One of the most revered scribes in the game doesn’t seem to have much reverence for the current state of the Carolina Panthers.
NBC Sports’ Peter King recently lit up the struggling organization—more specifically, owner David Tepper. King, in his Week 14 edition of “Football Morning in America,” gave his opinion of The Athletic‘s scathing report about the team’s troubling culture.
He writes:
I think I’m assuming Joseph Person and Dianna Russini, reliable reporters, have the story nailed about there being a “Hunger Games” culture inside the Panthers, with various coaches/employees texting and talking to the owner, David Tepper, with scuttlebutt that was negative about Frank Reich. Two thoughts.
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One: An owner who actively engages with multiple employees in opposition to what the head coach is doing is a big part of the problem. It’s not the owner’s job to encourage employees to undercut the coach. It’s reprehensible that the owner would engage in or encourage that.
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Two: That franchise is a mess.
Person and Russini reported that Tepper had taken a very hands-on approach when dealing with Reich this season. One anecdote detailed an instance where Tepper, upon the suggestion of general manager Scott Fitterer and “others,” told Reich to fix quarterback Bryce Young’s footwork a few days before Thanksgiving.
Reich wouldn’t last much longer after that. The day following a lackluster loss to the Tennessee Titans, one Tepper was clearly upset about, Reich was dismissed.
King, in looking towards the future, continued with this:
I think there should be blinking lights to warn every coach who interviews for this Carolina head-coaching job: Beware. If you trust yourself, and if you trust that some other trustworthy, smart owner—unlike what there is in Charlotte—will want you one of these days, just walk on by. Wait.
The Panthers are set to embark on their second head-coaching search in as many seasons.
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