Carolina Panthers hiring Sean Ryan, former quarterback coach of Deshaun Watson

The Carolina Panthers are hiring Sean Ryan to be the team’s new quarterback coach, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The team is also hiring Tony Sparano Jr. as the new assistant offensive line coach.

Ryan will replace quarterbacks coach Jake Peetz, who was hired as the offensive coordinator at LSU, and Sparano will replace Marcus Satterfield, the new offensive coordinator at South Carolina.

Since head coach Matt Rhule’s hiring, Ryan has been connected to the Panthers as both were on the New York Giants staff in 2012 and have stayed in touch. Ryan has been with the Detroit Lions the last two years working with Matthew Stafford.

Prior to that, Ryan, 48, spent three years — from 2016-18 — with the Houston Texans, where he was quarterbacks coach from 2017-18 and worked with former Clemson QB Deshaun Watson during the first two years of his career. Ryan was the wide receivers coach his first year with the Texans.

Watson has been the target of trade rumors due to his poor relationship with the Houston organization, and has been linked to the Panthers.

“I think he’s got very good instincts, and the moments are never too big for him,” Ryan said Watson in 2018. “He thrives on it. He’s kinda been doing it since he started playing football. In those big moments, he’s stepping up and making plays. I think he’s got a knack for it, I think it’s when he can rise to that occasion and really be at his best. There’s more of a sense of excitement, and this is why he does it than any sort of apprehension, and he just cuts it loose, and he plays, and makes good decisions in crunch time.”

Outside of Watson, Carolina has a tough task this offseason of trying to determine the future at quarterback. Rhule has not committed to Teddy Bridgewater as the starter in 2021, and the other quarterbacks under contract — P.J. Walker, Will Grier and Tommy Stevens — have not shown enough to be viewed as next in line for the starting job.

Ryan was also linked to the Panthers’ offensive coordinator job last offseason, but the position was filled by Joe Brady. Brady, 31, has been considered for at least five head coaching jobs this month, but is likely to return as the team’s offensive coordinator in 2021 with only two openings remaining — Texans and Philadelphia Eagles.

Ryan has been in the NFL since 2007 working in various roles with the Giants, Texans and Lions. He started his NFL career as an offensive quality control coach in New York, but he worked as an offensive assistant in various roles at the collegiate level since 1997.

Sparano Jr. most recently was the Jacksonville Jaguars assistant offensive line coach. He worked with Panthers offensive line coach Pat Meyer on the Buffalo Bills’ staff from 2015-16.

Offensive assistant DJ Mangas also left this month to become LSU’s passing game coordinator, but there are no major openings currently on the Panthers’ staff. The group will first work together next week at the Senior Bowl.