Tag: David Tepper

Panthers owner David Tepper releases statement on Jerry Richardson’s passing

Panthers owner David Tepper released a statement regarding the passing of team founder Jerry Richardson on Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon, the Carolina Panthers announced the passing of team founder and former owner Jerry Richardson. With the news also came a statement from current owner David Tepper and wife Nicole, who thanked Richardson for what he had done for them and the organization.

The statement reads:

“Jerry Richardson’s contributions to professional football in the Carolinas are historic. With the arrival of the Panthers in 1995, he changed the landscape of sports in the region and gave NFL fans here a team to call their own. He was incredibly gracious to me when I purchased the team, and for that I am thankful. Nicole and I extend our deepest condolences to Rosalind, the entire Richardson family, and their loved ones. We wish them much peace and comfort.”

Richardson, after numerous accusations of workplace misconduct, sold the Panthers to Tepper back in 2018. The team went for a then NFL record $2.275 billion.

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Biggest takeaways from the Panthers’ combine media availability

Here are the biggest lessons we learned from Panthers GM Scott Fitterer and HC Frank Reich at the combine on Wednesday.

Did you happen to miss Wednesday’s action from the Carolina Panthers power duo of general manager Scott Fitterer and head coach Frank Reich? Well, we got you covered.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the team’s media availability at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine.

Panthers owner David Tepper present at meeting with free agent Derek Carr

Per NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, owner David Tepper was present during the Panthers’ meeting with free agent Derek Carr on Tuesday.

If the Carolina Panthers ultimately chose to make what’ll be a pretty expensive run at Derek Carr, then owner David Tepper should probably get a close-up look at the free-agent quarterback. So, he did.

According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, Tepper was present during the team’s meeting with the 31-year-old passer on Tuesday. Rapoport and colleague Tom Pelissero were the first to report on Carolina’s intentions to talk with Carr at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Ind.

Carr was released by the Las Vegas Raiders a little more than two weeks ago—on Valentine’s Day, to be exact. The former second-round pick spent nearly a decade with the organization, having recorded franchise records in passing yards (35,222) and passing touchdowns (217).

2022, although the final straw between Carr and Raiders, saw the ninth-year veteran earn his fourth career Pro Bowl nod. He finished the season with a 60.8-percent completion rate and 35,222 passing yards—both the lowest marks since his rookie year in 2014.

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Report: Panthers’ diverse hires partially motivated by compensation rules

According to MMQB’s Albert Breer, the Panthers’ hires of popular minority coaches were partially motivated by the NFL’s compensation rules regarding upward mobility.

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has helped build one of the most impressive and diverse coaching staffs in the NFL. But his intentions seemingly go far beyond the upcoming 2023 campaign.

In the latest set of his “Ten Takeaways,” MMQB senior NFL reporter Albert Breer highlighted Carolina’s journey in assembling its new braintrust—which happens to be the only one in the league to feature a Black offensive coordinator and a Black defensive coordinator. Breer notes that Tepper not only wanted to promote diversity on the sidelines, but was also motivated by the NFL’s compensation rules regarding the advancement of minority coaches—with the San Francisco 49ers as the model.

“Tepper, I’m told, took note of that,” Breer writes. “And it was a motivator—in addition to helping the cause of Black coaches—to focus the hiring of Reich’s staff, particularly at the higher levels of it, to diverse candidates with upward mobility. So after the Reich hire, Carolina zeroed in on Denver defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who was right there with Vic Fangio as the most sought-after prospective DC league-wide, and Eagles QBs coach Brian Johnson for coordinator jobs.

“They landed Evero, couldn’t quite get Johnson (who’s in line to be promoted to offensive coordinator in Philly) but wound up with well-regarded Rams assistant head coach Thomas Brown as OC instead. And, of course, the first reason to write big checks to get those guys is the belief that they’ll be first-class lieutenants for Reich, the way Nick Sirianni and Matt Eberflus were for him in Indianapolis.”

Since 2020, the 49ers have been rewarded with eight third-round compensatory picks after having their minority coaches or executives hired off by other teams for larger roles. So while San Francisco has seen Martin Mayhew, Robert Saleh, Mike McDaniel, Ran Carthon and DeMeco Ryans all move up in the ranks elsewhere—they’ve received quite a bit of payoff as a result.

As for the Panthers, Evero and Brown—who also interviewed for head-coaching jobs this winter—aren’t the only candidates who could advance with another organization in the near future. Assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley is another name to keep an eye on heading into 2024.

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Panthers HC Frank Reich praises owner David Tepper for financial backing

Panthers HC Frank Reich confirmed that owner David Tepper is putting his money where his mouth is.

