| Carolina Panthers | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Title | President of football operations/general manager | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-12-19)December 19, 1978 (age 46) Coral Springs, Florida, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | J. P. Taravella(Coral Springs, Florida) | ||||||||||||
| College | Miami (FL) (1997–2000) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2001: 1st round, 11th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Position | Linebacker, No. 55 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
Playing | |||||||||||||
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |||||||||||||
Operations | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Executive profile atPro Football Reference | |||||||||||||
Daniel Thomas Morgan Jr. (born December 19, 1978) is an American professionalfootball executive and formerlinebacker who is the president of football operations andgeneral manager for theCarolina Panthers of theNational Football League (NFL). He previously served as the assistant general manager for the Panthers, the director of player personnel for theBuffalo Bills and the director of pro personnel for theSeattle Seahawks.
Morgan played in the NFL for seven seasons and playedcollege football for theMiami Hurricanes, earningunanimous All-American honors and winning multiple national awards. Morgan was drafted by theCarolina Panthers in the first round of the2001 NFL draft, and he earned aPro Bowl selection in2004.
Morgan was born inCoral Springs, Florida. He grew up playing football for the Clifton Heights Rams of the Bert Bell Football League nearPhiladelphia.[1] After playing freshman football atUpper Darby High School inUpper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, Morgan attendedJ. P. Taravella High School inCoral Springs, Florida. As asenior, he was an all-county pick attailback, linebacker, andstrong safety for the Taravella Trojans. As ajunior tailback, he rushed for 1,322 yards and 13touchdowns.
Morgan attended the University of Miami and played for theMiami Hurricanes football team from 1997 to 2000. He began his college career playing as a fullback, but was switched to weakside linebacker one week before the season started. He became the first freshman linebacker to start for the Hurricanes sinceRay Lewis in 1993. As a freshman, he was named second-team freshmanAll-American by theSporting News after posting 105tackles, threesacks, and one forcedfumble.
As a sophomore, he became the first sophomore team captain in team history, and made the All-Big East Team, after leading the team with 150 tackles. He was a finalist for theButkus Award and theNagurski Trophy as a junior, and was rewarded with a second-team All-Big East for collecting 139 tackles and 5 sacks. He finally captured both awards, as well as theBednarik Award, becoming the first player inNCAA history to win all three awards in a career (and the same year). He was recognized as a first-team All-Big East selection, the Big East Defensive Player of the Year, and a unanimous first-team All-American in 2000.[2] Upon graduating, Morgan held the Hurricanes' team and Big East conference records for most career tackles with 532.
Morgan was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.[citation needed]
Morgan was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round, with the 11th overall selection, in the2001 NFL draft.[3]
In the 2001 season, he started 11 games at weakside and strongside linebacker, posting 75 tackles, 1 sack, 1interception and 1 fumble recovery.[4]
In his second season, Morgan helped turn the Panthers from the worst defense in the2001 NFL season to the second-ranked defense, becoming the first team to make such an improvement in one season. Morgan was also an integral part of the Panthers defense that led the team toSuper Bowl XXXVIII, where he posted an NFL Super Bowl record 18 tackles (11 solo, 7 assists).[5] For the2004 NFL season, he collected 109 tackles, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, and five sacks en route to being named the starting linebacker for theNFC in the2004 Pro Bowl. In the2005 NFL season, he was second on the team in tackles, behindMarlon McCree.
On November 6, 2007, Morgan was placed oninjured reserve by the Panthers due to anankle injury.[6] The Panthers eventually released him on February 11, 2008.
Morgan was signed by the New Orleans Saints for the 2008 season. However, on May 19, 2008, Morgan announced his retirement from the NFL, citing the slow recovery of injuries, particularly a partially tornAchilles tendon suffered during the2007 season.
After sitting out the 2008 season, Morgan filed reinstatement papers with the NFL in 2009.[7] He worked out with the Saints through the off-season before retiring again following a calf muscle injury suffered during minicamp.[8]
Regular season
| Defense | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | Tack | Sack | FF | INT | TD | |
| 2001 | Carolina | NFL | 11 | 67 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2002 | Carolina | NFL | 8 | 53 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2003 | Carolina | NFL | 11 | 66 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Carolina | NFL | 12 | 101 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2005 | Carolina | NFL | 13 | 75 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2006 | Carolina | NFL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2007 | Carolina | NFL | 3 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Regular season totals | 59 | 386 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 0 | |||
Playoffs
| Defense | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | Tack | Sack | FR | INT | TD | |
| 2003-04 | Carolina | NFL | 4 | 57 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2005-06 | Carolina | NFL | 3 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Playoff totals | 7 | 71 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
In May 2018, Morgan was hired by theBuffalo Bills as their director of player personnel.[9]
On May 8, 2021, Morgan was hired by theCarolina Panthers to be their assistantgeneral manager.[10]
On January 22, 2024, the Panthers appointed Morgan as their president of football operations and general manager, replacingScott Fitterer.[11][12]