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Interim GM Hurney: I'm going to 'do what I think is best' for Panthers

George Gojkovich / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Marty Hurney may be taking over the Carolina Panthers' front office in an interim role, but he's coming in with the confidence of a full-time general manager.

The Panthers announced Hurney's return to the GM post Wednesday after he held the same position from 2002 to 2012. Hurney hasn't been working as an NFL executive since being fired by the club, but he believes he will be able to make an impact, even if he's only in Carolina temporarily.

"I would not come here if I did not think I could help in the interim," Hurney said Wednesday, according to his team's website. "I would not come here if I did not think I had the energy, the knowledge, the insight that it will take to help this organization.

"I can only do it one way; full bore, full go. I am interim, and I have that role, but I am going to attack it and do what I think is best for this organization."

Hurney believes he's a changed man - or at least a changed GM - since last working for the club. He had gotten the Panthers into a tough cap situation before his dismissal, though he says he's altered his approach after examining his mistakes.

"I bring a different perspective than I had before. I look at things differently now," Hurney said. "The biggest thing, making sure the analytical part of my brain takes over the emotional part of my brain. When you work so closely with people, you are going to create bonds. You are going to create loyalties. When I look back, and I look back at some of the mistakes, it might have been that the emotional part of my brain took over.

"What the great general managers do, the analytical part of their brain makes their decisions, not the emotional part."

Hurney's newfound approach sounds wise on paper, but it may lead to him staying with the team solely on an interim basis. While owner Jerry Richardson has yet to provide a reason for Dave Gettleman's firing Monday, former Panthers players have pointed to the former GM's lack of interpersonal skills and tendency to be overly analytical as potential reasons for the decision.

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