The Carolina Panthers will have versatility and growing pains on D. What’s next at MLB?

The Panthers’ defense received a face-lift over the course of the offseason. Even though the unit is filled with new names, both to Carolina and the NFL, defensive coordinator Phil Snow has seen it all.

Although this is his first time as a defensive coordinator in the NFL, he has been coaching football since 1976 when he started at Berkeley High School in California. His career has included a four-year stint with the Detroit Lions as a defensive assistant (2005) and linebackers coach (2006-08). This year, of course, will be unlike any other.

In a video conference with reporters Wednesday, Snow, 64, discussed a variety of topics surrounding the unusual offseason, including the fact that he hasn’t met about 97 percent of the players in person yet.

“This will be my 44th year coaching and there’s nothing like it. I mean people ask me about it and I said, ‘We haven’t been through this, coaches haven’t,’ ” Snow said.

The former Temple and Baylor defensive coordinator touched on a variety of topics during his call. Here are some key takeaways.

Versatility, versatility, versatility

Since coach Matt Rhule and Snow took over the Panthers’ defense earlier this year, versatility has been a key word used when describing the types of players who they would like to have on the Carolina roster. Over the course of free agency and the draft that became clear. However, it also pertains to using players already on the roster in new ways.

“When we talk about defensive backs, we tell them their DBs, they can play anywhere. Those are the type of guys we’re interested in,” Snow said. “I’ll give you an example. (Juston) Burris has also played nickel in the National Football League. So he has a lot of value, he can play back in the back row and play nickel.

“Jeremy Chinn, I think there were three guys in the draft like that, Jeremy being one of the three. There are going to be multiple things that we can do with him. We have Brian Burns. He is kind of a unique guy. He’s long, he can move, and you can do different things with him, so it’s important that we find players that can do more than one thing.”

The Panthers notably passed on Clemson linebacker Isaiah Simmons in the draft, who is known for his versatility, instead selecting Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown with the seventh overall pick due to his dominant talent on the defensive line. With the flexibility of moving someone like second-year player Burns, typically more of a defensive end, to a linebacker role, the Panthers feel that type of versatility is present in many ways on the roster.

Growing pains

After drafting seven defensive players, Snow did not shy away from the fact that the young defense, especially with a new secondary, will have a lot to learn throughout the year.

Instead, he said, bumps in the road are to be expected.

“There’s no substitute for experience ... the way we all learn is we get our butts kicked, right? In your business, our business. That’s how you learn. And so they’re going to go through some growing pains, but I think we hired the best guy to coach them in (defensive pass game coordinator/secondary coach) Jason Simmons,” Snow said. “If you look at Jason’s history, he’s taken a lot of good, young players and made them really successful, so I’m really excited.”

What will be an assist to the players with less experience is that a variety of players will get experience throughout the season, which Snow believes helps the team for the inevitable as well.

“What are some things you have to do to win? Well, you can’t give up big plays on defense, you got to create turnovers, you can’t turn the ball over on offense. You got to get explosive explosive plays on offense, but guys the number one thing you got to do is keep your team healthy,” Snow said. “That is the biggest thing between winning and losing at any level, especially in the National Football League, so why am I bringing that up? If a guy is playing over 1,000 reps, 1,200 reps, how long, how many seasons can he continue to do that? And so what we’ve always felt, is that if you are doing the things that it takes to do winning football, then why aren’t you playing? So we’ve always played more people than everybody else that we’ve played.

“And as the season goes, we are actually a better team late in the year, because we have kept guys fresher and more people have played. The other advantage it gives you when more people play, when a player goes down, it’s not a big deal. Now it is a big deal, injuries are always, but the next guy is plugged in, because he’s probably played some and you feel real comfortable.”

Worth noting

Snow also shared during the video conference that he enjoys coaching from the sidelines instead of the press box during games, in addition to a few other points worth keeping in mind.

Future at MLB linebacker: “Tahir Whitehead we brought in, and he’ll end up playing the “Mike,” but we have a lot of possibilities at linebacker. That’s the beauty of a Jeremy Chinn ... he can run, he could do a lot of different things. Can Shaq play the “Mike” backer in nickel? So we have some flexibility with our linebackers that I’m excited about. Now, some of the younger guys, I have not seen run around yet much on tape. So I don’t know yet.”

Players adding weight with a shift to different front: “Boys used to tell me (that) big guys beat up little guys, that’s why there’s weight classifications in boxing and wrestling, right? So, obviously, we want to try to get people at a size, keep developing, Burns has some room to develop. You know (Marquis) Haynes is thicker now. He’s gonna be probably around 240 pounds, is what he’s going to play at. But who knows Burns could be, who knows what he could be, right? ... (Rookie) Yetur (Gross-Matos), I don’t know how big he’s gonna be because he’s so young, and he’s 270 pounds, I don’t know how big is going to be, but we will try to get them as big but not lose the mobility.”

On players with star potential: “We have some first-rounders on defense. ... Burns is a first-rounder. We have Derrick Brown. ... I mean we have Shaq (Thompson) was a first-rounder. We have guys, Jeremy Chinn is a second-round player. The guys that have been drafted and we’re paying, (we’ve) got to get them to play. And now, there are also some, Tre Boston, who will play really solid for you and could make a Pro Bowl in the middle. I think Juston Burris is just coming into his own, so we have some guys. (Defensive end Stephen) Weatherly, I think he can become an elite pass rusher at this level.”