Why Luck really stayed

Andrew Luck has always been sort of unconventional.

Picking Stanford -- when you're a highly-sought high school quarterback playing in the "Friday Night Lights" of Texas -- was unconventional. Especially given Stanford had just gone 1-11, and when you had offers from a whole lot of other places.

Now Luck has picked Stanford again -- this time over the instant riches assured by being the No.1 draft pick, which Carolina would have made him. Luck just completed his redshirt sophomore year at Stanford, throwing four TD passes in Stanford's 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl Monday night.

I talked to Luck's father, Oliver Luck, by phone about the decision Thursday afternoon (and here's a link to my column from Friday morning, which goes in-depth into this conversation). Oliver Luck said it mostly boiled down to Luck wanting "at least one more year with his guys" -- his Stanford teammates, whom Luck wants to win a Pac-10 championship with.

Oliver Luck said his son also wanted to graduate before he left school, which is what he is on track to do by the spring of 2012. "It's kind of old-school, I know, but he went to college with the idea of not leaving until he got a degree," said Oliver Luck, who is the athletic director at West Virginia and a former NFL quarterback himself.

Oliver Luck also stressed -- and I asked him several times -- that the fact that his son would have ended up in Carolina had he declared early for the draft had "absolutely nothing to do with this decision." Jerry Richardson's news conference Tuesday, the Panthers' horrible 2010 season -- none of it mattered.

To hear the father tell it, the son barely even talked about the impending lockout, much less what team he would end up on. "Those external factors were just not that important to him," Luck said. "He wanted to go back to Stanford."

Believe me, this was a bigger loss than any of the 14 the Panthers suffered this season to get that No.1 pick. Whenever Andrew Luck does come out, he's going to be special.

But the Panthers haven't had much right happen in the past couple of years, and now here's another example that was totally out of their control. Luck wants to stay. He should complete his degree in the spring of 2012 as a fourth-year junior, and so I'll betcha he does leave Stanford a year early (although the father said they would make that a separate decision a year from now).

Silver lining? If there's no NFL season at all in 2011, the Panthers would then apparently hold the No.1 pick in the 2012 draft, too, and Luck will likely be available for that one.

But few people expect the entire season to be lost, and of course by then the Panthers may have taken Cam Newton or Jake Locker or Ryan Mallett or Blaine Gabbert, and you really can't invest two straight high first-round draft choices on QB with so many other needs. (On the other hand, if Carolina doesn't take a QB and plays Jimmy Clausen again in 2011, then maybe they will end up with that No.1 pick one more time).

But it's such a longshot -- look, Panther fans need to face it. If it weren't for bad Luck, they'd have no Luck at all... gloom, despair and agony on them. (And if you know what TV show that lyric is from, you're a true Southerner).

3 random Panther thoughts

As the Panthers' coaching search kicks into gear and the dust settles from Jerry Richardson's rare press conference Tuesday, here are 3 random Panther thoughts:

1) Thank goodness a Ryan is getting involved in the Panthers' coaching search. Rob Ryan will get a look from the Panthers, whose four known candidates are all current NFL defensive coordinators. Wow, way to think out of the box, guys. Actually, though, Ryan is thinking a bit out of the box -- given the way Rex and Buddy do things, you just know Rob would be fun.

2) If you missed my final column on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck -- whom the Panthers plan to take with the No.1 pick if he comes out -- you can find it here. I analyze Luck in the column and predict that Luck will ultimately come out, but I'm not at all sure about that. On the other hand, I'm very sure Jim Harbaugh isn't coming back to coach Stanford, which I think will help Luck make up his mind to leave.

3) I wonder if Panther president Danny Morrison has ever been at a press conference before and never been asked a question. Richardson joked during the conference that Morrison's free pass with the Panthers is over because he's now involved in the coaching search -- but with Richardson holding court, it lasted at least one more day. I doubt Morrison minded, though.

5 thoughts on Richardson's newsy press conference

Ah, the wonders of the Internet.
I was still in Fort Lauderdale, awaiting a flight back from Monday night’s Orange Bowl, when the Panthers held their 11 a.m. news conference Tuesday. But I was able to watch Panther owner Jerry Richardson take questions from my colleagues over the Internet. Here are five quick thoughts on what I thought was a rather extraordinary 30 minutes, as Richardson, 74, so rarely graces the media with his presence:

1) Richardson was really feisty.
From forcing one TV reporter he wanted to tease to sit in the front row to drawing on his legal pad to explain how the owners are getting the short end of the NFL money stick to telling the room he was likely going to live a lot longer than they think he will, Richardson was combative, funny and opinionated. I was really glad to see all three of those characteristics – that’s Richardson at his best. Health-wise, he’s obviously feeling good. There were a few uncomfortable moments in the press conference, but by and large I thought Richardson got his points across.

