Over the past few days, the Carolina Panthers have been making headlines with the introduction of their new head coach Dave Canales and general manager Dan Morgan. Their press conference on Thursday marked the beginning of a new era for the Panthers, with the duo expected to lead the team’s revival. However, the team made another significant hire the day before, announcing Brandt Tilis as the new Executive Vice President of Football Operations. Tilis previously served as the vice president of football operations for the Kansas City Chiefs and is highly regarded for his role as lead contract negotiator. The Chiefs’ roster construction is impressive, with a low dead money figure and a Super Bowl appearance, and Tilis is expected to bring his expertise to the Panthers to more intelligently manage their contracts going forward. This is a promising development for the team, which currently has one of the worst rosters in the NFL and a starting quarterback on a rookie contract.
From an external viewpoint, the specifics of Tilis’ new responsibilities are unclear. His role in “operations, equipment, video, and analytics, among other areas” remains ambiguous to me. However, I interpret it as Tilis being the tech-savvy complement to Dan Morgan’s football expertise.
This approach is increasingly common in the NFL. For instance, the San Francisco 49ers have John Lynch as general manager and Paraag Marathe as EVP of Football Operations, responsible for contracts and analytics. Similarly, the Lions have a general manager with a diverse background and Chris Spielman in an advisory position for the ownership group.
The Panthers are optimistic that their new hires will lead them to the level of success achieved by these teams. With strong resumes and sound reasoning behind their appointments, only time will tell if these moves will pay off in Carolina.
