The 1-4 Carolina Panthers are probably not going back to the Super Bowl this year. They aren’t going to win their division from the looks of it right now. Most likely they are not going to make the playoffs.

How did it come to this? Carolina’s crisis has many fathers, but more than any one individual, general manager Dave Gettleman is responsible. A series of offseason mistakes by Gettleman is haunting the 2016 Panthers. Here’s a review of the biggest ones.

1. The Josh Norman fiasco

Norman is far from the most lovable player in the NFL. Perhaps his personality played a role in the ugly divorce between himself and the franchise. The way that Norman has conducted himself off the field ever since has given plenty of ammunition for critics who say that Gettleman was right to get rid of him.

All that being said, it doesn’t change the fact that the Panthers have taken a rather large step back at cornerback. After five weeks, Norman is playing solid football for the Washington Redskins. Pro Football Focus has him ranked No. 7 at cornerback.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are scrambling to find viable options at corner. Benè Benwikere was a huge disappointment and was released, despite being a starter. Now Robert McClain is the elder statesman at the position, splitting time with three rookies Gettleman picked up in the draft.

Maybe some day James Bradberry can prove to be every bit as good as Norman. Maybe Daryl Worley will give Deion Sanders a run for his money. Right now though, Carolina’s secondary is considerably weaker than last season. The departure of Charles Tillman did not help, but letting Norman go is turning out to be one of the costliest mistakes in the NFL this offseason.

Rescinding Norman’s franchise tag was intended to send a message to agents and players who will do business with Gettleman in the future. It was also a rash move that opened the door for a cornerback disaster. The truth is that there was plenty of time left to work out a deal with Norman. If nothing else he could have been compelled to play under the franchise tag for just this season, buying the Panthers another shot at Super Bowl glory. Gettleman’s trigger-happy decision cost them one of the top cover men in the sport.

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2. Drafting the wrong positions

In every mock draft I ran for the Panthers last year at some point they picked a defensive end and an offensive tackle. This was not based on some crackpot theory, most draft analysts agreed that these were positions of need for Carolina and ones they would focus on.

The 2016 draft class was particularly deep at DE and OT, making it an ideal opportunity for Gettleman to re-load at a critical pair of positions that were lacking depth. Instead, Gettleman chose to pick a defensive tackle in the first round yet again, then triple down at cornerback.

First-round pick Vernon Butler looks like he could be a good player for the Panthers in the future, but an ankle injury has him on the bench currently. Zack Sanchez, one of the rookie cornerbacks, only recently found his way back to the team after being initially cut and put on Carolina’s practice squad.

Carolina wouldn’t have needed three corners if Gettleman had just been willing to put up with Norman’s nonsense for a few more weeks and hammer a deal out. That mistake bit the Panthers twice, in reality. In his panic to replace Norman, he missed out on a chance to add some insurance behind Kony Ealy, Charles Johnson, Michael Oher and Mike Remmers, all players that have suffered dramatic regressions in 2016.

If you can’t win on the edges in today’s NFL you aren’t going to win a lot of games, period. Failing to take a DE and an OT in this draft was an enormous misstep and one that has reared its ugly head in each loss.

3. Passiveness in free agency

Gettleman’s mistakes with Norman and draft assets could have been minimized if he’d been more aggressive in free agency. The major signings that the Panthers made this offseason were unambitious and once again failed to address the team’s most pressing personnel issues.

Adding veteran DT Paul Soliai for $3.5 million a year gave Carolina more depth in the trenches, but it did not fill the hole left at DE by Jared Allen’s retirement. Re-signing Johnson after releasing him may have saved a lot of cap room, but it also failed to bring in any fresh blood at the position. Johnson’s play fell off in 2015 and that trend has continued into this season, likely a good reason for how he was available at such a discount.

Gettleman has made a series of small signings and extensions but none of them have made a real impact. It could be argued that picking up DE Lavar Edwards during the season was the best free agency move he made this year and Edwards has only seen action in four games. Yet, he’s been the most productive member of the defensive line when it comes to pressuring the quarterback so far.

It could even be noted that Gettleman’s refusal to work with Kawann Short on a contract extension this offseason is another poor move. Though Short hasn’t lived up to the standard he set last season, some of that could be for a desire to remain healthy and cash in this offseason instead. Much like Norman, a failure to sign Short only to have him play well elsewhere could be especially damning for Gettleman.

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Keeping a championship contender team in the NFL together is neither easy or cheap. Gettleman did a fantastic job of taking the Panthers this far. However, it’s difficult to escape the feeling that his conservative methodology may have gotten the better of him this year.