2) Richardson (and Panthers general manager Marty Hurney) seemed committed to hiring an NFL assistant coach as their next head coach.
So forget Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh (who won’t care, as he has tons of other options). Forget any other collegiate coach. Forget Jon Gruden or Bill Cowher or Brian Billick. It looks like the next John Fox of 2002 is coming down the pike, whether it’s Perry Fewell, Ron Rivera or whomoever. And Hurney said the search would be done “expeditiously” – I’m betting it is over in the next 5-10 days.
Hiring an established NFL assistant won’t sell tickets, but it has worked (sort of) for Carolina twice in the past with Fox and Dom Capers.

3) Richardson’s reputation as a hard-line owner is not misplaced.
When he talked about the players’ union representatives, you could almost see fire coming out of the owner’s nostrils. When he said the union reps told the owners they wanted “more money, more benefits and we want to work less,” same thing. When he said he “wasn’t optimistic” that much progress was being made toward a new collective-bargaining agreement, you got the sense that Richardson will be stunned if there is an agreement before the early March lockout date.

4) Richardson hates being called cheap.
One of the more interesting numbers he mentioned: $11,441,000, which is apparently what the total payroll for all the recently-departed Panther coaches was for 2010. Richardson said this was the fifth-highest coaching payroll in the league, and he acted like he would write all those checks again – if he could get back-to-back winning seasons, which the Panthers have never had. (Richardson also indicated he didn’t think the Panthers would trade away the No.1 draft pick of 2011, which is a bonus for those like me who think Andrew Luck could be the next Peyton Manning).

5) Richardson’s succession plan is still very much in flux.
While the owner said his new heart should keep him around for a long time, he also revealed he owns 48 percent of the team and his 14 partners own the other 52 percent. He said he plans to own the team until he dies – “I intend to own the team as long as I live” was the quote -- but beyond then what happens?
Richardson wouldn’t say, saying he was focused more on the short term. I wonder what sons Mark and Jon Richardson thought while they were watching this press conference.

What Luck, Harbaugh said postgame

Stanford's two biggest football names -- coach Jim Harbaugh and quarterback Andrew Luck -- didn't address their uncertain futures in any depth in the aftermath of their team's 40-12 demolition of Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl Monday night. (Here's my column on the game).

Luck said he wouldn't make an "impulsive" decision on whether to stay or go before the NFL's Jan.15th deadline for underclassmen to declare for the draft. When pressed a little, the redshirt sophomore said: "I think there are a lot of worse decisions you might have to make in life. I don't know. I don't mean to be rude but I'd rather not address that subject anymore. I'd like to enjoy the night."

The first question Harbaugh got in his postgame press conference (which I attended after watching Luck play in person for the first time) was whether he had coached his last game at Stanford.

That question obviously irritated Harbaugh, who replied: "Oh, please, please, give me a break! You know, have some respect for the game. It's about the performance tonight of these players, and I love them. Let's talk about them." Later, Harbaugh deflected another attempt at a similar question, saying, "I'd just rather enjoy the moment."

Luck threw four TD passes in Stanford's win, in which the Cardinal outscored Virginia Tech 27-0 in the second half. All four TD passes were to tight ends, and all covered at least 25 yards.

He made throws off his back foot, in traffic, on the run.... In other words, Luck did nothing to dissuade the projections of him getting picked No.1 overall if he comes out. He completed 18 of 23 passes for 287 yards, one interception and the four TDs. (By comparison, Jimmy Clausen never threw for even 200 yards in a single NFL game this season, and he had three touchdown passes the entire year. I know it's a different level of competition, but still).

The Panthers, of course, hold the No.1 draft pick of 2011 by virtue of their horrible 2-14 record in 2010.

But it remains unclear whether Luck will leave. He loves college and seems genuinely torn about the decision. I talked to one highly respected NFL front-office type Monday night after the game. This guy usually knows everything, but he said he wasn't sure at all that Luck would come out.

Harbaugh is generally considered very likely to leave – either to coach the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos, Michigan Wolverines (his alma mater), Carolina Panthers or some other mystery team. The guy is about to get some serious offers and has more options on the table than Luck, whose decision boils down to "stay or go."

It should be interesting. But nothing got decided Monday night, except that No.5 Stanford (12-1) was a whole, whole lot better than ACC champion Virginia Tech (11-3).

Stanford fans chanted "One more year! One more year!" at Luck as he accepted the trophy for being the game's Most Outstanding Player, but whether he gives them that or gives Panther fans what they desperately want is still very much up in the air.

On Harbaugh, Luck and the Orange Bowl

In case you haven't noticed -- and don't worry if you haven't, I know you've got a lot of things going on -- I've been down in south Florida the past few days writing stories about Andrew Luck, Jim Harbaugh and Virginia Tech in anticipation of tonight's Orange Bowl.

