Mr. Scot

Very possible, and that's the vibe I get from Russini. But even if he waits and looks for a new GM next year, the same principle applies.

It fits in with the stories about how he's calling "too many people" for advice. For some, that might seem to indicate a lack of confidence, but that's not how I approach it. Just the opposite, in fact... I think Tepper believes that he mostly either knows what he's doing or can at least figure it out. He just needs a little advice here and there. Thus, rather than fully turn things over to someone else, he just asks a few questions to clarify his viewpoint and then moves on with what he feels like he knows to do. And like you said, truly dumb people tend not to know their dumb. But even worse, they often think they're smart.

Oh he still has a "180" option. (wrote about it in another thread)

No argument

Knowing our situation, and more specifically our reputation (re: David Tepper) It's understood that some of the best candidates for head coach - and potentially for GM - might use the Panthers as leverage for other jobs or simply avoid us altogether. That leaves us with a couple of potential options, the most obvious of which is to hire a second (or third) tier candidate. Another is a little more...complicated. The ego has landed It's well known that David Tepper is largely ego-driven. He's previously admitted that the Matt Rhule hire was his attempt to "show the league how it's done" and prove himself to be the smartest person in the room again. Likewise when he went to hire a general manager, his preferred candidates were all analytics types rather than traditional personnel scouts. (for the record, none of his suggested GM candidates even made it past the first round of interviews) But now one of those positions is open again, and the other one might be. That gives Tepper a chance to do things the right way this time. Unfortunately, it also provides him another shot to show everybody how smart he is That could mean Tepper's next hire(s) might be more about making headlines, and perhaps positioning himself as a hero, than getting the right person. The hero rides in On the head coaching side, one example would be Eric Bieniemy. He's been through numerous interviews and has supporters who've been saying all along that he deserves a head coaching job. Despite that, he's been repeatedly turned down...and some speculate there are good reasons why. But behold, off on the horizon, my word It's David Tepper riding in on a white horse to save the day and finally give Eric Bieniemy the job he's been waiting for all these years. Which is great, if his supporters are right. If it's the critics who are correct though, not so much. But again, who's really right or wrong might not matter so much as how it makes people feel about Tepper, even if it's only for a short time. It'd be similar to what he did with another Eric, specifically Eric Reid, when he signed him after his long-running feud with the league...to mixed (mostly negligible) results. But wait, there's more In the same vein, if the GM job were to open up then Tepper would have another chance to hire a non-traditional type that people could point to and say "what a bold choice". Or he could go an even more non-traditional route by hiring Catherine Raiche. The current Browns Assistant GM would be the league's first female general manager, and as such would make huge headlines and provide major "hero" vibes for Tepper. But would she be the best candidate? Don't know, but again that's not necessarily what matters. It's all about David Tepper looking good. Whether or not he actually is good is secondary. Splish splash It's been written about many times that David Tepper loves to make big splashes. That's what he did with Rhule. That's what he did with Reid. That's even what he did with Reich and the All-Star Staff for which no expense was spared. He could continue the thread of seeking big headlines (and apparent alliteration) with Raiche, or switch letters but keep the headlines using Bieniemy or someone else. That, or maybe he could do something else that starts with 'R' and actually go about doing it the Right way by removing himself and his ego from the equation and letting someone who's actually qualified (*cough* Kevin Colbert) to make these decisions handle things for him. That'd sure be great! ... Wouldn't exactly be in character though, would it?

Or he might just not want to sully his record coaching a crappy team as an interim.

Reich was doing some inexplicable things. I wouldn't argue that. Unfortunately, Tepper is the kind of guy who gets the wrong message even from good things.

Or otherwise... Mentioned in another thread that I could see Tepper offering the GM job to Browns executive Catherine Raiche, not necessarily because she's the best candidate (she may or may not be, I don't know) but because it would make headlines and help him look like a hero. Hiring an analytics type rather than a traditional personnel guy could also be an option. The same could be true of somebody like Eric Bieniemy. I don't really expect he'll be the best candidate available in the next cycle, but he could conceivably be one that would take the job. And then Tepper could crow about being the person who finally offered him the head coaching job people think he deserves. Tepper absolutely strikes me as someone who'd be willing to take a short term "feel good" bump for hiring someone, even if it meant getting a person who wasn't really the best option

I'm honestly a little scared of winning at this point. The reason? It might actually give David Tepper the impression that he did something smart.

Couple of those you'd be very unlikely to get... Peters is heir apparent to the 49ers job. Dodds already interviewed here and pulled himself out of the search. Ian Cunningham and Brandt Tillis also interviewed for jobs here previously. Kirchner is a longtime friend of Scott Fitterer (so is Morgan). Not sure how they'd view the job. Ryan Grigson was dog sh-t as Colts GM and might also be friends with Frank Reich. One name scares me a little bit for other reasons, Catherine Raiche. It's not that she scares me because she's female, but I don't really know that much about her career. My fear is if she gets a look here, It won't necessarily be because she's the best candidate but rather because Tepper would want to make a big splashy headline again by hiring the first female GM in the NFL. That's all well and good if she's truly great at her job. If it's for the sake of headlines, not so much. I don't know enough about her to say for sure... ...but I know plenty about Tepper, and what I know isn't good

The "sharks" that Jonathan Jones was referring to aren't likely to be young, up and coming coaches.

It's fair to point out that what he did but giving Matt Rhule the ridiculous contract he was given, Tepper has now also done for assistant coaches by being willing to "open the checkbook" in hiring Reich's staff. The other NFL owners that wanted him "in the club" might now be having some second thoughts about it

It's definitely possible.

He was going to have rookie struggles regardless. Nothing would prevent that. I'd agree he's developed some bad habits. They can conceivably be coaches out but it won't be easy.

Likely will at some point, though a lot of our situation is kind of up in the air at the moment.

Multiple people coming to the same hypothesis...

It'd be kinda silly to think you can keep much secret these days. There's already plenty of talk out there that working for Tepper is a sh-t assignment. Not likely any of this helps.

Been getting this feeling from stuff I've read, especially from Russini...

From Kaye:

From Adam Schefter, re: Scott Fitterer... It also remains uncertain who will help guide Tepper. The Panthers haven't given general manager Scott Fitterer any assurances that he will be retained, league sources said, though Carolina has intimated to some around the NFL that it would like to keep Fitterer. Even so, league sources believe Fitterer's future remains up in the air. Link

If it's from Staley (as is highly possible) it ain't good for us.

Not sure that'd make sense since none of those guys are likely to be here next year.

More here, but I haven't listened yet...

All I feel like I know for sure is he's gonna be mega-pissed at this story. And he should be, but not for the reasons that will likely trigger him.