Fired former Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule recently told reporters that he wanted to add 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to the team’s draft board but got “vetoed,” video from KETV’s Matt Foster shows.
Speaking to the press from the podium at his new job as head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Rhule told reporters “When I was in the draft room at Carolina, I brought his name up. I said he should be on the draft board. I got vetoed on that one.”
Rhule noted that he coached against Purdy while the two were in the Big 12, Rhule as the head coach of the Baylor Bears and Purdy as the signal caller for the Iowa State Cyclones.
Turns out Matt Rhule had a strong interest in drafting Brock Purdy while he was Head Coach of the Panthers.
“When I was in the draft room at Carolina, I brought his name up. I said he should be on the draft board. I got vetoed on that one.”#SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/Fqr3LJfMRr
— Matt Foster (@MattFosterTV) February 7, 2024
He also told a funny anecdote about how he constantly warned his players against falling for Purdy’s pump fake but claimed they often fell for it anyway.
“We used to tell our guys when we were playing Brock Purdy ‘do not, do not, fall for his pump fake,’ right? Brock would come out and pump fake. First game, he gets ten yards down the field, he pump fakes, our DBs are jumping, I’m like ‘he’s past the line of scrimmage,'” Rhule said laughing. “So, a lot of respect for Brock.”
I’m not surprised Rhule was … over-Rhuled.
The Panthers, in my opinion, have been the most poorly run franchise in the NFL since owner David Tepper purchased the franchise in 2018. (RELATED: New Panthers Owner Called Trump ‘Demented, Narcissistic, And A Scumbag’)
In the last year alone Tepper’s Panthers have traded star D.J. Moore and a first-rounder for quarterback Bryce Young, who at best looks like the second-best QB in his class next to Rookie of the Year favorite C.J. Stroud.
He also fired head coach Frank Reich in the middle of the season and, rather than replace him with one of the many accomplished skippers on the market like Bill Belichick or Mike Vrabel, he opted to bring in a rookie head coach in Dave Canales.
While the jury is still out on Canales (and I believe we should give him a fair shake before judging him), there’s no denying that he’s extremely green. His past season spent as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was his first and only year as a coordinator. All this while the greatest coach to ever do it is still available.
Tepper’s dysfunction extends off the field, too. In December the billionaire investor was caught throwing a drink at a member of an opposing fanbase, unacceptable behavior from your average six-year-old, let alone one of the most powerful men in sports. (RELATED: Panthers Owner David Tepper Looks Set To Make Yet Another Braindead Move)
The NFL fined him $300,000 for the incident. So he’s childish, immature, makes bad hiring decisions … oh and his team also sucks. The Panthers haven’t had a winning season since he took over, bottoming out as the worst team in the league this year at 2-14.
Sorry Panthers fans, you’re in for a long tenure with this guy. Good friggin luck.