Here's a link to the Harbaugh story, which was published today.

Here's a link to the Andrew Luck story, which was published Sunday.

I am staying in Miami tonight to cover the Orange Bowl itself -- it should be a great battle between Tech's Tyrod Taylor and Luck, who will likely be the No.1 draft pick of 2011 (and you know who holds that pick) if he decides to come out.

I've learned a lot about both Luck and Harbaugh while in Florida. Ultimately, I don't think they're both going to end up as Carolina Panthers -- one as the quarterback, the other as coach -- although the idea is so intriguing. An online betting service listed the odds of that happening as 5-1 the other day, and that's about right.

For one thing, Harbaugh has too many options. Apparently, new Denver Broncos VP (and former Stanford star) John Elway is going to be in Miami tonight and will want to talk to Harbaugh about the Broncos job as soon as this game is done.

And then there's the 49ers -- Harbaugh wouldn't even have to uproot his family to take that job. And then there's Michigan -- Rich Rodriguez isn't technically fired yet, although that's got to be coming. And then there's the fact that Panthers GM Marty Hurney would apparently prefer to hire an established NFL coordinator type -- in other words, what John Fox was in 2002 -- rather than a college head coach.

I don't think Harbaugh will stay at Stanford, but of course that's a possibility as well.

Luck's decision is simpler -- stay or go. He doesn't have as many options as Harbaugh, but the path is complicated, too. He has to worry about the NFL lockout -- what if there is no 2011 season, but he comes out and then doesn't get to play anywhere? This, I believe, may be Luck's biggest fear about the whole thing.

In any case, much more to come -- I'll have coverage of Luck, Harbaugh and Virginia Tech up to and including in Wednesday's Charlotte Observer newspaper.

5 things I didn't like in Atlanta's 31-10 win over Panthers

I wasn't in Atlanta for John Fox's final game as a Panther head coach, but after reading about it and watching a number of video highlights, I feel like I've seen it before.

I think I saw it three weeks ago, in fact, when Atlanta beat Carolina by an identical 31-10 score. Atlanta led 21-0 at halftime Sunday and 17-0 at halftime three weeks ago when the two teams met. I sense a pattern.

So now, an abbreviated "5 things" blog, just because it's tradition, and then we're off this season and onto whatever comes next, which absolutely has to be better than what just happened.

5 things I didn't like:

1) Jimmy Clausen. Not much help as usual, but still... he never threw for 200 yards in a single game all season, and he ends the year with three TD passes to his own guys and two TD passes to the other guys.

2) Jonathan Stewart. His recent surge officially ended, with 13 carries for a pedestrian 31 yards.

3) Punt coverage. On the Falcons' 55-yard punt return, it was like 7 Panthers all ran down in an exact same line, and then when the Falcons broke through it, it was over. It was the "Red Rover, Red Rover" version of special teams.

4) Lack of a mercy rule. Once again, a Panther game could have used one. If you watched every play of this one, you are a true junkie.

5) Pass defense. Matt Ryan dissected the Panthers -- again. That secondary is going to need some remaking this offseason.

Andrew Luck's biggest hit

Watch the above clip to see Andrew Luck delivers one of the hardest hits you will ever see a quarterback dish out.

I wrote a long piece on Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck for Sunday's newspaper and online that you can see here, trying to give Carolina Panther fans an inside look at the quarterback and his background in case he does end up declaring early for the NFL draft and becoming the Panthers' No.1 pick.

The piece mentions in a couple of places some punishing hits that Luck doled out -- one while he had the ball and was running and one when he tackled an opposing cornerback who had recovered a fumble. The first one is at the top of this blog -- the second one is here and also well worth a look as Luck runs over a California safety.

And if you're really wanting a deep look at Luck highlights, here's an 8-minute video Stanford put together about him as part of his Heisman Trophy candidacy (he finished second, to Auburn's Cam Newton).

Luck says that "99.999 percent" of the time quarterbacks are the ones who are taking the hits so he "relishes" the opportunity to give them out.

Of course, Luck is ultra-smart, too -- he has 350 variations of plays on the wristband he wears, and knows them all very well, his coaches say. He's 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, has a rocket arm... I could go on and on, and many people do. Everyone who comes to watch him says he's about as NFL-ready as they come.

But those hits? To me, they don't just mean Luck is big. They mean he's a football player, and the sort of leader that his teammates will follow anywhere. Some NFL team -- and I hope it is the Panthers, because it would be so darn interesting -- is going to be very lucky to get him.

Note to readers: I'm still in Florida, where I'm working on a story on Jim Harbaugh (a future candidate for the Panthers' coaching job?) that will come out in Monday's newspaper and online. I will not be blogging during the Panthers-Falcons game -- however, I will contribute a "5 things" blog at some point after the game.