Mr. Scot

Also, here's more from Greer on Dan Patrick's show...

Hire a guy like Kevin Colbert (preferably Colbert himself) to run the football operation, let that guy assess the organization from top to bottom and do whatever he recommends. Make no changes whatsoever until you have that guy in place.

Key passage: ...it sounds like what I’ve heard from others who’ve worked for Tepper—he’s taken his approach to running a hedge fund into the NFL world, in keeping his thumb on those who work for him and keeping heat on everyone to perform. And Reich is correct to say there are a lot of owners who don’t operate like that (a bunch don’t even live in the cities their teams play in and aren’t around the office much). I think it was Charles Robinson who previously said there were a lot of reports that Tepper was considered around the league as a difficult person to work for. Stories like this don't exactly help that reputation.

Albert Breer shared some insight into the current situation (posted elsewhere).

From Breer's latest mailbag... From JP (@Lilpopester): Do you think [Lions offensive coordinator] Ben Johnson pulled out because he knew Carolina would offer him, and he saw how controlling [David] Tepper is? No chance Scott [Fitterer] and Frank [Reich] both make it to next season. From Jason Green (@HeelofaPanther): You sure Frank keeps his job if the Panthers finish with two wins or less? JP and Jason, I’m taking both of you at once, because I wouldn’t have even considered that Frank Reich would be in jeopardy after a single year until I saw what he said Monday about where his relationship is with Carolina owner David Tepper. Take a look. “He wants to bring a winner to the Carolinas,” Reich said from the podium. “He wants it now. He pushes me, and pushes us, to that end. He wants to do whatever it takes, turn over every stone, churn it as much as he has to to produce winning football. So I appreciate those conversations. They’re always very challenging. He’s a super-competitive person. He’s not going to sit idly by. … “There’s different philosophies in ownership. Some owners kind of stay away and don’t engage a whole lot. Other owners do. And his philosophy is he’s gonna engage. And, listen, it’s only been a short experience, but it’s been a really good experience. It hasn’t been fun. It’s not fun. Those meetings aren’t—I wouldn’t characterize them as fun meetings. But those meetings make me better, and I trust they make us better.” First of all, I appreciate the honesty from Reich and a window into the unique partnerships owners have with their coaches. Second, it sounds like what I’ve heard from others who’ve worked for Tepper—he’s taken his approach to running a hedge fund into the NFL world, in keeping his thumb on those who work for him and keeping heat on everyone to perform. And Reich is correct to say there are a lot of owners who don’t operate like that (a bunch don’t even live in the cities their teams play in and aren’t around the office much). I generally think this is a good thing. I’ve long thought it was a strength of Patriots owner Robert Kraft that he didn’t abandon his business principles (a lot of owners do) in how he runs his football operation. It took six years for Kraft to home in on that and get it right, and a lot of other successful owners have to go through that process, too, a process that Tepper is in the midst of right now. Could Reich be collateral damage to Tepper figuring it out? I don’t think so, yet. But the fact that the coach is vocal about it means, to me, the situation down there, with an 0–5 team, is at least worth paying attention to. And by the way, no, Ben Johnson didn’t pull his name out of the Panthers’ search because he was leery of Tepper or GM Scott Fitterer. The timing simply wasn’t quite right, and Johnson had a really good situation in Detroit. Link: What we're hearing on NFL coaching changes in trade deadline targets

Nicole had a similar rapport with Stroud. He even referred to her as "Mama Tepp". I don't really buy into the idea that Nicole has any major influence on the team. To be honest, it isn't necessary. Her husband having influence is enough.

I'm not the sort of person who likes conspiracy theories, but there is a possibility there when you factor in narcissistic personality types. Jerry Jones interpreted the lack of success under Bill Parcells as evidence that his hands-on approach was just as good as allowing a football guy to run things. Likewise, it's not hard to imagine David Tepper seeing the mess that was made under Rhule as evidence that he needed to be more involved in the day-to-day operation rather than less involved. That's easily consistent with how Type-A personality people think.

