Sackem90
Misplaced Panthers Fan
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It trips me out that our equipment guy is the one who turns in our picks to the podium. 
Trio prepares for annual trek
April 25, 2007
Brett Borden
Panthers.com
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Some time Friday morning, three members of the Carolina Panthers organization will board a plane, take off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, and then descend into the organized chaos that is the NFL Draft in New York.
While trips to The Big Apple almost always involve a little sightseeing, the triumvirate of Jackie Miles (team equipment manager), Don Toner (assistant equipment manager) and Jeff Mueller (video assistant) will be all business as they prepare to relay every selection from the Panthers War Room at Bank of America Stadium Saturday and Sunday. Fun is inviting, but fear trumps all.
“There are a lot of things that can happen that become NFL lore, so you don’t want to be the guy who screwed up at the draft,” said Miles, who has made every first round pick in team history. Yes, he’s the man who turned in the card with Julius Peppers’ name on it.
“I tell people jokingly that I’m the guy who picked Julius Peppers,” laughed Miles. “I’ll act all important as if I had something to do with it, but realistically I’m just relaying information.”
Sometimes, though, even relaying information can be a tricky process.
Like the time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were making their first round pick and instructed their man in New York to write a different name down on two different cards. When they finally decided on the right guy, their man turned in the wrong card.
Or the time when the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t get their first round pick in on time in 2003, a nightmare scenario that played out publicly on ESPN. Miles recalls telling the War Room back home to give him the Panthers pick ASAP.
“They were two picks ahead of us,” recalls Miles. “Jacksonville was in between and they rushed their pick up to the podium. So I started telling the guys back in Charlotte to get their pick ready because we could jump ahead of Minnesota just like Jacksonville did. This had never happened before, so I’m not sure everyone realized that. So we got Jordan Gross’ name up there just ahead of Minnesota, who also took a tackle (Bryant McKinnie). It got pretty hectic. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever witnessed on draft day.”
Another piece of NFL lore actually came from something that happened in the CFL. Word is that a Canadian team back in the day invested a pick on a player who had passed away three weeks prior to the draft. Ever since, teams have made sure that they got in touch with their draft choices before putting their names on the card. For a brief moment in 1997, the War Room in Charlotte was scared that it had become part of NFL lore itself.
“Kris Mangum was our seventh round pick that year,” recalled Miles. “The clock was winding down, and our guys were trying frantically to get in touch with Kris. They finally got a hold of him on his cell phone. He was driving in his car. So they tell me to turn the pick in. I turn it in, we’re off the clock, and then all of a sudden I’m hearing people yelling and screaming at me to get the pick back and not to turn it in. I’m telling them that the pick is in and it’s too late, and they’re going crazy on the other end. After all the confusion, I found out that they lost phone contact with Mangum and they were afraid his car had gone off the road.”
Thankfully, it hadn’t. A healthy Mangum arrived in Carolina and played 10 productive seasons with the Panthers, retiring this offseason. More often than not, the core of a team is made up of guys like Mangum who DON’T pose at the podium holding their new jersey for all to see. The first round is for show. The last six are for dough. That is when guys like Miles and Co. earn their keep at the Hilton.
“The first round is pretty slow with 15 minutes allowed per pick,” said Miles. “The second round speeds up to 10 minutes, and then the rest of the draft is five minutes per pick. That’s when it really becomes hectic. We’re constantly relaying information to Marty (Hurney), Foxy (John Fox) and Don Gregory, telling them how much time is left on the clock, what the picks are, who’s trading who and what the terms are. They’re back in the War Room taking players off their board. With each bit of information we give them, the scenario could change as far as our next pick.”
On top of that, Miles says the ESPN and NFL Network crews covering the draft only add to the chaos.
“The TV guys are right on top of you, and when you’re on the clock they are staring you right in the face with their camera,” he said. “They have reporters who will eavesdrop on conversations or just ask us what we’re thinking. That’s why we don’t really want to know more than we have to going in. There are teams out there who will throw false information out to those guys, but I prefer to let the guys back in the War Room do the speculating.”
Saturday is a long, long day. It can take 12 hours to complete, sometimes longer. But don’t think that Sunday is any easier.
“You would think Sunday would be more laid back, but it’s actually more hectic,” said Miles. “It starts earlier (11 a.m.) and there are just five minutes between every pick, so you have to be on top of your game and fresh. We take it pretty easy when we’re up there for that reason. It’s all business.”
For two equipment guys and a video guy back home, it’s a chance to see and be involved in another side of the operation. But it’s also a chance to become a part of NFL lore. For Miles, Toner and Mueller, they’ll take the former and pass on the latter, thank you.
