Whatever plan the Carolina Panthers had for the 2023 season, it blew up in their face. Now, they’re trying to clean the mess up, but that doesn’t seem possible.
Monday saw the organization move on from now-former head coach Frank Reich. The initial plan, which is unclear now, was that Reich would help develop the 2023 No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young into a franchise quarterback. Reich, of course, failed at this job as the Panthers floundered to a 1-10 record with Young resembling a bust. But as Young began to struggle, murmurs said that Reich himself didn’t actually want the young quarterback. He might have wanted the promising C.J. Stroud instead, but owner David Tepper shot him down.
With the Panthers reeling and rudderless, Tepper tried to clarify the situation with Reich and what lies ahead for Young. He also failed and only muddied the waters even more.
First off, while claiming people working for the Panthers liked Young, Tepper felt it necessary to describe what went into their draft decision. He effectively blamed the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears for not executing a trade that would’ve kept him from trading up to No. 1 overall. I’m sorry … why is he explaining this? What does it matter now, buddy?
#Panthers owner David Tepper confirms they were supposed to trade to No. 2 and take CJ Stroud because they believed Houston would've taken Bryce Young at No. 1.
Tepper says everyone in the building wanted Young.
"We are totally confident in that pick."pic.twitter.com/csmpxlkbig
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 28, 2023
Everyone knows that if you can’t make the expensive trade up to No. 2 overall, you should just go ahead and make the overzealous trade to No. 1. Talk about a horrific draft process. Setting that aside, when Tepper says everyone in the Panthers’ building wanted Young — does he mean everyone left in the Panthers’ building? I can’t tell if that’s present or past tense.
It doesn’t help that Reich reportedly didn’t want to adjust his offense for Young with more RPOs (which makes total sense with the listed 5-foot-10, 205-pound quarterback). That makes it seem more apparent he wanted a prototypical passer like Stroud:
A league source tells me that before Frank Reich was fired he was approached by the front office about incorporating more RPO plays into his game-plan to suit Bryce Young’s strengths.
Source told me Reich declined, saying it didn’t really fit his offensive system.
— Kyle Bailey (@KyleBaileyClub) November 28, 2023
OK. Let me try to wrap my head around this. (Twiddles fingers)
So, the Panthers really only traded up to No. 1 overall to draft Young because they didn’t want to wait on two other teams that would’ve helped them trade to No. 2 instead. Nonetheless, everyone in the building (or everyone remaining in the building) still wanted Young, who just got the dreaded midseason vote of confidence from the team owner after 10 whole starts.
Oh, and everyone with the Panthers’ coaching and scouting staff was unanimous on the selection. Maybe?
Panthers owner David Tepper was asked if it was true that Frank Reich wanted C.J. Stroud over Bryce Young.
"In the case of Bryce, it was almost- I believe it was a unanimous decision by the coaches and the scouts." pic.twitter.com/1AgYuNQarN
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) November 28, 2023
Not only does Tepper hesitate here before saying that he “believes” everyone loved Young, but he also wants to sell us on the idea that drafting the quarterback was a last-minute decision.
Right. Sure. That is rich. To me, in the spirit of the holiday season, that’s like asserting “Santa Claus” really does eat the milk and cookies children leave out for him on Christmas Eve. No one in their right mind is going to believe the Panthers, Tepper especially, couldn’t decide until the last minute about who they wanted at quarterback with the top pick. That decision was almost assuredly made in advance.
This entire Panthers situation is a gigantic mess. It reeks of an organization that saw an essential foundational year burst into flames thanks to an owner who seems way too involved in football operations. Maybe the Panthers are still entirely behind Young. Perhaps he’ll still have a successful NFL career, too. But nothing about Tepper’s press conference defending him and discussing what went wrong with Reich inspires any confidence.