Carolina Panthers want to interview Hue Jackson

According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network, the Carolina Panthers have asked the Cincinnati Bengals permission to interview offensive assistant Hue Jackson, who recently coached the Oakland Raiders. Breer also adds that the New York Jets are interested in Jackson, but the Jets are interested in every decent, prospective offensive coordinator available on the market. The Panthers opening would be much more attractive for Jackson.

Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

Rob Chudzinski will be greatly missed, because he did an amazing job working with Cam Newton and morphed the work ethic and character of the formerly maligned, young QB. The option read may have been frustrating at times, but Chudzinski is an offensive coordinator who I criticized a little too much at times and is a great OC overall. I mean, he did some terrific stuff for us last year that shouldn’t be ignored any time soon. I’m still not sure if Chud is head coaching material, but we’ll see if the reunion with the Cleveland Browns works out well for him.

Either way, there is a void to be filled, and it will be interesting to see if the Panthers believe Jackson can adequately fill that void. He has scheme going for him, because Jackson and Chudzinski run similar schemes with a vertical offense, and both of their offensive philosophies best suit the Panthers personnel (deep threats, dual-threat QB, good running game).

Jackson has been known to get the job done and can be a very good hire for the Panthers, but there is plenty of risk here due to his brashness, “mouthiness” (I really couldn’t come up with a better word), and a headstrong attitude that sums up some of the character concerns. There is a lot of good and bad here, and I’m not sure which side tilts the scale more. With a quarterback like Newton, I think it’s best to go with a character-guy first, so Jackson is more of a Plan C option in my eyes.

You can follow Joe Soriano on Twitter @SorianoJoe.