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Luke Kuechly joining Panthers’ front office as pro scout

Miami Dolphins v Carolina Panthers CHARLOTTE, NC - NOVEMBER 13: Luke Kuechly #59 of the Carolina Panthers warms up before their game against the Miami Dolphins at Bank of America Stadium on November 13, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
(Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Carolina Panthers announced that retired linebacker Luke Kuechly has officially moved to the front office as a pro scout.

The job will include a lot of film watching, which is something Kuechly also did a lot of as a player. Now he will be doing it for players and coaches.

“During the season, it’ll be player evaluation and then advance scouting stuff. So if we play a team next week, we’ve got to get everything set up and ready to go, so when the coaches come in on Monday, they’re not starting from square one,” Kuechly said.

As a player, he was mostly studying ways to dissect an opponent’s possible game plan. Now Kuechly will be looking for other things.

“I think it’ll be different in the sense that we’re not necessarily looking for scheme as we are players,” Kuechly said. “Are the players good? What’s their skillset? What are they good at? What are they not good at?”

Kuechly played for the Carolina Panthers for eight seasons before retiring.

The role could be the first step on a front office ladder for Kuechly. But he’s not yet ready to commit that kind of climb.

“I’ve never really done anything like this, so I’m just going to take it a day at a time and see what I think,” Kuechly said. “I think it’ll be fun. It’s still going to be football. It’s still going to be around good people. That’s what matters.”

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