Trio prepares for annual trek
April 25, 2007
Brett Borden
Panthers.com
Printer friendlyEmail this storyIncrease font sizeDecrease font sizePrevious ArticlesRSS
Some time Friday morning, three members of the Carolina Panthers organization will board a plane, take off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, and then descend into the organized chaos that is the NFL Draft in New York.
While trips to The Big Apple almost always involve a little sightseeing, the triumvirate of Jackie Miles (team equipment manager), Don Toner (assistant equipment manager) and Jeff Mueller (video assistant) will be all business as they prepare to relay every selection from the Panthers War Room at Bank of America Stadium Saturday and Sunday. Fun is inviting, but fear trumps all.
“There are a lot of things that can happen that become NFL lore, so you don’t want to be the guy who screwed up at the draft,” said Miles, who has made every first round pick in team history. Yes, he’s the man who turned in the card with Julius Peppers’ name on it.
“I tell people jokingly that I’m the guy who picked Julius Peppers,” laughed Miles. “I’ll act all important as if I had something to do with it, but realistically I’m just relaying information.”
Sometimes, though, even relaying information can be a tricky process.
Like the time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were making their first round pick and instructed their man in New York to write a different name down on two different cards. When they finally decided on the right guy, their man turned in the wrong card.
Or the time when the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t get their first round pick in on time in 2003, a nightmare scenario that played out publicly on ESPN. Miles recalls telling the War Room back home to give him the Panthers pick ASAP.
“They were two picks ahead of us,” recalls Miles. “Jacksonville was in between and they rushed their pick up to the podium. So I started telling the guys back in Charlotte to get their pick ready because we could jump ahead of Minnesota just like Jacksonville did. This had never happened before, so I’m not sure everyone realized that. So we got Jordan Gross’ name up there just ahead of Minnesota, who also took a tackle (Bryant McKinnie). It got pretty hectic. That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever witnessed on draft day.”
Another piece of NFL lore actually came from something that happened in the CFL. Word is that a Canadian team back in the day invested a pick on a player who had passed away three weeks prior to the draft. Ever since, teams have made sure that they got in touch with their draft choices before putting their names on the card. For a brief moment in 1997, the War Room in Charlotte was scared that it had become part of NFL lore itself.
“Kris Mangum was our seventh round pick that year,” recalled Miles. “The clock was winding down, and our guys were trying frantically to get in touch with Kris. They finally got a hold of him on his cell phone. He was driving in his car. So they tell me to turn the pick in. I turn it in, we’re off the clock, and then all of a sudden I’m hearing people yelling and screaming at me to get the pick back and not to turn it in. I’m telling them that the pick is in and it’s too late, and they’re going crazy on the other end. After all the confusion, I found out that they lost phone contact with Mangum and they were afraid his car had gone off the road.”
Thankfully, it hadn’t. A healthy Mangum arrived in Carolina and played 10 productive seasons with the Panthers, retiring this offseason. More often than not, the core of a team is made up of guys like Mangum who DON’T pose at the podium holding their new jersey for all to see. The first round is for show. The last six are for dough. That is when guys like Miles and Co. earn their keep at the Hilton.
“The first round is pretty slow with 15 minutes allowed per pick,” said Miles. “The second round speeds up to 10 minutes, and then the rest of the draft is five minutes per pick. That’s when it really becomes hectic. We’re constantly relaying information to Marty (Hurney), Foxy (John Fox) and Don Gregory, telling them how much time is left on the clock, what the picks are, who’s trading who and what the terms are. They’re back in the War Room taking players off their board. With each bit of information we give them, the scenario could change as far as our next pick.”
On top of that, Miles says the ESPN and NFL Network crews covering the draft only add to the chaos.
“The TV guys are right on top of you, and when you’re on the clock they are staring you right in the face with their camera,” he said. “They have reporters who will eavesdrop on conversations or just ask us what we’re thinking. That’s why we don’t really want to know more than we have to going in. There are teams out there who will throw false information out to those guys, but I prefer to let the guys back in the War Room do the speculating.”
Saturday is a long, long day. It can take 12 hours to complete, sometimes longer. But don’t think that Sunday is any easier.
“You would think Sunday would be more laid back, but it’s actually more hectic,” said Miles. “It starts earlier (11 a.m.) and there are just five minutes between every pick, so you have to be on top of your game and fresh. We take it pretty easy when we’re up there for that reason. It’s all business.”
For two equipment guys and a video guy back home, it’s a chance to see and be involved in another side of the operation. But it’s also a chance to become a part of NFL lore. For Miles, Toner and Mueller, they’ll take the former and pass on the latter, thank you.
