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The Carolina Panthers have fired general manager Marty Hurney.
The team announced the news via its official website on Monday morning.
Hurney's contract ran through June 2021, but the franchise opted to part ways with him ahead of what is expected to be a busy offseason in Carolina.
Panthers owner David Tepper said that after multiple conversations with Hurney in recent weeks, it was evident that the two had differing opinions on the direction of the franchise. Tepper is looking to helm a more data-driven operation, while Hurney favored more traditional methods of structuring football operations.
“I think sometimes you just need a restart, a refresh,” Tepper said. “We did it last year on the coaching side. Maybe you could say it should have been done before on the GM side. Maybe it should have been. I'm sure people may say that, or otherwise, on both sides. … I think it's just time, on both sides, to do that. It just seems like the right time to move forward.”
“You look at successful organizations, and there's a certain alignment between the head coach and the GM,” Tepper said. “To think that you can do that without some sort of alignment is nuts. So to not have a head coach with some input into that is stupid. I don't want to be stupid, OK?”
“This team could easily have another four wins,” Tepper said. “The eight games that we had the ball last to win or tie — seven to win, one to tie — if you win four of those games, you're in a totally different position right now with this young team. So looking at next year, I'm very hopeful where we will be and what we will do.”
Marty Hurney joined the Panthers in 1998 and was named GM in 2002. After being removed from his post during the 2012 season, he returned to the role in 2017. He put together much of the roster that made appearances in Super Bowls 38 and 50.
