Panthers fire GM Scott Fitterer after 2-15 season

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers begin the offseason looking for a general manager in addition to a head coach.

General manager Scott Fitterer was fired Monday. The move leaves assistant general manager Dan Morgan in charge of the day-to-day operations for the time being, a source close to the situation told ESPN.

«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,» owner David Tepper said in a statement.

Fitterer had served as the general manager since 2021. He was part of the search committee that last offseason hired coach Frank Reich, who was fired after a 1-10 start.

The Panthers had an NFL-worst 2-15 record this season and are 14-37 since Fitterer took control of personnel decisions.

Fitterer orchestrated the trade this past offseason to move from ninth to first in the draft to select quarterback Bryce Young, who went 2-14 in his rookie season. He gave the Chicago Bears two first-round picks and star wide receiver DJ Moore.

The relevant first-round pick this year will be No. 1 overall.

Fitterer’s past three first-round picks haven’t done well. Besides Young, left tackle Ikem Ekwonu (No. 6, 2022) was responsible for allowing more sacks (19) than any other offensive lineman this past season, and cornerback Jaycee Horn (No. 8, 2021) has missed more than 30 games with injuries the past three years.

Fitterer will be remembered as much for the trade he didn’t make as for the big trade he made. Last season, he traded Pro Bowl running back Christian McCaffrey to the San Francisco 49ers for second-, third- and fourth-round picks in 2023 and a fifth-rounder in 2024.

He turned down an offer from the Los Angeles Rams of two first-round picks for outside linebacker Brian Burns and was unable to get a long-term deal with the two-time Pro Bowler before this season.

Fitterer also engineered moves for veteran quarterbacks Sam Darnold and Baker Mayfield that didn’t pan out. He gave the New York Jets a sixth-round pick in 2021, plus second- and fourth-round picks in 2022, for Darnold.

He gave up a 2024 conditional draft pick, which turned out to be a fifth-rounder, for Mayfield.

Darnold’s contract was not renewed last offseason. Mayfield, who passed for more than 4,000 yards this season in leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFC South title, was released after a 1-6 record last season.