Carolina Panthers nearly made a move to hire Bill Belichick not long before his career ended

There was a point in time when the Carolina Panthers thought about hiring former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, according to a Wednesday ESPN report from Don Van Natta Jr., Seth Wickersham and Jeremy Fowler.

According to ESPN, the Panthers briefly thought about bringing in Belichick before he signed his two-year extension with New England a year ago.

However, what changed the direction of the prospective hire was that Panthers owner David Tepper enjoys sifting through data to critique his coach's playcalling, which may have not boded well with Belichick as head coach, according to ESPN.

According to a source Van Natt, Wickersham and Fowler spoke to, Tepper critiquing the legendary coach "is tough to do" if he was the organizational figurehead. 

When Belichick was booted out of New England, the Panthers opted for Dave Canales. 

It was a good move. 

Though Belichick has a Hall of Fame career, the Panthers are at a point in time where they are looking to build around a young quarterback. Canales' expertise leaves him better suited to connect with Bryce Young, who is hoping to have a bounce-back season after a poor rookie campaign. 

Often, the NFL world can get caught up on top-billed names. What matters more is organization fit. 

The critiques of Tepper have all been written. This isn't to excuse those missteps. However, it should be noted that whether the Panthers didn't pursue the architect of the Patriots dynasty for organization fit reasons – Carolina still landed on the correct decision to bring in Canales. 

The former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator is the voice Young needs if he hopes to live up to his No. 1 pick status in 2024.