Also Monday, former South Carolina standout Travelle Wharton was hired to coach the offensive line.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Panthers will interview Marty Hurney, Jimmy Raye III and Lake Dawson for the team's general manager position.
Panthers team spokesman Steven Drummond says all three candidates will interview this week. Drummond said new chief operating officer Tina Becker is leading the search.
Hurney is currently the Panthers interim GM, but his contract expires June 30.
Raye is the vice president of the football operations and assistant GM with the Houston Texans. Dawson, a former NFL wide receiver, is the assistant director of college scouting with the Buffalo Bills. If either Raye or Dawson is hired, he would be the organization's first minority general manager.
Hurney, who previously worked for Carolina from 1998-2012 in a stint that included 11 years as general manager, is considered the frontrunner for the job.
Also on Monday, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera finalized his new-look coaching staff by hiring a former college head coach and an ex-Panthers offensive lineman.
Brady Hoke, who was 31-20 in four seasons as Michigan’s coach, will be the Panthers’ defensive line coach, and former Panther Travelle Wharton will coach the offensive line, team sources confirmed Monday to the Charlotte Observer's Joseph Person.
Wharton, 36, was the Panthers’ third-round pick in 2004 and played 10 seasons during two stints with Carolina before retiring in 2014. The former University of South Carolina standout returned to Columbia in 2015 as a quality control before getting promoted to offensive line coach midway through the season. He was a coaching intern for the Panthers in 2017.
Wharton replaces Ray Brown, who left with former defensive coordinator Steve Wilks for Arizona, and will work with longtime assistant John Matsko.
It’s the first NFL job for Hoke, who was Tennessee’s interim head coach for two games this past season after Butch Jones was fired.
The Charlotte Observer contributed to this report.