Panthers to interview former Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano for coaching position

It is unclear what role Pagano could be interested in with the Panthers

Pro Football Talk is reporting that the Carolina Panthers are interviewing former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano for an unidentified position on their coaching staff. The report mentions that the Panthers currently lack a secondary or defensive backs coach but does not directly attribute Pagano’s interview with that position.

The Panthers would be an odd landing spot for Pagano for any number of reasons. First, he is currently in consideration by a number of teams that just hired a new head coach for the defensive coordinator position. This includes the Cleveland Browns with rookie head coach Freddie Kitchens, the Arizona Cardinals with the fresh-from-college Kliff Kingsbury, and the New York Jets with the retread Adam Gase. Taking a secondary job with the Panthers would certainly be a step down for a coach whose most recent job was as head coach of the Colts from 2012-2017.

It is possible that Pagano is a surprise candidate for the defensive coordinator job. Eric Washington is a highly respected defensive line coach who the Panthers want to keep in effectively that position after a disappointing year in the coordinator role. There has been a lot of talk about Rivera taking over the defensive play calling while Washington continues in a reduced capacity while retaining the title of defensive coordinator. However, Rivera also gave his public support to his entire coaching staff the day before he fired Mike Shula in early 2018.

He’s an unusual candidate from the Panthers perspective, as well. While he does have some loose ties to the region as a former assistant coach with both East Carolina University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he has never been on a coaching staff with Ron Rivera.

Whether the Panthers are Pagano’s safety option or Carolina is performing a thorough search, this interview marks a departure in at least the public face of their coaching searches. It is a welcome change to see the franchise look outside of its own network of contacts to interview qualified and experienced candidates.

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