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For the second straight off-season, Dave Tepper is searching for another head coach, after he fired Frank Reich in mid-November. After the season came to an end, Tepper then fired GM Scott Fitterer, meaning both positions were open at the same time for the first time under Tepper. Tepper has cast a wide-ranging coaching search, with the help of a search firm, but has stayed away from the likes of Bill Belichick, Mike Vrabel, and Jimi Harbaugh. Panther fans can draw their own conclusions from that, but it's hard to imagine those coaches being interested in working for arguably the worst owner in the NFL. From the moment the job became available, Tepper had his work cut out for him, and he's learning that this winter. 

The Carolina Panthers aren't the only NFC South team looking for a new head coach, so are the Atlanta Falcons, after they fired Arthur Smith after their regular season came to an end. Todd Bowles is believed to be safe in Tampa Bay, after guiding the Bucs to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, and New Orleans has already announced that Dennis Allen will be back for 2024.

At 8-29, the Hornets are set to be sellers and not buyers at the upcoming NBA trade deadline next month. When the season started, it was reasonable to believe the team could be in a better situation at the trade deadline and could've been buyers, to ensure themselves as a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. 

It's not every day that you quit your job, to go on a cross-country, four-month long road trip, but that is exactly what Rodger Sherman did after he left The Ringer, and embarked on a journey attending as many college football games as possible. Sherman attended over 60 games, and traveled over 30,000 miles during the 2023 college football season, traveling all over the country to see games at different levels of the sport. 

It feels like old times in the ACC, with all Big Four schools atop the standings, headlined by an undefeated North Carolina team, ranked in the top 5 of this week's AP Poll. Duke, NC State, and Wake Forest are all a game behind the Tar Heels, and all likely figure to play a role in the regular season title race, something that didn't seem likely when the season tipped off. 

For the third time under David Tepper's ownership, the Carolina Panthers are looking for a football coach to bring winning football back to the Carolina's, something Panther fans haven't experienced since 2017. Tepper was looking for a head coach this time last year, after firing Matt Rhule in the middle of the 2022 season. After hiring Frank Reich, that experiment only lasted 11 games, before Reich was promptly fired after a 1-10 start. 

After a 2-15 season, there is a lot of work to get the Panthers back to competing in the NFC South ahead of the 2024 season. Dave Tepper is looking for another head coach and general manager after firing Frank Reich and Scott Fitterer on Monday in November. And even when Tepper makes those hires, the work is just getting started. The new GM will have to navigate a draft without a first-round pick and upgrade the roster in free agency. As for the head coach, his biggest task will be instilling belief in Bryce Young, after the rookie QB endured a tumultuous first season in the NFL, as he faced the first adversity of his football life. 

The state of North Carolina is a basketball state first and foremost, but there is a nice football tradition in the state as well, and earlier this week, some of the best college football players were notified they'd be inducted into the college football Hall of Fame. Among those, included former App State QB Armanti Edwards, a player that led the Mountaineers to their historic upset of Michigan, along with three straight FCS national championships, the first FCS program to do such a thing. After a legendary career, Edwards would have a brief stint in the NFlL, spending time with the Panthers and the Browns, before going on to win multiple Gray Cups in the CFL. 

January is off and running, as earlier this week, college football crowned its national champion for the 2023 season, and this weekend, the NFL postseason gets underway with Super Wild Card Weekend. With that, conference play is in full swing around college basketball, including the ACC, which has multiple Big Four teams at the top of the league after the first full week of action. For many sports fans in the Carolinas, after the season that the Panthers endured, and the season that the Hornets are currently experiencing, ACC basketball might be more important than it has been in years past. 

The good news after Carolina's 9-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Sunday, was that the 2023 season, had finally ended. After entering the season with hopes and dreams of competing for a division title, the Panthers limped to a 2-15 record and fired their head coach in the middle of the season for the second straight season. While the expectations outside the building weren't as high as they were inside the building, this season is arguably the worst in franchise history, surpassing the struggles of 2001 and 2010. To say that this season was a surprise would be an understatement, including to those who cover the team on a day-to-day basis.