Report: Panthers Pause Coaching Interviews After Walkes’s Death

The Charlotte FC defender died at the age of 25 in a boating accident in Miami.

Panthers and Charlotte FC owner David Tepper reportedly has paused any coaching interviews for the time being after Charlotte FC defender Anton Walkes died at age 25 in a boating accident in Miami on Wednesday.

The Panthers interview crew flew back to Charlotte from New York, where they were conducting coach interviews, to support mourning Charlotte FC players, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Walkes’s death has been “crushing” for everyone in the organization, Rapoport said.

The Panthers were scheduled to interview former Saints coach Sean Payton on Friday, but that now has been paused until an unknown time. Rapoport added that the team was also supposed to interview two defensive coordinators this week, but that also has been halted.

Walkes was found unconscious Wednesday after two vessels crashed at around 3 p.m., Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission told the Miami Herald. After receiving CPR, he was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition.

Walkes signed with Tottenham of the Premier League at age 16. He also played for League One’s Portsmouth and MLS’s Atlanta United before being selected by Charlotte in the 2021 MLS expansion draft. In ’22, he started in 21 games and made 23 appearances.