Tepper failed the Panthers, but room for improvement is there
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper is proving to be the worst owner in the NFL following a disastrous 2023 campaign in Charlotte.
The Panthers fired their third head coach since Tepper bought the team from Jerry Richardson in 2018, and the Panthers are yet to make the playoffs with Tepper in charge. Carolina struggled mightily this past season, ultimately leading to head coach Frank Reich being fired after a 1–10 start to his tenure. He became the first coach to be fired in back-to-back seasons since the merger in 1970.
Poor decision making left Carolina without its №1 overall pick in 2024 and now, the pressure’s on Tepper.
The Panthers went all in on 2023 №1 overall pick Bryce Young this past offseason, trading their ninth overall pick, 61st overall pick, 2024 first round pick, 2024 second round pick, 2025 second round pick and top receiver D.J. Moore in exchange for the №1 overall pick. Those picks have so far turned into Darnell Wright and Tyrique Stevenson, two major contributors for the Bears.
To make matters worse, the 2024 №1 overall pick gives Chicago the opportunity to select a potentially generational quarterback in Caleb Williams or to trade it for another huge haul. Of course, if Young becomes what he can be, none of this matters, but Tepper failed to provide Young with an infrastructure to succeed.
Trading Moore is the hardest pill to swallow for Carolina because the team has had lackluster play from their receivers outside of veteran Adam Thielen, who they added in free agency. Meanwhile, Moore is having a career year in Chicago with Justin Fields.
Tepper has botched several coaching decisions, like the aforementioned hiring of Reich as head coach. Reich should’ve never been hired following interim head coach Steve Wilks’ impressive job in 2022. Wilks came within one game of winning the NFC South last season. Instead of bringing in a new face, Wilks should’ve been given the promotion to head coach following his performance. Getting rid of Wilks despite endorsements from players was a bad move.
If Reich was going to be given the job, Tepper should’ve let Reich bring in coaches he was comfortable with instead of hiring a staff that hadn’t worked much together. However, Tepper hired the likes of Josh McCown and Duce Staley to join the staff, both of whom didn’t make it through the year.
Preceding the Reich and Wilks eras was the miserable Matt Rhule tenure. Rhule’s time in Charlotte was a failure because he didn’t develop consistency on the offensive side of the ball, with the team constantly cycling through starting quarterbacks. Rhule brought in franchise legend Cam Newton in 2021 to attempt to bring back a spark, but Newton recently said on his podcast “I was coaching the coach.” If Newton’s quote is 100% true, then it adds to the failure that was Rhule’s tenure.
Rhule also failed to develop left tackle Ikem Ekwonu, who has promise and was a consensus top offensive linemen in the 2022 NFL Draft. Ekwonu continues to be misused by being played at tackle despite being better suited for guard due to his size standing at six foot four inches tall and weighing roughly 320 pounds. As an offensive coach you should at least be able to develop offensive talent and utilize what you already have, but Rhule couldn’t and quickly lost the locker room in Carolina leading to his firing in 2022.
Rhule was a successful college coach with Baylor and Temple and became another example of a successful college head coach failing to achieve success in the NFL after going 11–27 in Carolina.
Tepper has a chance to redeem himself by nailing the hirings of Carolina’s next decision-makers and play-callers. Scott Fitterer survived two head coaches during his time in Charlotte but is now no more. Although Tepper is the main one responsible for hirings, Fitterer also had an input in the hiring process and the decision to sell their souls for the №1 overall pick in 2023. Fitterer was a mediocre talent evaluator, with none of his draft picks being really big hits.
The Panthers hired Tampa Bay offensive coordinator Dave Canales to be their next head coach and Dan Morgan to be their next general manager. Canales had a great season with Buccaneers and turned around Mayfield, who had his best season in the NFL under Canales in 2023. Morgan, meanwhile, was a former player in Carolina during the 2000s and during the franchise’s first Super Bowl appearance.
If Tepper believes Morgan and Canales are the right candidates for the job then Tepper needs to stop being a control freak about the team’s personnel and let these guys he hired do their jobs. Tepper needs to let the guys he put in place to make football decisions do them. Morgan and Canales have the potential, they just need Tepper to step aside. Tepper cannot dictate the personnel the team decides to bring in just because he owns the team. Tepper got famous from his hedge business, not football. Tepper just needs to step aside for the Panthers’ sake.
The Panthers have some key roster decisions to make coming up such as the contract statuses of defensive end Brian Burns, safety Jeremy Chinn, receiver D.J. Chark and linebacker Frankie Luvu. The Panthers are projected to have around $39 million which would be enough to extend Burns, who will be worth top dollar because Burns wants to be paid like stars T.J. Watt and Myles Garrett. If the Panthers are able to reach an agreement with Burns, they will have enough to either re-sign some players or bring in new talent to the offensive side of the ball. Carolina will not be able to afford any top-dollar player in free agency if they are able to reach an agreement with Burns.
If they fail to reach an agreement with Burns, receivers like Mike Evans, Tee Higgins, Marquise Brown, and Michael Pittman Jr. are scheduled to hit free agency and would be huge upgrades for Young to work with. The franchise could free up some cap space by restructuring right tackle Taylor Moton’s contract and this could give them the option to pay Burns and add another receiver in free agency.
The Panthers as of now own six draft picks, but none of them are first round picks. They will have the 33rd pick in the 2024 draft and a top third-round selection. The Panthers need to draft receivers for Young such as Texas’ Xavier Worthy or Oregon’s Troy Franklin, who are projected to be available on day two, and they should bolster their offensive line which gave up the second-most sacks this season only behind the New York Giants. If the team is unable to extend Burns, Chinn, Luvu or any of their other scheduled free agents then Carolina needs to be looking into drafting some defensive talent as well.
The Panthers also have a decision in 2024 of whether or not to extend budding star defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Brown has been exceptional since joining Carolina in 2020, but if the team gets desperate for future draft capital then Brown could be on the move and would be a major loss for this Panthers defense. Also if Tepper hires the right people then he could possibly remove himself from being by far the worst owner in the entire NFL, a title Tepper recently acquired from Commanders owner Daniel Snyder being forced to sell his franchise.
Carolina is in no position to compete for a playoff spot in 2024 or even in 2025 because of the talent and draft selections lost in the trade up to acquire Young. If Tepper’s coaching and management staff fail to succeed, it could continue to devastate the franchise and leave them without title hopes for years to come.
