Whither David Carr?

According to Sports Illustrated, he's in Carolina. That's probably a good spot for him; by week 6 when the erratic Jake Delhomme has already pissed a few fourth quarters down his leg and snatched defeat from the jaws of victory (or at least overtime) with wacky interceptions, North Carolinians will be wondering what David Carr could do.

AOL Fanhouse (picking up from the Houston Chronicle) notes that coaching might have been an issue holding Carr back. Andre Johnson said that

"I think (the problem) was the way he was coached my first couple of years here...He was pretty much just told where to throw the ball. And a lot of people didn't know that. He was never really taught to go through reads and stuff like that."

David Carr was drafted by an expansion team. The head coach was Dom Capers, who had never had a QB throw for 20 TDs. He was assisted by Chris Palmer, the same coach that helped Tim Couch blossom into an NFL bust.

Never underestimate coaching on the development of a quarterback. It's a thinking man's position, and if a 22 year old tries to play it without being tutored by good quarterback teachers, he will struggle. The struggles will amplify, and the QB might get blamed because of the bad habits he's developed and the lack of quarterbacking knowledge he's been taught. Look at most great quarterbacks, and you'll see a great quarterback teacher somewhere nearby. Think what Steve Walsh did for 3rd round pick Joe Montana, or how Mike Holmgren helped reign in Brett Favre's bad habits. If either Montana or Favre were coached early on by Dom Capers and Chris Palmer, they might have evolved to the level of mediocrity of Carr in Houston. The offensive line gets blamed a lot for Carr's struggles, but the coaching staff deserves as much, if not more, of the blame. He's never been awful, just mediocre, and so it seems with coaching he can be a good NFL quarterback. And maybe that means going to Seattle (the Houston Chronicle and the Charlotte Observer note that's another place he's visiting) and working with Mike Holmgren behind Matt Hasselbeck.

David Carr has also been linked in recent stories to the Miami Dolphins and the Oakland Raiders. According to the the South Florida Sun-Sentinal (via SI) and Inside Bay Area (via Rotowire), respectively, Randy Mueller of the Dolphins and Lane Kiffin of the Raiders both report that they've contacted Carr's agent.

So there is substance to David Carr potentially joining the Panthers, Seahawks, Raiders, or Dolphins, and all we've got regarding Carr and the Vikings is a "No comment."

A part of me hopes Carr signs somewhere soon so I can go back to not caring about him. Another part of me hopes he waits months to sign anywhere so I can hold the hope of the unknown. But I still think the Vikings should sign him--today.