NFL Rumors: Panthers' 'Tension' on Offense in Bryce Young's Rookie Year Revealed

Dysfunction within the Carolina Panthers' offensive coaching staff reportedly may have played a role in quarterback Bryce Young's struggles as a rookie this season.

According to ESPN's David Newton, sources close to the Panthers organization indicated there was "unrest" and "an environment of tension and disagreement" when it came to how the offense should look.

Newton added that some within the coaching staff wanted to take a run-heavy approach, while head coach Frank Reich wanted a spread offense similar to the one Young ran in college at Alabama.

Just 11 games into his tenure as the Panthers' head coach, Reich was fired this season with a 1-10 record. Quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and running backs coach Duce Staley were also fired, which suggests they may have shared Reich's philosophy.

After Chris Tabor took over as interim head coach, the Panthers went 1-5 and ended up finishing with the worst record in the NFL at 2-15.

Young did seem to settle in to some degree after the coaching change. as he threw just two interceptions over his final six games and had his only 300-yard passing game of the season in Week 15 against the Green Bay Packers.

However, Young had just two touchdown passes over the last six games, and for the season he completed 59.7 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 picks.

An anonymous Panthers coach suggested that Young throwing a pair of interceptions in a Week 1 loss to the Atlanta Falcons resulted in him playing too conservatively the rest of the year: "It does that to most quarterbacks. You throw a couple of picks and you're, 'OK, I'm going to get a little bit conservative until I get a little bit of mojo back.' There just wasn't enough mojo created to overcome the negative stuff."

The Panthers find themselves in a difficult position entering the offseason since they traded their 2024 first-round pick to the Chicago Bears to move up and pick Young last year, meaning the Bears have the No. 1 overall pick this year.

That is made even more painful for Panthers fans by the fact that the Houston Texans selected quarterback C.J. Stroud No. 2 overall last year, and he led Houston to an AFC South title and a playoff win already.

The Panthers have to make things work with Young in order to move past whiffing on Stroud, and the best way to do that is by hiring the right head coach and offensive coordinator.

Carolina is considering several options, but Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson may be the best choice best on the career renaissance he helped orchestrate for quarterback Jared Goff.