Luke Kuechly has retired, but he remains in the football business and will continue to collect a paycheck from the Panthers. (Just a much smaller paycheck in a much lower-profile role.)
Kuechly officially joined the Panthers’ front office as a pro scout, the team announced Thursday.
“During the season, it’ll be player evaluation and then advance scouting stuff. So if we play a team next week, we’ve got to get everything set up and ready to go, so when the coaches come in on Monday, they’re not starting from square one,” Kuechly said, via Bill Voth of the team website.
Kuechly, 29, made the All-Pro team five times in eight seasons as a linebacker with the Panthers.
He considered broadcasting or coaching, but found scouting the best fit for the first stage of his post-playing career. Kuechly isn’t ready to say he’s on the path to becoming a General Manager, though.
“I’ve never really done anything like this, so I’m just going to take it a day at a time and see what I think,” Kuechly said. “I think it’ll be fun. It’s still going to be football. It’s still going to be around good people. That’s what matters.”