Panthers GM search: Carolina seeking Marty Hurney’s replacement

Carolina fired GM Marty Hurney just six games into the 2012 season after the team started 1-5. The Panthers did improve down the stretch, as they did the year before, and closed with a 7-9 record.

Hurney was with the organization since 2002. Since a trip to the SuperBowl in 2003 and the NFC Championship in 2005, the Panthers have posted just one winning record. That was a 12-4 season in which they earned a first-round bye but lost in the divisional playoffs. The team bottomed out at 2-14 in 2010, resulting in the selection of Cam Newton with the first overall pick.

The Panthers are expected to have all of their general manager interviews completed by Saturday.

Ross has been with the Giants since May 2007, and has been their leader in the draft room for the past five seasons. Ross already has support in Charlotte, as former Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi is serving as a consultant to help owner Jerry Richardson hire the Panthers new general manager. The Panthers also interviewed the Giants senior pro personnel analyst Dave Gettleman for the general manager position on Tuesday.

Carolina fired general manager Marty Hurney in October after a 1-5 start to the season. He had served in the position since 2002 and been with the Panthers organization since 1998. Ross is one of six candidates to replace Hurney and is considered the favorite by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen said Ross is the favorite to land the job, while Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk pegged Gettleman as the favorite. All six of the interviews are expected to be completed by Saturday.

In late October, the Panthers relieved Marty Hurney of his general manager duties and since then have been looking for a replacement.

Hurney had been a part of Carolina’s personnel department since 1998 and was promoted to GM in 2002. He helped the Panthers reach the 2003 Super Bowl; however, since then he struggled to help rebuild the franchise.

Hurney has been on the job since 2002. Under his tenure the Panthers made one Super Bowl appearance during the 2003 season, and have made two more trips to the playoffs. Those three seasons were the only time during that stretch the Panthers had a winning record.

Expectations for the Panthers were raised after Cam Newton’s debut season in 2011. Carolina was the NFC South pick for smart people, or at least pundits who wanted to look smart. This year was supposed to be different, and it became worse very quickly.

It is not certain which Panthers officials will speak during this afternoon’s press conference, though owner Jerry Richardson could be among them. Head coach Ron Rivera’s usual Monday press conference has been pushed back.

“I understand this decision by [Panthers owner Jerry Richardson] and will always have an extremely close relationship with him. I consider him the best owner in the NFL,” Hurney said in a statement. “I am responsible for everybody in coaching, the players, the scouts and everybody in football operations.”

Hurney was general manager of the Panthers since 2002, and helped build teams that appeared in two NFC Championship games, as well as the 2003 Super Bowl. But the Panthers have not had a winning record or made a playoff appearance since they won a division title in 2008, and they haven’t won more than six games in a season since 2009.