CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Dan Morgan was headed into an offseason planning session in Buffalo a few years ago when he fell on black ice in the parking lot. The then-director of player personnel for the Bills quickly jumped to his feet and looked around, hoping no one saw it.
Unfortunately for him a security camera captured the fall, and by the next day's meeting everyone from billionaire owner Terry Pegula to scouts were laughing about it.
But Morgan had the last laugh. He returned from lunch wearing a neck brace with assistant general manager Joe Schoen pushing him in a wheelchair. He joked about the Bills becoming the "Pegula and Morgan franchise.''
This is a side of Morgan, 45, few saw when he was an inside linebacker for the Carolina Panthers (2001-07). Most knew him as the no-nonsense player who set a Super Bowl record with 18 tackles in a 32-29 loss to Tom Brady and the New England Patriots 20 years ago.
But many believe the pairing of that trait with the tenacity that made him a great player will lead him to success as Carolina's new general manager and president of football operations.
"He's a ball-buster,'' said Bills general manager Brandon Beane, a member of the Carolina personnel department when Morgan was a player. "He's very serious, competitive. He's going to do it right.
"But he's a good guy to have on staff because he also has that side that helps when things aren't always going well.''
Many also believe Morgan's personality will be good for working with owner David Tepper, who is on his third general manager and fourth full-time head coach since 2019.
Multiple league sources familiar with the organization said over the past few months that Tepper, who has a reputation as a hands-on owner, should hire good football people and get out of the way to end the constant turnover and the Panthers' streak of six straight losing seasons. They agreed nobody standing up to the owner had become a problem.
Tepper apparently was listening.
Asked after the introduction of Morgan and new coach Dave Canales if he had time to answer questions, Tepper deadpanned, "No. I'm in the background now.''
"Dan's got that chip,'' said former Carolina head coach John Fox, who selected Morgan with the 11th pick of the 2011 draft. "He won't back down from nobody.''
Mike Trgovac, Carolina's defensive coordinator during the 2003 run to the Super Bowl, agreed.
"He's always respectful with it, but he believes what he believes,'' Trgovac said. "He would tell me, 'Coach, that s--- right there ain't working. It worked last week, but it ain't working for this game. Try something else.''
Beane has seen this side of Morgan as a player and in management, particularly in draft meetings with Pegula.
"Some of the things he would say, I would look at him sideways,'' he said. "That's the best thing about choosing Dan. No one is more comfortable in their own skin.
"So there is no doubt in my mind he will stand up to Tepper. He would do it to Terry, he would do it to [coach] Sean McDermott. I would laugh sometimes and say I guess that's what you do when you've got millions in the bank [from his days as a player].''
That Tepper promoted Morgan after firing general manager Scott Fitterer (who hired Morgan as assistant GM in 2021) spoke volumes to sources who followed the search. It suggested Tepper saw in Morgan the qualities they see.
That Morgan was part of the search for a new coach from the start and they hired Canales, whom Morgan knew from their years together with the Seattle Seahawks, also suggested Tepper is comfortable with Morgan's personality.
Beane believes Morgan and Canales will be a strong combination, just like he and McDermott became after leaving Carolina for Buffalo in 2017.
"It's just going to help them be aligned,'' he said. "It's so important, because everybody in the building is looking at them, including the owner.
"If they see cracks, that's when culture doesn't fit.''
Around the league, there's a feeling Morgan will be a stronger general manager than his predecessor for the same reason he was a Pro Bowl-caliber player for eight seasons before injuries ended his career early.
"Dan Morgan's a dawg,'' one source said. "He's done it. And those are the types of players he will be looking for.''
"Dawgs" were the first thing Morgan mentioned when asked what type of players he wanted for the Panthers, who are coming off an NFL-worst 2-15 season.
"We've got to get some guys that are passionate about football, that love football, that want to come out every day and compete on the practice field, in the weight room,'' he said. "We need competitors. ... We need some dawgs.''
Morgan was essentially describing himself and the players Fox kept when he took over the team in 2001 after a 1-15 season -- the type who helped Carolina reach the Super Bowl two years later.
Morgan showed the dawg in him to the fullest with his record-setting performance in Super Bowl XXXVIII. According to a team film study, Morgan actually topped the official tally of 18 tackles with 25.
"If they didn't get the block on him, he made the tackle because he knew exactly what plays were coming,'' Trgovac said. "As soon as he walked in the door here everybody respected Dan because they knew he put in the work.
"That's what he's going to be like as a GM. He's not one of those who is going to go through the motions. He's not one of those guys that's gonna say a lot of s--- you don't need to hear. But when he speaks, you better listen.''
Former Carolina wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, defensive end Mike Rucker and quarterback Jake Delhomme understand.
They particularly understood when Morgan said he wanted to make Bank of America Stadium a place opponents fear when they see the logo, just like they felt it was when they were teammates.
"Dan just had those steely eyes,'' Delhomme said. "It's almost like they would just stare right through your soul.''
The lighter side of Morgan didn't come until later, and it's helped his rise from scout to director of pro personnel to his current position. Beane saw another small sample of that recently at the Senior Bowl when Morgan turned to Schoen, now the general manager of the New York Giants, and with a straight face, asked who he was looking at for the No. 6 pick.
Joe Schoen mic'd up at Shrine & Senior Bowl 🎙️
— New York Giants (@Giants) February 6, 2024
Watch: https://t.co/HcsZthYsMm pic.twitter.com/sHK9jQvko0
"He's still very serious, but he does bring a great humor to meetings,'' Beane said. "He's one of those in the room that when sometimes you can feel the tension, he will drop a line.
"But most of all he wants to win, and he will do everything to make that happen.''