Despite high hopes for the 2012 season, the Carolina Panthers have plunged to 1-3. In Charlotte, G.M. Marty Hurney is catching most of the blame. He joined WFNZ’s Mac Attack on Wednesday morning to face the music.
And Hurney didn’t run from reality.
Asked if he’s on the hot seat, Hurney didn’t hesitate. “Of course,” Hurney said. “I’m the one that’s turning up the heat. This is my life and I can’t tell you the agony you go through every time you lose a game. Obviously, I believe in what we’re doing. And I do believe that we have talent and the coaching staff and the people to be good. But the bottom line is right now we’re 1-3. So I understand all the criticism. I don’t necessarily have to agree with everything that’s said, but I get it. My job’s to win football games, and we’re not doing that. . . . Nobody takes it harder than I do. . . . It’s like dying every time you lose a game. It just rips your heart out, it rips your guts out. And no one feels worse about it than I do. You feel like you let the whole region down.”
If owner Jerry Richardson decides to make a change, it won’t cost Richardson any extra money. “I don’t have a contract, by my choice. I’m in this thing to win,” Hurney said. “I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this to win football games.”
Right now, he’s not. So right now, he’s not happy.
Asked if he’s “miserable,” Hurney didn’t hesitate: “I think that’s an understatement.”
Plenty of Panthers fans are miserable, too. The team gets a chance to turn things around a bit when the Seahawks come to town on Sunday.