In January of 2006, Carolina Panthers coach Matt Rhule jumped in his blue Chevy Impala for an eight-hour haul from Cullowhee, North Carolina, to Mobile, Alabama.
Like so many young coaches and prospective NFL front-office candidates, Rhule’s haul down Interstate 65 to the Senior Bowl is recalled as a rite of passage for attempting to break into the league. Rhule recalls crashing in the hotel of veteran coach Phil Snow, hop-scotching around Mobile from the practices to the restaurants with Pat Stewart and Jarrett Wishon, fellow staffers from Western Carolina, to rub elbows with NFL coaches and executives.