Panthers fire GM Scott Fitterer after 2-15 season،
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers are entering the offseason looking for a general manager in addition to a head coach.
General manager Scott Fitterer was fired Monday. The move leaves assistant general manager Dan Morgan in charge of day-to-day operations for the time being, a source familiar with the matter told ESPN.
“As we move forward in the new direction of our franchise, I have made the decision that Scott Fitterer will no longer be our general manager,” owner David Tepper said in a statement.
Fitterer had served as general manager since 2021. He was part of the search committee that hired coach Frank Reich last offseason, who was fired after a 1-10 start.
The Panthers had an NFL-worst 2-15 record this season and are 14-37 since Fitterer took control of personnel decisions.
Fitterer orchestrated the trade last offseason to move from ninth to first overall in the draft to select quarterback Bryce Young, who went 2-14 in his rookie season. He gave the Chicago Bears two first-round picks and star wide receiver DJ Moore.
The relevant first-round pick this year will be the No. 1 overall pick.
Fitterer's last three first-round picks haven't worked out well. Besides Young, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (No. 6, 2022) allowed more sacks (19) than any other offensive lineman last season, and cornerback Jaycee Horn (No. 8, 2021) missed more than 30 games with injuries in the last three years.
Fitterer will be remembered as much for the trade he didn't make as for the big trade he did make. Last season, he traded Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for second, third and fourth round picks in 2023 and a fifth rounder in 2024.
He turned down an offer from the Los Angeles Rams for two first-round picks for outside linebacker Brian Burns and was unable to reach a long-term deal with the two-time Pro Bowler until this season.
Fitterer also designed moves for veteran quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield that didn't pan out. He gave the New York Jets a 2021 sixth-round pick, as well as 2022 second- and fourth-round picks, for Darnold.
He gave up a conditional 2024 draft pick, which turned out to be a fifth rounder, for Mayfield.
Darnold's contract was not renewed last offseason. Mayfield, who passed for more than 4,000 yards this season to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC South title, was released after going 1-6 last season.
