David Tepper's impatience could cause some high caliber coaching candidates to stay away from the Panthers jobGetty Images
Panthers owner David Tepper spoke today following the firing of coach Frank Reich but "gave mostly non-answers" and "defended his actions as owner," according to Hank Lee of Charlotte-based WCNC-TV. Despite Reich being the third head coach that the Panthers have fired during the season since Tepper bought the team in 2018, Tepper said that the quick firing of Reich "isn't a reflection of his patience," as his "reputation away from this game is one for extreme patience" (WCNC.com, 11/28). YAHOO SPORTS' Jori Epstein writes Tepper was "defensive" and "downplayed reports that he meddled to force the trade-up" for QB Bryce Young (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/28). NBCSPORTS.com's Josh Alper write the "quick hook for Reich and the perception that Tepper has a heavy hand in football matters have led some to suggest that it will be more difficult for the Panthers to find their next head coach." But Tepper said "no" when asked if he thinks that’s the case (NBCSPORTS.com, 11/28). Charlotte-based WFNZ-FM's Kyle Bailey noted Tepper "wrapped up his press appearance after 13 minutes," with the assembled media "voicing their displeasure" with Panthers PR as he left the stage (X, 11/28).
QUICK TRIGGER: YAHOO SPORTS' Shalise Manza Young wrote Tepper has “shown himself to be the most impatient team owner” in the NFL in his relatively brief time owning the club. Special team coordinator Chris Tabor becomes the sixth man to be in charge of the Panthers on the field since Tepper bought the team just five years and six months ago. Charlotte FC's next coach will be its third following the firing of Christian Lattanzio, despite the fact the team has played all of two seasons. This kind of turnover “doesn’t make for a winning culture.” The Panthers are 30-63 during Tepper’s reign, and “Tepper’s tantrums” are “unlikely to attract head coaches of the highest caliber.” While there are only 32 of these jobs on the planet, at this rate, “only a man desperate to become a head coach and kowtow to Tepper's every whim would agree to work for him.” The only thing “Tempest Tepper” is winning is “the race to take the crown as the NFL's worst owner” now that Dan Snyder has vacated the title (YAHOO SPORTS, 11/27).
FROM THE HEAD DOWN: CBSSPORTS.com's Will Brinson wrote the Panthers “definitely have a David Tepper Problem” after the firing of Reich. The Panthers' “impetuous owner, a man who has shown a wild proclivity for firing people under his employ,” is exactly why Reich's dismissal “wasn't a surprising fire.” Reich “probably won’t be the last person” from the Charlotte-based “dumpster fire who gets canned” amid a seemingly non-stop churn of coaches, personnel men and quarterbacks. Under Tepper, the Panthers have become “The New Browns, which is not a good thing” (CBSSPORTS.com, 11/27).
LOOK IN THE MIRROR: In Charlotte, Scott Fowler in a front-page piece wrote Tepper “didn’t fire the person who is most responsible for this long run of chaos at Bank of America Stadium: Himself.” What yesterday showed again is that Tepper is “not only impatient, he’s not good at hiring head football coaches either.” A former Steelers minority owner, Tepper keeps “searching for his Mike Tomlin” but keeps picking the wrong guys. Or maybe Tepper himself “is the wrong guy.” The Panthers have had six straight losing seasons under Tepper’s umbrella. The team “doesn’t win, isn’t entertaining and plays in a stadium routinely taken over by opposing fans” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER,11/27). Also in Charlotte, Paige Masten wrote that under Tepper, the city is “losing more than just a whole lot of football games.” It is missing out on "something bigger and more intangible: the sense of joy, kinship and pride that sports teams can create in a community.” Masten wrote the "blame starts with ownership," as Tepper has "failed to give Charlotte a reason to believe in him or his team.” Masten: “The impulsive decision-making. The drama with the failed Rock Hill practice facility and the Eastland Mall project.” Over time, those bad headlines add up, and the fanbase’s hope is “slowly replaced by apathy” (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 11/27).
LOTS OF LAYERS: SI’s Conor Orr wrote that this is a “far more complicated story”, and one that begins with the single person whom Tepper “cannot fire nor blame for this mess.” Under Tepper’s watch, the “mismanagement of the roster and its draft equity” has “raised alarm bells elsewhere in the NFL.” This “would be easy to blame” on the current GM, Scott Fitterer, had Tepper not “shown the propensity to be involved early and often.” The Panthers “have only regressed” since Tepper purchased the club. Orr: “He is successful and smart enough that it stands to reason one day Carolina will be good again. One day, Tepper can blend his business successes into something that benefits the operation of a successful sports franchise. Until then, how many good people will fall under the bus?” (SI, 11/27).
A TOUGH SELL: USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell noted there are only 32 of these jobs available in the NFL and “you can be only so choosy,” but prospective candidates “need to seriously pay attention to the red flags.” That fact Reich was fired just 11 games into his tenure “reflects a mess that seemingly runs deeper than the Panthers’ 1-10 record.” What is “not in dispute is that this is on Tepper, too.” The Panthers owner “got what he wished for” with his choice of coach and quarterback, and it has “already blown up in his face.” And the conditions for the next coach will be “even tougher” (USA TODAY, 11/27). THE RINGER's Nora Princiotti wrote at this point, some of the best candidates “may be turned off by the apparent expectations of quick success.” Tepper is one of the richest owners in the sport, and “it’s a bad idea to underestimate the power of a blank check,” but whoever becomes the next full-time head coach of the Panthers “will inherit a weak roster, the smallest quarterback leaguewide who has been objectively bad in 2023, no first-round pick in 2024” and the knowledge that “the last guy didn’t last as long as Urban Meyer did in Jacksonville” (THE RINGER, 11/27).
GUESSING GAME: THE ATHLETIC’s Mike Jones wrote NFL owners “have no idea how to run their teams, and in general they’re awful when it comes to hiring head football coaches.” That is why we see so many “ill-fitting marriages, such fruitless efforts and short tenures.” There are some owners who “know how to evaluate talent or can identify potential coaches” with strong leadership, communication, organizational, motivational and strategic skills. But most owners are “nothing more than” billionaires playing “real-life fantasy football.” Jones: “They guess here, follow popular opinion there. Then they roll the dice and hope they’ve gotten it right. Tepper perfectly embodies the problem with NFL owners.” The highly successful hedge fund manager “had learned a little about the league” during nine years as a minority owner of the Steelers. But that knowledge “obviously was limited,” because in his six seasons as the Panthers’ majority owner, Carolina “has exhibited not one ounce of the stability and shrewd decision-making for which the Steelers are known” (THE ATHLETIC, 11/27).