We’ve told you that Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper isn’t messing around this offseason. But if you still don’t want to listen to us, then listen to head coach Frank Reich.

On Tuesday, Reich was asked how important Tepper’s financial backing has been in assembling an all-star coaching staff. And he made it clear that the billionaire has been putting his money where his mouth is.

“And to Mr. Tepper’s credit, he never flinched on that statement,” he said during his press conference. “He’s been around the block a few times in a few ways. That doesn’t mean it’s open checkbook. That just means we’re willing to do what it takes to get the right coaches and put the right team together.

“So it was a good checks and balance, but he backed up what he said—I can tell ya that. And we were able to compete against other teams who were vying for similar candidates where we came out on top because of that backing.”

Tepper’s resources most notably came into play for the hiring of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero. Evero, who had been drawing strong interest from the Minnesota Vikings and was not yet ruled out of the running for the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job, reportedly received quite the offer to come to Carolina.

In addition to their popular defensive play caller, the Panthers have also really turned heads by adding offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, quarterbacks coach Josh McCown assistant defensive backs coach DeAngelo Hall and senior assistant Jim Caldwell—just to name a few.

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Panthers owner David Tepper showing humility, urgency in coaching staff rebuild

With an already impressive coaching staff in tow, Panthers owner David Tepper is proving that he’s learned from his past and very costly mistakes.

It seems like they’re doing things a bit differently over at 800 South Mint Street, doesn’t?

Since the disastrous Matt Rhule era, one in which the organization took a big swing on an unproven college coach and the many promises he came with, it feels like the Carolina Panthers have already come a long way. And that progress can be attributed to the growth of owner David Tepper, who has developed and implemented a much more thorough hiring process this time around.

Learning from his past mistakes, the 65-year-old billionaire has pushed forward into 2023 with a meticulous approach in assembling a varied coaching staff. It became clear that Tepper acknowledged his own hubris, and allowed others to help him in landing on one of the most respected and established football coaches in the NFL in Frank Reich.

Then, after the Panthers got their leading man, the collaborative effort of Tepper, Reich and general manager Scott Fitterer proceeded to get them an eye-opening mix of more well-regarded veterans and promising young minds. They hit a high note on the addition of defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero, who had also previously interviewed for the team’s head-coaching vacancy.

In fact, Evero—even to the point when Carolina whisked him away—was still a head-coaching finalist for the Indianapolis Colts. So it’s clear that both sides left an impression on one another, and Tepper probably wasn’t shy in dishing out a premium contract for the popular 42-year-old.

Other respected coaches would then follow, with Detroit Lions assistant head coach and running backs coach Duce Staley hopping onboard. Although part of his move had to do with being closer to home, it does not take away from the fact that he is a talented and acclaimed teacher who could be on his way to a head-coaching gig of his own in due time.

Jim Caldwell, in another delightful surprise for the Panthers, joined as a senior assistant. Carolina seemingly sold their vision to the 68-year-old, who was reportedly only interested in head-coaching jobs earlier this offseason.

Now, there are two more important spots to fill—at the offensive coordinator post and under center. So, hopefully for the Panthers’ braintrust, they can continue to come together to finally solve those two longstanding problems.

And until then, keep enjoying the refreshing transition from Tepper and company—one void of bloated promises and a lack of accountability.

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Report: Frank Reich wasn’t on Panthers’ initial list of HC candidates

As detailed in a new report from MMQB’s Albert Breer, Frank Reich wasn’t even on the Panthers’ initial list of head coaching candidates.

Frank Reich ultimately became the favorite for the Carolina Panthers during their search for a new head coach. But it didn’t start out that way.

In his latest column, MMQB senior NFL reporter Albert Breer chronicled a bit of Carolina’s path to Reich—one that began with a ton of legwork and a small list of candidates. Breer writes:

“Through the fall, owner David Tepper’s research, as we’ve written in this space, focused largely on innovative offensive minds in general and young ones in particular. With 12 weeks of runway, the Panthers first list was short, and that was by design, with five names on there-former Lions and former Colts coach Jim Caldwell, Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Giants OC Mike Kafka, Eagles OC Shane Steichen and the incumbent Wilks.”

So, how did the eventual choice end up in consideration? Well, as Breer continues, their search got a little nudge from a television report.

“But there was a television report late in the season that he’d be considered for the Panthers job, which caused Carolina to double back on the work it had done on the former Colts coach, whom the search committee liked.

“GM Scott Fitterer pulled on his connections to Indy’s front office, including ties to GM Chris Ballard and assistant GM Ed Dodds (his former Seattle coworker), and those guys told him, ‘No, you gotta talk to him.'”

From there, and through the committee’s two rounds of interviews, Tepper asked his braintrust to rank their top five candidates. And as Breer added, Reich topped every single one of them.

