The Carolina Panthers spent some serious guaranteed money this offseason to bring in edge rusher Jaelan Phillips and linebacker Devin Lloyd to improve their defensive front seven. Meanwhile, the team's most precious resource, a first-round draft pick, went to University of Georgia left tackle Monroe Freeling—who's temporarily replaced Taylor Moton at right tackle as he deals with a blood clot.
And yet, the most consequential move the organization has made this year was a simple administrative one—head coach Dave Canaels handing over offensive play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik.
Right now, that decision looks like a masterstroke—because Idzik has engineered a massive turnaround for Carolina's passing game. The Panthers currently
rank first in passing offense, fourth in total offense and fourth in scoring offense.
And after four weeks of this shocking production, Idzik is starting to get some attention from the national media.
According to Jeremy Fowler at ESPN, Idzik's work with the Panthers will be hard to ignore at the end of the season when it comes time for the next hiring cycle on the head-coaching carousel. Fowler writes:
What Carolina offensive coordinator Brad Idzik is doing with Bryce Young will be hard to ignore. The Panthers have jumped from 26th to first in passing offense. He has Young playing fast and with confidence.
As wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan stated earlier this week, Idzik is excelling by putting his players in position to do what they do best.
Most of all, Idzik is doing an exceptional job of scheming around what has been the NFL's worst pass-protecting offensive line this season. Young has seen more quick pressures than any other quarterback, but he's succeeding, in large part, thanks to the quick outlets and easy decisions that Idzik has set up for him.
Hopefully, the Panthers can keep him around in this role for longer than just one year. But hot offensive play-callers always end up getting head-coaching jobs elsewhere, so they have to maximize this opportunity while they can.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Insider: Panthers OC Brad Idzik may draw interest for HC jobs in 2027
