Welcome to the League, Rook

by Zacharyrc | 5 years ago | 2 Comments

Chapter 1 

Welcome to the League, Rook

Young. Fiery. Short Fused. Confident. These are just a few words to describe one of the leagues newest coaches, Zach Carpenter. Coach Carpenter has spent years in other leagues; however, the ambitious coach will soon learn that none of his recent experiences compare to the mammoth that we know as: The Redzone. 

Let’s take a trip back in time. The month is October. Carolina is off to an 0-4 start and the team is in shambles. A press conference is called and shortly after, an interim head coach is named. Zach Carpenter, the defensive backs coach, is given the reigns. Our story begins here. 

At an early age, Carpenter fell in love with the defensive mentality that his father coached with. He is also an avid Nebraska Cornhusker fan so, naturally, he was influenced by the “Blackshirts.” The Panthers didn’t have much, but they had young, defensive stars like Donte Jackson and Brian Burns. They had established veterans like Luke Kuechly and Kawann Short. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” and this was just enough to fire up the defensive-minded coach. 

In Carpenter’s first game, there was already a lot on his plate. The league didn’t know what they were getting, and neither did the Panthers organization. Ranking last in every category, question marks all over the depth chart, Carolina was about to face a team that was its complete opposite. That team is the New Orleans Saints, and their coach, Mike Mojica. Coach Carpenter and Coach Moji meet for the first time, and boy, we had no idea of what was in store for seasons to come. 

I’ve decided to save a whole chapter for that matchup, so we won’t touch on that too much right now. Coach Carpenter faces much hardship ahead, but they are the early challenges of what all the great coaches in this league have faced. Handfuls of quotables, interesting takes and questionable moves will all be brought back into the light. Welcome to the league, Rook.