Being that Reich is a man of faith, perhaps we can credit his hiring to some divine intervention . . . or just really good timing.

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Report: Some Panthers players believe David Tepper hired the wrong HC

According to PFN’s Adam Beasley, there are Panthers players who privately think the team made the wrong decision by not hiring Steve Wilks as their head coach.

There was no doubt many Carolina Panthers players were in strong support of Steve Wilks. But is there doubt about the move their higher-ups just made?

According to Pro Football Network NFL director Adam Beasley, there may very well be.

In a new report from Thursday, Beasley notes that there are some players who believe owner David Tepper and his braintrust made the wrong decision in not hiring Wilks as their permanent head coach.

“Put simply, there are players who privately think that David Tepper hired the wrong candidate,” he writes. “There’s a faction within the building that was rooting for interim coach Steve Wilks to get the job, and they were disappointed he did not.”

Numerous Panthers—including linebacker Shaq Thompson, defensive tackle Derrick Brown and center Bradley Bozeman—gave public endorsements for their interim head coach. Even former Panthers such as Thomas Davis, Tre Boston, Kurt Coleman and Torrey Smith vouched for the beloved Charlotte native.

Nonetheless, Carolina went with Frank Reich—who must now win over a locker room that will have its third different leader in a one-year span.

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Here’s why the Panthers and Matt Rhule are battling over buyout money

The Panthers reportedly believe Matt Rhule and Nebraska may have unreasonably backloaded their contract in an attempt to get David Tepper to dish out even more money.

We learned on Wednesday morning, through the reporting of CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, that Matt Rhule has filed an arbitration suit against the Carolina Panthers. The complaint alleges that the team is refusing to pay roughly $5 million of his severance compensation, which is a part of the buyout from this past season’s firing.

Well, Jones also noted that the Panthers are indeed refusing to pay Rhule—under the belief that he and the University of Nebraska are trying to get one over on owner David Tepper.

Rhule’s buyout entails a dollar-for-dollar credit against what’s left on his deal with Carolina. So—essentially—the less Nebraska pays, the more the Panthers will.

Being that Rhule’s new pact is considerably backloaded, Carolina will argue that Rhule and his new employer have finagled the terms to get Tepper to pay more upfront. Here, as mentioned by Jones, is the policy the Panthers will reference under reasonableness with new contracts.

“If the contract with the new club includes a substantial salary increase in new contract years, the Commissioner shall use the following as a guideline to determine the reasonableness of those increases: (i) if annual compensations is scheduled to increase by 20 percent or more for the new contract years, the prior club’s annual offset, if that club is entitled to an offset, shall be calculated based upon the employee’s average annual compensation during the entire term of contract.”

The eight-year deal with Nebraska, which has an annual average salary of $9.25 million, will pay Rhule just $5.5 million in his first year and eventually escalate up to $12.5 million.

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Panthers owner David Tepper vehemently defends team’s hiring practices

When asked about passing up on Steve Wilks, a fiery David Tepper provided a lengthy response in defending the diversity within the Panthers’ hiring practices.

Given the current disparity of African-American head coaches in the NFL and Steve Wilks’ prior history with the Arizona Cardinals, the Carolina Panthers certainly raised a few eyebrows when they hired Frank Reich.

On Tuesday, following Reich’s introductory press conference, owner David Tepper was asked about the diversity within the league—with a nod to him and his search committee passing up on Wilks. And, boy, his response was a fiery one.

“I think that you should look first at our executive team, and inside the building” Tepper said firmly. “And look at who we have in different positions inside our building. Our president is a woman. We have probably the most diverse executive team in the NFL right now. We have two African-Americans. We are probably a minority of white men on our executive team right now. That’s where it starts. That’s America. Okay, that’s the process. And that’s the process I’m talking about here.”

His process was questioned after the Panthers decided not to go with Wilks, who proved more than capable of leading a team in an inspiring interim tenure this past season. But it was, apparently, Reich’s offensive capabilities and impressive second interview that got him the job.

Tepper continued on how the NFL can head towards a more diverse future.

“You don’t want an old boys network,” he added. “The old boys network works all kinds of different ways. Unfortunately, in this case, it’s a detriment because most of the old boys were white. That should be your main focus—how do you break that old boys network? How do you break that process to get you that old boys network? You break the process by trying to get the best people possible in every role you can do.

“Whether it’s the new GC we hired, which happens to be an African American woman. Whether that happened to be Frank Reich, who’s a caucasian male. I don’t care who it is. Whether we go through offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator—who is the best person? Not whether you had a former relationship with them. Not who you knew. But who is that best person?”

Check out the full response here, courtesy of Carolina Blitz editor-in-chief Vashti Hurt:

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