Carolina Panthers special teams coach Bruce DeHaven has stepped down as cancer continues
Bruce DeHaven
Sumner Newscow report — According to various media reports, Carolina Panthers special teams coach Bruce DeHaven has stepped down from his position and into an advisory role as his bout with cancer continues. DeHaven started his coaching career at Oxford High School in 1971 (see story here).
DeHaven, 67, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the spring of 2015. He left the team following its preseason game with Baltimore to continue treatment in Buffalo. Head coach Ron Rivera said the team is hoping to have him back by the home opener against the 49ers in Week 2. Thomas McGaughey, who was hired earlier this offseason as the new special teams assistant, has been elevated to lead special teams coach, while former linebacker Chase Blackburn has been named the team’s assistant special teams coach.
“The big thing more than anything else is he’s still battling and we’re all pulling and praying for Bruce,” Rivera said, via the Charlotte Observer. “I think a guy like him deserves the opportunity to still be part of what we’re doing.”
Rivera said DeHaven represents the team’s ‘Keep Pounding’ motto, which comes from the Sam Mills story.
