Camp notebook: GM Dan Morgan puts emphasis on work, not expectations

Jul 23, 2024 at 03:07 PM

Darin Gantt

CHARLOTTE — Dan Morgan has been here as a player when the Panthers went to a Super Bowl and when they were expected to win another.

But now that he's the general manager, he's not going to let anything take his eye off the long-term goal, which is to get the team back to that level.

The Panthers haven't made the playoffs in the last six seasons, but Morgan said that he sees progress toward breaking that streak on Tuesday, even if he's not prepared to put a deadline on it.

"I'm not going to put any expectations on anything right now," Morgan said Tuesday as the team reported to camp. "What I do know is that there's a lot of work ahead of us, not only from a personnel standpoint, but the players know that they've got to put the work in out there.

"We have a lot of new players that have got to gel together out there and become a team. So in terms of playoffs, we'll reach that when we're ready. But I think right now we're focused on today and tomorrow, and we're just trying to get better as a team."

The Panthers took an aggressive approach to the offseason, overhauling the defense and working quickly in free agency and the draft to add protection and weapons for quarterback Bryce Young a year after taking him first overall.

So there's clearly an expectation that things will be better than last year when a 2-15 record led to Morgan and head coach Dave Canales taking over. Like Morgan, Canales has kept his focus on the work that needs to be done rather than any longer vision, but it's clear from listening to the GM Tuesday that he's prioritizing building something stable and lasting.

"Like I said before, we have a plan; we have a plan in place," Morgan said. "We have a process. We're aligned in that plan and we're going to stick to it and I feel like if we're disciplined and we stick to our plan on building this thing that we will build a winner eventually. And, you know, I think we're pretty confident in that. . . .

"A lot of stuff keeps me up at night in terms of just wanting to get this roster better, wanting this organization to win. Obviously, I care a lot about this organization. So, we want to put a winner out there. We want to win as much as everybody wants to win around the city, and we want to bring a winner."

— Players will take the field for practice Wednesday, the first time in a new set-up on the grounds of Bank of America Stadium. They have two new grass fields to practice on, and a number of player-friendly amenities such as the cooling trailer next to the fields.

But mostly, they're at home. As much as Morgan said he missed his days as a player going to Wofford College, he thinks there's an advantage here.

"Definitely, it was a place that I hold dear to my heart; it was, it was a fun place down there," said Morgan, who was there during the two-a-day era of the early 2000s. "But being here in Charlotte ... I think that our players will be able to be at home in their environment, in their own locker, in their own training room. Nothing's going to be new to them.

"So you know, I think there's an advantage of being here, and I think they can still bond and do all the things that they did in Spartanburg."

— Projected starting outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum is among the group of players on the physically unable to perform list, and that has clouded the future at that position.

They know what they can expect from veteran Jadeveon Clowney , but after that, they're hoping a young player emerges on the other side until Wonnum returns after complications following an offseason surgery.

Morgan mentioned DJ Johnson, Eku Leota, and K'Lavon Chaisson specifically when asked about the position, but made it clear they're also still looking for help there and at other positions. They worked out a group of players Monday and that's likely to continue through camp.

"We're just going to try to add as many pieces as we can and create as much competition as we can, and we'll just kind of handle it that way," Morgan said.

— Clowney has been here for several weeks getting ready for his first training camp near home — the power was out in his Houston home after Hurricane Beryl — and he joked that "the whole 'hood's coming out" to see him from Rock Hill.

But he's also coming from a Ravens team that went 13-4 last season and has been with a number of quality teams lately.

"I've been on six teams, and I've never been a loser, really," Clowney said of his time with the Browns, Titans, Seahawks, and Texans. "I never went to one and just lost and I don't plan on coming here and just losing. "I know what it looks like. I know what it takes to win. It's coming together every day, practicing and preparing. We're all here for a reason. We are all professionals, and we all got what it takes to win here in this organization.

"I think that's what it's going to come down to, everybody buying in and hearing it from guys that have been from other teams and telling them, man, we got what it takes and show up every day and come to work and let the chips fall. But like I said, I've seen what it looked like, and we've got the tools; we've just got to prepare like it."