longtime quarterbacks coach, has accepted a position as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos, now under the lead of former New England Patriots coach Josh McDaniels. McCoy is bringing his career full-circle, as he first got started in the NFL as an undrafted rookie for the Broncos in 1995. His departure from the Panthers means there will be an open spot for a quarterbacks coach on the team, and the position already looks to be filled by the great Rip Scherer.

Scherer, an NFL power figure who has been in Cleveland with the Browns since 2005, had an interview with the Panthers this weekend and is expected to get the job as Carolina’s new quarterbacks coach. Scherer has worked alongside Panthers offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson with the Browns, and his work with quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn has been highly praised. Prior to joining Cleveland in ’05, Scherer worked with a plethora of college teams like Kansas, Memphis, James Madison, Arizona, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Virginia, Hawaii, North Carolina State and Penn State.

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