As he tries to rebuild an offensive staff in a make-or-break season, Panthers coach Ron Rivera is looking back into team history for help.
Rivera fired running backs coach John Settle and wide receivers coach Fred Graves, then lost offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski to Cleveland.
Now, a league source tells PFT Rivera recently put in a call to former Panthers running backs coach Jim Skipper, who was fired by the Titans this offseason.
Skipper was the Panthers assistant head coach/running backs coach from 2002-2010 under John Fox, but didn’t follow him to Denver, leading to his two-year stint with the Titans.
When Skipper was in Charlotte, the Panthers emphasized running the ball, and Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams each topped the 1,100-yard mark in 2009.
With the Panthers closing in on a coordinator hire (they’re reportedly down quarterbacks coach Mike Shula, Hue Jackson or Pat Shurmur), adding Skipper back would lend some ballast to a side of the ball they’re rebuilding around quarterback Cam Newton.