In his first interview as head coach of Carolina’s Panthers, Matt Rhule has refused to comment on Cam Newton’s future.
Rhule, who replaces sacked Ron Rivera, was asked about Panther’s star quarterback when Carolina introduced him to the media Wednesday.
Newton, the NFL’s 2015 MVP, suffered further injury problems in the NFL regular season just ended. A foot injury saw him play in only two games in a dismal year when the Panthers finished 5-11.
As a result a lot of questions have been flying about. Newton’s contract with Panthers only ends in 2021. However, his disruptive injury record has caused many to wonder if he’ll still be with Panthers when it does.
“I haven’t had a chance yet with regards to any player to talk to Marty [Hurney] and Mr. Tepper in terms of long-term vision. And I would never want to speak out of school,” said Rhule, who comes into NFL football from College stars Baylor.
Rhule has the ‘utmost respect’ for Newton
“What I will say is this. I had a chance to talk to Cam yesterday and I have the utmost respect for him and what he’s done. I loved the way he talked to me, to be quite honest. He didn’t want to talk about the past. He wanted to talk about the future.
“But other than that, I need to talk to all the guys and kind of get a feel for not just Cam but all those players on the roster.”
Rhule said it was important for the sake of the entire roster, that he have a good and thorough process moving forward.
He told Network: “At the end of the day I know this: I know you need a winning quarterback to win. I know Cam’s done a lot of winning so I look forward to working with him. At the same time I’ll have to talk to our ownership and GM and kind of really establish how they all feel in the locker room – him (Newton), Kyle Allen and Will Grier as well.”
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— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) 8 January 2020