NFL Rumors: Panthers Hold 2nd GM Interviews with Giants' Brown, Eagles' Halaby

The Carolina Panthers staged a second round of interviews with New York Giants assistant general manager Brandon Brown and Philadelphia Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.

Pelissero added Dan Morgan, Carolina's assistant GM, remains a candidate in the team's search.

Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports reported earlier Saturday Carolina had "quietly entered" the next stage of the search and, like Pelissero, wrote how Morgan "went into the process as a strong candidate for the role."

Carolina is simultaneously looking for a new head coach. The team will presumably want to fill the GM vacancy first before zeroing in on its next coach since that's the typical order of NFL operations.

The Athletic's Joseph Person wrote Thursday how "it's less clear where things stand on the GM search because the Panthers have not been posting updates when they complete interviews with GM candidates — as they and seemingly every other NFL team have done after meetings with head coach candidates."

Person listed Halaby and Brown as contenders and included Las Vegas Raiders interim general manager Champ Kelly.

On the coaching front, the Panthers confirmed they interviewed Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson on Friday. Johnson is one of the hottest coaches on the market, with Person reporting he remains the "top target" for Carolina owner David Tepper.

The team has also interviewed Houston Texans offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik, another young assistant on the rise.

There's no timeline for when the Panthers will identity the replacement for Scott Fitterer, but it looks as though they're making progress. That, in turn, brings them a little closer toward landing a coach.