Jerry Richardson’s decision to fire General Manager Dave Gettleman came out of the blue earlier today, so much that people are still scrambling to find out exactly why the decision was made. As a fan of the Panthers I’ve seen the product on the field for the last four years of Gettleman’s tenure, and while there were some disappointments (like last season’s 6-10 disaster), the fact that Gettleman took a perennial losing team and turned them into a three-time division champion and Super Bowl participant with barely enough salary cap space to cover a parking ticket should give him a little bit of breathing room when recovering from a bad season.
One would think this would be the case, but Jerry Richardson sees things differently, and ultimately it’s his call. But, why is he making this call now? Why didn’t he make this call a few months ago before Brandon Beane — the former Assistant GM — left Carolina for the GM job in Buffalo?
That’s the part of this story that still doesn’t make sense to me. Why do this now? We can debate back and forth all day long whether or not Gettleman deserved to be fired — and trust me, we will do that — but the fact remains that the timing of this decision is curious. Jerry Richardson has the right to hire and fire anyone he wants. That’s one of the perks of owning an NFL franchise. We don’t have to like it, understand it or agree with it, but we do have to deal with it. However, I simply can’t understand this one. Maybe one day I will, though.
Hopefully that day comes soon.