Matt Rhule Admires the Extreme Work Ethic Tahir Whitehead Possesses
Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule has a past with several players that the team has signed in free agency this offseason, including linebacker Tahir Whitehead. The two were both at Temple together from 2008 to 2011 and formed a lasting bond that largely attributed to Whitehead signing with the Panthers. Rhule was only an offensive coordinator during Tahir’s time at Temple, but still managed to form a relationship with him and get a good glimpse of his true character and mentality both on and off the gridiron.
Establishing a defined culture is an essential task a first-year head coach has to undertake from day one with a new team. Matt Rhule needs guys on the roster that will contribute to the style of play, attitude, and mentality he requires his team to possess on a daily basis. If you get a few guys who own that type of mentality, it will become contagious and trickle down to the other men on the roster. Matt Rhule’s witnessed the mentality in Tahir Whitehead and recognizes how imperative a veteran like Whitehead is to the equation of a successful football team.
An event that occurred a few years after Whitehead left Temple that fully convinced Rhule of the extreme drive and work ethic Tahir Whitehead possessed. Watching HBO’s Hard Knocks last year - when Whitehead was a member of the Oakland Raiders - provided additional confirmation.
“The thing about Tahir Whitehead, I watched hard knocks last year and even watching him on hard knocks, is that this is a guy that’s an elite worker,” Rhule told Panthers’ media Wednesday. “I go back, I was a first-year head coach at Temple. We had a bunch of recruits in, we had a Saturday scrimmage and it’s Friday night. They’re from Pittsburgh so we’re showing them around the facility and it’s ten o’clock at night. I can hear the weight room and here’s Tahir getting a full workout in. He’s a second or third-year linebacker for the Detroit Lions, and he’s down in the weight room working out. I was like, ‘What are you doing here?’
“He’s just that driven and more than anything he’s going to bring that mindset to our football team. If you can get as many guys like that who are serious about football like Tahir is, I think you have something really special.”
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