Panthers GM Marty Hurney Relieved of Duties Following 1-5 Start

Nothing has gone right for the Carolina Panthers to start this season, and now heads are starting to roll. 

According to the team's official Twitter account, the Panthers have "relieved general manager Marty Hurney of his duties."

"

Carolina Panthers Owner/Founder Jerry Richardson has announced that General Manager Marty Hurney has been relieved of his duties.

— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 22, 2012"

Following the announcement, Hurney released a statement (via Pro Football Talk) basically thanking the organization for giving him an opportunity and wishing them the best of luck. 

"

As General Manager I will always regret not helping us win the Super Bowl or having back-to-back winning seasons. I hope this change starts accomplishing the direction to those goals. I understand this decision by Mr. Richardson and will always have an extremely close relationship with him. 

"

This was supposed to be a season in which the Panthers took a step forward. They finished 6-10 in 2011, a four-win improvement from their disastrous 2010 season.  

Quarterback Cam Newton set a new record for passing yards as a rookie in 2011 and was a borderline MVP candidate heading into his second season, but he has completely fallen off, with just 1,387 passing yards, eight total touchdowns and six interceptions.

As the quarterback, Newton was always going to get the lion's share of the blame for the way the Panthers have stumbled this season, but the way the roster has been put together over the last few years has not given any real indication of forward progress. 

Hurney has been the Panthers' general manager since 2002. He did help build the team that went to the Super Bowl in 2004 and made postseason appearances in 2005 and 2008, but they have won just 17 games in the four seasons since the last playoff berth.

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