The Fritz Pollard Alliance calls the Panthers’ hiring of Marty Hurney a “special circumstance” but expects Carolina to interview a minority candidate after the season.
“Our position is it is a special circumstance,” Fritz Pollard Alliance chairman John Wooten said. “It’s not unlike a G.M. getting fired during the year, and they bring in someone to help them through the year. So we’re OK with that. They put the interim there and let us know that this wasn’t someone that they hired. They’re in a tough situation. They’ve got veterans they’ve got to get [extensions] done. So we’re OK with it.”
The league office told Pro Football Talk’s Darin Gantt that compliance with the Rooney Rule isn’t required for interim G.M. jobs. With the season approaching and contract extensions for Thomas Davis and Greg Olsen looming, Wooten said it would have been unfair to both the team and minority candidates to force Carolina to delay its decision simply to comply with the Rooney Rule.
However, Wooten expects the Panthers to interview a minority candidate before hiring a full-time G.M.
“I think they will,” Wooten said. “We think they’ll continue to do the way they’ve done it. They’ve made a lot of moves there that showed us that they want to go about doing it the right way. We have a great relationship with them, so we understand what they’re up against right now.
“I didn’t get into why they let [Dave] Gettleman go now, but that’s none of my business.”