CHARLOTTE — In most contexts, losing four of your top six players in any statistical category would be a reason for extreme concern. In any sport, really.

But if the Panthers don't seem panicked about their special teams units right now, it's partially because change is endemic to special teams play, and coordinator Tracy Smith is not the kind to freak out anyway.

Between the transient nature of the kicking game and Smith's easygoing nature, the Panthers are taking a wait-and-see approach to this year's punt, kickoff, and coverage units. When game plans can change in an instant based on an unrelated injury or transaction for the offense or defense, worrying about turnover this time of the year seems counterproductive.

A year ago, the Panthers had several guys who were specialists, guys like Sam Franklin, Lonnie Johnson, and Feleipe Franks, players who didn't have regular roles on offense or defense but had made a living with their special-teams abilities. Along with cornerback Caleb Farley, they represented four of the 2024 team's top six in special teams tackles who are no longer here.

"We'll definitely miss those guys, but at the same time, it's a business, and you've got to keep moving forward with what we have," said backup linebacker and core special teamer Jon Rhattigan, who led the team in special teams tackles. "And I certainly like the pieces that we did retain, and obviously, just like every year, you've got young guys that are going to step up and guys that are certainly going to be able to fill that role.

"So, ultimately, you handle it with confidence in Tracy and (assistant special teams coach Daren) Bates and the coaching staff on top of what we were able to keep from last year. So you've just got to move forward, next man up."

There are still a couple of what you'd call veterans in that room, and Rhattigan and safety Nick Scott have to take on more of a leadership role in that area. But they've also spent enough time in the NFL, watching the way personnel in the special teams room is fluid from week to week. With one injury that takes out a starter, a backup Smith might be planning on having play on his four core units might be busy with another set of coaches that week or during a TV timeout, and there's no extended time to prepare for that.

So for now, having guys like Rhattigan and Scott is invaluable as they learn about a new wave of guys they'll be counting on for contributions.

"I mean, I think it's definitely in my role as one of the more experienced guys and somebody who was here last year to kind of aid those guys and hopefully accelerate their growth a little bit because that's exactly what we're doing," Scott said with a shrug. "I mean, you look at the guys who left, and that's a majority of our special teams tackles right there are out the door.

"So, naturally, like every year, guys are going to step up. There are going to be some guys we don't know about that start making some noise, and we're really excited about that. I plan on having a big role on that unit and having an impact there if I'm not on the field on defense, and so yeah, whatever I can do to help us get back to and better than where we were last year."

The most visible change might be on the punt team, where Franklin and Johnson have reputations around the league as two of the best gunners in the game. And the Panthers were fifth in the league in punt return average allowed.

But in a world of constant change, Scott was quick to point out that role could be covered by a guy like wide receiver Dan Chisena, a special teams staple in his days with the Vikings, Cardinals, and Ravens, who arrived here last October, and showed flashes of his extreme speed.

(It's also worth noting that when head coach Dave Canales talks about the battle for roster spots at receiver, he mentioned that the ties will go to guys who can contribute on special teams.)

"There's always going to be a guy that steps up, right?" Scott said. "When somebody leaves or somebody's role grows or something like that, there's a rookie sitting there who's probably never played most special teams in his life, but it's going to have a huge impact on his team. He's going to be really good. Special teams is just one of those things where, thankfully, it's something that you can learn a little bit quicker than an offense or defensive scheme so the expectation is whatever guys we put out there have to perform.

"I mean you talk about guys that we didn't get to see that much last year like Dan. Dan's been one of the best gunners in this league for a long time and just got to this team late and didn't necessarily have a role with with Sam and those guys out there, but he's a guy that we're going to plug and play that nobody's worried about because he's been doing it for six years. So guys like that, maybe Carolina doesn't know, or maybe we don't even know yet, rookies and stuff are going to step up and have a huge impact."

There's no shame in casual fans not being familiar with the Vikings' special teams personnel, but Scott said he's used to people underestimating guys such as him and Chisena.

"I even get it with myself different times throughout my career," Scott said with a laugh. "People are like, 'Why is Nick Scott here, da da da da da.' I'm like, dog, you know I'm one of the best special teams players in this league. Like, what are we talking about?

"So it's always funny to see guys talk about guys like myself, Dan, Sam, or any of those guys and just totally forget about this entire extremely important phase of football that guys that may not be big in name are really really good at, right? It's a little frustrating as a team to kind of get some of that disrespect or talk, but you know it comes with the territory and I just can't reiterate more of that we're really excited about the guys we have in this unit right now, and guys are going to step up and make plays, and I don't see us skipping a beat."

In general, the Panthers were better at coverage than returns last year, but they've shuffled the deck throughout special teams this offseason. Rookies Trevor Etienne and Jimmy Horn Jr. could end up returning kickoffs and punts, respectively, and oh, by the way, the Panthers also replaced veteran punter Johnny Hekker with veteran Sam Martin, and have an active kicking competition happening. They brought back long snapper JJ Jansen to build on his franchise-record 260 games played, but other that that, it's a very different meeting room, since they were intentional about mixing in guys who can contribute on both defense and special teams like Christian Rozeboom.

There's a lot of stuff happening here, but don't expect it to rattle Smith. For one, he grew up in the game (the son of longtime assistant Carl "Tater" Smith, who has been around long enough to be Jake Delhomme's quarterbacks coach in New Orleans in the 1990s, and also a mentor to Canales on the Seattle staffs of the 2010s). But Smith also has a deadpan sense of humor and an appreciation for the absurdity that comes with his job, which serves him well.

When he was asked about the Hekker to Martin transition, a swap of same-age punters, Smith just cracked: "I mean, 35 is my target age, just in general."

That was a joke. Not everybody got it at the time, and Smith kept it moving, which is kind of his style.

Those kinds of one-liners are familiar to Rhattigan, who spent three years with Smith in Seattle before coming here as a waiver claim last year. Rhattigan played at Army, so he's now used to hearing Smith deliver everything from next-level jokes to obscure references to military history in meetings, since he tailors his approach to each player who comes in. (Also, when he gets new guys, he makes sure to learn their names on Day 1 rather than just calling a guy Number 27 or 56 or whatever.)

"He's not really fazed by anything, and he's certainly a great teacher, but also just a great coach; he knows football so well," Rhattigan said. "He's ready for all situations, and that's another thing. It's not the biggest deal that we don't have that much continuity as other teams do on our special teams unit this year, because we're going to be able to make do with coaching and the experience that we do have.

"And he's very witty, very sharp. So it could be any given situation and it's usually very specific to who he's saying it to. He doesn't have these broad generalized comments. He's very quick-witted and everything's kind of individualized as to who he's saying it to, so he's very funny."

Smith's also not one to read too deeply into a lot of this at a philosophical level. Change happens; it's his job to deal with it. So he does.

"You know, no matter what age you are, every year football kind of renews itself and you just start from the beginning," Smith said. "So you make sure you can break down whatever you're doing structurally into the smallest possible pieces and try to teach the whole room. So that when you start moving the pieces around and like, hey, by the way, you've got to play left instead of right today, that you've kind of taught it in a basic enough way that all the stuff carries over as much as possible."

When you work in an environment where change is the only constant, that's the best way to teach.