What I like the most about new Panthers head coach Matt Rhule is this: He's got a lot of common sense.
What I like the least is how non-specific he is _ he could definitely use a dose of David Tepper bluntness.
And yet the coach's vagueness is understandable in some cases. As with a good offense, you just don't know who's getting the ball yet with Rhule, and he undoubtedly prefers it that way.
After watching Rhule through the first seven weeks of his tenure as the Panthers' fifth head coach, I do better understand why Panthers owner David Tepper and general manager Marty Hurney didn't want to let the coach get on a plane to go interview with the New York Giants.
Rhule is a gregarious charmer, prone to self-deprecation and flights of fancy about championships and rings.
"He was talking to some of the staff," Hurney said in January about one of Rhule's first meetings as Panthers head coach. "I sat there thinking I feel like a bobblehead, because every time he talks, I'm just nodding my head."
This is Rhule's most obvious gift. The son of a pastor, Rhule has a knack for making people believe. Listening to him is a lot of fun, even though afterward you may shake your head and wonder exactly what it was you heard and why you liked it so much.
Rhule will be popular in the Carolina locker room _ at least for this entire first season, which is a long time for any honeymoon _ because of this inherent ability to connect.
But the coach can also be frustrating to write about because of his frequent references to "the process," which is basically coachspeak for "We're being methodical, we're doing it one hour at a time over here and we don't mind a bit if we're boring the rest of you while we do that."
He's also a master at not getting cornered by any question. He effectively tap-dances around whatever he doesn't want to answer, often using humor to defuse any potential tension. For him, life is like the universe _ constantly expanding. There are no corners.
Rhule won't commit to Cam "IHH" Newton as a Day 1 starter _ the IHH stands for "If He's Healthy" and is my new unofficial middle name/useful acronym for Newton. Yet Rhule professes to absolutely love the guy. He'd love to coach Cam IHH _ but then again, he left open the possibility that he might not coach him.
Rhule said he might team up with Hurney and draft a quarterback with the No. 7 overall pick in late April _ or he might not. Much of that depends on IHH. He might lessen McCaffrey's workload because he loves the Panthers' other running backs so much, too _ or he might not. He wouldn't even declare a single player on the current roster as a starter or likely starter in September, even McCaffrey, which is sort of silly given that McCaffrey is the NFL's best running back.
To quote Newton's mysterious "Is this directed at the Panthers?" Instagram post Tuesday: "All I want is a little commitment _ and you can't give me that?!"
