Reports: Panthers ask to speak with the Lions’ OC Ravens OC Ben Johnson Todd Monken
The Carolina Panthers, who fired head coach Frank Reich in November of last year, have started the process of hiring a new coach.
For its head coaching vacancy, Carolina has asked to speak with offensive coordinators Todd Monken of the Baltimore Ravens and Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions, according to reports from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport. Furthermore, an interview with Bobby Slowik, the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans, has been requested by the Panthers. Each and every team looking to add a new head coach is expected to have all three on their shortlist.
Johnson was one of the first names to be linked with Carolina’s opening following his success over the last two seasons in Detroit. Johnson, 37, has spent the past five seasons with the Lions, the last two as the team’s offensive coordinator. He is the mastermind behind a Lions offense which ranked No. 3 in the league in yards per game (394.8) and fifth in points per game (27.1). He reportedly declined a second interview with Carolina for the same opening last offseason, paving the way for the team to hire Reich.
Monken, 57, is far more well-traveled, having begun his coaching career in 1989 as a graduate assistant at Grand Valley State. He is in his first year in Baltimore and spearheads the league’s No. 6 ranked offense. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has flourished under Monken and is the leading candidate for the AP NFL MVP Award. Monken served as offensive coordinator for Georgia the previous three seasons, helping lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships in 2021 and ’22.
At 36, Slowik would become the NFL’s youngest head coach. Slowik worked under Kyle Shanahan for six seasons as an assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers before moving to Houston to accompany DeMeco Ryans as the team’s offensive coordinator. After owning the second-best pick in the NFL Draft for a year, the Texans qualified for the AFC playoffs. With one of his best rookie campaigns as a signal-caller just completed, quarterback CJ Stroud leads the field for the AP Offensive Player of the Year Award.
The next head coach of the Panthers will have to turn around quarterback Bryce Young, who had a terrible rookie season, and the worst offense in the league.
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