BREAKING: Jake Peetz Leaving Carolina to Become OC at LSU
While the Panthers could be in the market for a new offensive coordinator in the near future, they are officially in the market for a new quarterbacks coach as Jake Peetz is leaving to become an offensive coordinator himself.
Jake Peetz, who just finished his second season in Carolina as a coach, and his first as quarterbacks coach, is headed, ironically, to Joe Brady's old stomping grounds, LSU, to become their new offensive coordinator. Brady was in control of the passing game during Joe Burrow's incredible 2019 season, but Peetz will get the opportunity to help run the entire offense in Baton Rouge. LSU made the official announcement Wednesday.
Peetz, who also coached the Panthers running backs in 2019, began his coaching career back in 2006, coaching safeties and special teams at Santa Barbara City College. He has also spent time in the college ranks with UCLA and Alabama and has coached in the NFL since 2012. His stops include Jacksonville, Washington, and Oakland before coming to Carolina in 2019 (with a stop back at Alabama in 2018).
The Panthers could likely remove the "assistant" tag from Matt Lombardi and name him the new quarterbacks coach for the Panthers. Lombardi, the son of longtime NFL executive Mike Lombardi, began his career as a scout with the Cleveland Browns in 2013 before coaching at Louisville for three years as an assistant. He joined Matt Rhule's staff at Baylor in 2017 as their Offensive Quality Control coach and spent two years there. After one season as Quality Control coach for the Miami Dolphins in 2019, Lombardi rejoined Matt Rhule and became Assistant Quarterbacks coach for the Panthers in 2020.
Offensive assistant DJ Mangas will also be heading to LSU and will be the team's passing game coordinator.