Let's be clear on one thing though... Even if all of this turns out to be true, none of it means that Young is a bust. It's still way too early to say that, and there are still reasons to believe Young can become the franchise quarterback he was envisioned to be. The practical upshot of all this is not that Young is bad. Rather it's the Tepper is bad and needs to take his hands completely off the operation. But of course, we already knew that 🫥

There had been reports that Tepper liked Young. There had been reports that Reich liked Stroud. But up to now, there had not been any credible reports that Tepper actually influenced the decision. Such reports, however, have started to emerge. One thing you have to be clear on is that it's not necessarily being said that Tepper made the decision, just that he influenced it. There's a subtle difference between those things. Unfortunately though, the result is the same. What these stories have me thinking back to is Tepper's discussion of the dinner with Young. He raved about Young being able to break down a play that Reich brought up. If there's a moment we can point to where the decision was made in his mind, that may well be it. And if, after that moment, he did indeed exert undue influence...yeah, that's not good.

This year wasn't one of those years for anybody but Will Levis.

Not suggesting this as a preferred alternative, but it crossed my mind so I'm curious to people's thoughts... What if the suggested offer involved a first, an additional mid-round pick and Jahmyr Gibbs rather than Williams?

There's a lot of "what if" in this scenario. Granted, that's kind of the nature of the topic, but still...

Highly doubt you'd have gotten Stroud at third overall. Young and Stroud we're always going to go 1 and 2. It was just a matter of who they went to. Richardson's already on IR.

Lack of patience when it's needed can get you fired too

All reports were that came from McAdoo. Now if you wanna say trusting McAdoo was a mistake, is agree. Never really heard anything from the perspective of the scouts, but then you normally wouldn't.

At the ones where we're watching a football game, absolutely. Others? Not so much

Behind the scenes articles from multiple sources confirmed all QB decisions during his tenure were pretty much all made by Rhule. The lone exception: picking up Darnold's fifth year option was Fitterer's choice.

My answer to this is pretty simple... I couldn't. Hell, I doubt I could be a better GM than Marty Hurney and most Huddlers probably know how I feel about him. Even the personnel people who might be bad if their job still have tons more resources, training and experience than I'll ever have. I get the game (basically all hindsight, mind you) but that's my answer.

MLFootball and a few other Twitter accounts like it (NFLrums, for example) have been called out by real reporters like Albert Breer and others for stealing news without attribution and occasionally mixing that with items that are completely made up. They get reported, sometimes get taken down but then just come back with a new name.

FYI, Exorcist: Believer blows chunks.

I'd at least ask for a first and second, but honestly I think I'd want somebody other than Williams on the player end.

That's fair 🫥

You shouldn't assume that. The tweet quoted is from an account that makes sh-t up.

That's why I suggested Colbert. He and Tepper are known to be friends. I could be okay with someone else, but I feel like Kevin Colbert is the only realistic possibility that meets the qualifications.

(okay, one more thread) The Panthers are in a bad state right now, with no clear or obvious path to a successful future. Unfortunately, as all too often happens in the corporate world, the person primarily in charge of helping us find that path is the single least qualified individual in the entire organization. That's why my hope for the team to crawl out of its quagmire is one extremely important step... David Tepper needs to completely abstain from any and all current and future football decisions. That means hiring, that means firing, that means promoting, that means adjusting, that means reorganizing, that means deemphasizing, that means title changes, that means office assignments..all of it. I don't want to see a single decision made anywhere from the top of the food chain down to the newest scouting intern or the most lowly coaching assistant until someone genuinely qualified is put in charge of those choices. Obviously, I have my thoughts about what should be done and others have theirs. We may or may not agree on the specifics, but I'd say the one thing upon which we can have damn near universal agreement is that David Tepper should not be making those calls, and it goes without saying (or ought to, at least) that neither should Nicole. Bring in someone with a proven resumé of success, let them review the team from top to bottom and follow whatever recommendations they give. Tepper needs to take his hands completely off the reins and let them be given to that person before anything else happens. To be clear, we don't have to wait until the offseason to get this started either. Contractual situations might prevent the team from making an outside hire, but absolutely nothing (outside of his own ego) would prevent David Tepper from stepping back. That needs to happen right now and the correct decision maker can then be found as soon as its possible to bring them in. My wish list for who needs to fill that role has long included one name, Kevin Colbert. If it winds up being someone else though, as long as they have an equally proven track record (FYI: that's a short list) I'll sign on. Don't care who gets hired, fired or whatever as long as someone I trust is doing it. David Tepper is not that someone. Bottom Line: Be it major changes, minor tweaks or a complete overhaul, I'll support it as long as the recommendation comes from a guy who knows what they're doing. Find that guy and let him get to work.