Panthers part ways with Gettleman

Just over a week before training camp opens, the Carolina Panthers have no general manager. And no president.

The team that faded from a Super Bowl spot to a losing season in 2016 fired Dave Gettleman on Monday, eight days before the Panthers get down to preseason business. They already were without a team president after Danny Morrison resigned in February.

Owner Jerry Richardson said in a statement he made the decision after a long evaluation of the team’s football operations.

“I want to thank Dave for the role he played in our success over the past four seasons,” Richardson said. “While the timing of this decision is not ideal, a change is needed.”

The Panthers report to Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., on July 25 and have their first practice the next day.

Gettleman had been Carolina’s general manager for four seasons, when the Panthers went 43-26-1. Carolina was 6-10 last season, a year after reaching Super Bowl 50, where it lost to Denver. The Panthers had won the NFC South his first three years at the helm.

Richardson did not say who would be responsible for personnel in the interim.

Former assistant general manager Brandon Beane left in May to become Buffalo’s general manager, reuniting him with Sean McDermott, who was Carolina’s defensive coordinator for six seasons (201116).

Kirk Cousins will be the first quarterback in NFL history to play consecutive seasons on the franchise tag. Cousins and the Washington Redskins didn’t sign a longterm deal by the deadline. He will make $23.94 million on the franchise tag in 2017 after earning $19.95 million last year.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and star running back Le’Veon Bell failed to reach an agreement on a long-term contract, meaning Bell will play on a one-year tender this season. Pittsburgh placed the fran- chise tag on Bell in March and had until Monday afternoon to work out a new deal. Bell instead will make $12.1 million this season, the average of the five highest-paid running backs in the league.