General manager Scott Fitterer is officially out in Carolina. After three seasons in Charlotte, Fitterer leaves the Carolina Panthers with the worst record in the NFL and in a deep hole after a historic trade in the 2023 NFL Draft seems to have gone wrong.
Fitterer joined the Panthers in 2021 after being the VP of Football Operations with the Seattle Seahawks. He now departs as the house gets cleaned in Carolina.
Panthers Move on From Scott Fitterer
NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Black Monday that Fitterer had been fired and that the Panthers would begin an immediate search for a replacement.
Panthers owner David Tepper has employed Sportsology to conduct the search. Sportsology is run by Mike Forde, a former executive with Chelsea Football Club.
The move to fire Fitterer isn’t a surprise. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Jan. 6 that Fitterer was expected to be fired after the conclusion of the NFL regular season.
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In a statement on Monday morning, Tepper thanked Fitterer for his service.
“As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made the decision that Scott Fitterer will no longer serve as our general manager,” Tepper said. “I appreciate Scott’s efforts and wish the best for him and his family.”
The search for a general manager will need to be swift. The Panthers fired former head coach Frank Reich during the season and will look to have their staff together quickly. Schefter reports that according to sources, “Panthers assistant GM Dan Morgan also has support within the organization.”
Why Has Fitterer Been Fired?
With the worst record in the league at 2-15 and a hugely disappointing season, it isn’t shocking that Carolina has chosen to end Fitterer’s contract. Over his tenure, the Panthers have a record of 14-37 and player decisions have been dysfunctional.
The catalyst for Tepper to make the decision may have ended up being the trade ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft when Carolina gave up the house to move up from No. 9 overall to No. 1 in a gigantic trade with the Chicago Bears.
Fitterer gave up their 2023 first-round pick, a 2023 second-round pick, their 2024 first-round pick, and WR DJ Moore.
That trade netted the Panthers their future franchise quarterback, Bryce Young. However, Young hasn’t played up to expectations in 2023. It is made even worse by the elite play of Houston Texans QB C.J. Stroud, who was selected No. 2 overall and has led Houston to the playoffs.
The fact that Carolina would hold the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and would be able to take Caleb Williams or Drake Maye blurs the success of the trade. Fitterer bet that the Panthers would improve in 2023. He was mistaken.
With limited resources, Carolina has a lot to do to dig themselves out of the mess it is in.
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The Young trade may have ratified the firing of Fitterer, but there are plenty of other decisions made in the last three years that haven’t worked out.
The biggest problem for Fitterer and the Panthers has been their inability to get it right at the most important decision in sports: selecting a quarterback.
In recent seasons, he has been part of the search party that hired Reich while the Panthers have been in turmoil at QB, having re-signed Cam Newton, drafted Matt Corral, and traded for Baker Mayfield before cutting him months later.
Fitterer signed off on the deal that saw star RB Chrisitan McCaffrey traded to the San Francisco 49ers while turning down a huge trade offer from the Los Angeles Rams that included two first-round picks for DE Brian Burns.
Carolina hasn’t been able to cut their weight while drafting, either. Their last three first-round picks have been Young in 2023, OT Ikem Ekwonu in 2022, and CB Jaycee Horn in 2021.
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