Nate Carroll was the Panthers’ passing game coordinator.
The NFL offseason may have started two weeks ago for 18 of 32 teams, but the firings have not stopped.
The Athletic’s Joe Person reported on Friday that former Seattle Seahawks assistant Nate Carroll, son of former Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, was fired by the Carolina Panthers after just one season as passing game coordinator. Nate Carroll was one of several former Seahawks assistant coaches from Pete’s staff who was brought in by Panthers head coach Dave Canales, himself a longtime Seahawks assistant.
Carolina might have finished 5-12 but Bryce Young was noticeably improved following his early-season benching. Two brutal performances against the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers led to a few weeks of Andy Dalton as a starter before Dalton’s minor car accident forced him back into the lineup in Week 8. Young threw 15 touchdowns and 6 interceptions over his last 10 games, which included a ridiculous three overtime wins, one overtime loss, and a walkoff regulation loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. It wasn’t exactly a great passing offense—they were 28th by DVOA but 17th by EPA/dropback upon Young’s reinsertion as a starter—but it was better than pre-benched Bryce and rookie Bryce. The Panthers’ 44-point performance to eliminate the Atlanta Falcons from the playoffs was evidently not enough to save Carroll’s job.
Prior to joining the Panthers, Nate spent his entire NFL coaching career with the Seahawks. He wore many hats as a defensive assistant, then offensive assistant, followed by assistant receivers coach, head wide receivers coach, then senior offensive assistant before virtually the entire Seahawks coaching staff was let go last offseason.
With his dad Pete Carroll interviewing for head coaching jobs again, perhaps Nate’s next job could be tied to whether or not Pete gets hired by another NFL team.