Fitterer got his foot in the door by trash talking David Tepper

[Mr. Scot]

Some insight into the GM hiring process from Albert Breer (MMQB)

Panthers owner David Tepper was all parts hedge-fund manager in his GM search. And here’s how to explain it: Tepper made clear to candidates, and those who were part of his search committee, that he wanted the GM hire to be a value add. In other words, after interviewing internal candidates, and having a year working with Matt Rhule, redundancy of skill set to people already in the building would be a strike against anyone.

That’s why, through the process, the team took a good hard look in places some weren’t, with cap/analytics candidates coming through (Cleveland’s Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kansas City’s Brandt Tilis interviewed, and Baltimore’s Nick Matteo turned down a shot to) with the normal scouting types.

So what does new GM Scott Fitterer add? One, he was on the ground floor in Seattle to see Pete Carroll’s college-to-the-NFL transition. Two, he worked in Carroll’s kingdom, with a coach who had a level power in personnel decisions (for what it’s worth, Carroll’s and Rhule’s styles have similarities, too). Three, he has a vast level of experience, spanning college and pro scouting, cap management and trades. And four, Fitterer got along easily with those in the room—which is why the process moved so fast.

In fact, one story from that time really encapsulates it. Fitterer had asked Rhule about developing and playing young players (a staple in early-Carroll Seattle). Rhule responded with example after example from last year of rookies and other young guys growing into big roles fast, and he then explained how important it was to him to maintain a “start-up mentality.” Tepper then jabbed at Rhule, saying the coach had stolen that phrasing from him. At which point Fitterer jumped in and deadpanned to Tepper, “And you stole it from Jeff Bezos.”

That brought the room down—and showed everyone the potential for chemistry there. And the best part is that the Panthers knew that was there quickly. Fitterer wasn’t in the first wave of interviews. Last weekend, after meeting with those internal candidates, Carolina decided to reset, and a request went in on Fitterer Sunday afternoon. Monday, he had his Zoom interview. Tuesday, he flew to Charlotte. Wednesday, he had his second interview. Thursday, he got the job. Which is a pretty good indication of how quickly an impression was made.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Mr. Scot

[Zod]

Good story. Likely earned him some respect. No one likes an ass kisser. 

[Charlotte_Sports_Hub]

Ballsy move. Probably a indication of his gm style. 

[thefuzz]

Nice, I would have done the same thing...would have slipped out before I could stop myself.

 

[Mr. Scot]

That did take some balls

Breer's piece actually a load of good info about the process here. That's just one that stood out to me.

Also have to say for Tepper to talk about not wanting "redundancy of skill set" only to wind up hiring a guy whose primary traits were evaluation based tells me he must have impressed the hell out of them.

Said it before: I want to learn how to interview from this guy.

[Move the Panthers to Raleigh]

I've been trash talking Tepper for awhile now. Should have hired me

[Sir Purr]

Your definition of trash talk must be different than mine. 

[Fox007]

6 minutes ago, Sir Purr said:

Your definition of trash talk must be different than mine. 

That's not even close to trash talking. That's basic generic ribbing/joking.

Edited January 18, 2021 by Fox007

[kungfoodude]

1 minute ago, Fox007 said:

That's not even close to trash talking. That basic generic ribbing/joking.

Yeah but not many employees have the sack to take that tact with a potential employer. You get a lot of deferential behavior and BS. Some of those types want a yes man.

That is why I generally go into most interviews not caring much or viewing it as what they have to offer me, rather than what I need to do to work there.

You'd be surprised how often that is successful. And, typically, the places it isn't aren't usually places I want to work anyway.

[Mr. Scot]

2 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Yeah but not many employees have the sack to take that tact with a potential employer. You get a lot of deferential behavior and BS. Some of those types want a yes man.

That is why I generally go into most interviews not caring much or viewing it as what they have to offer me, rather than what I need to do to work there.

You'd be surprised how often that is successful. And, typically, the places it isn't aren't usually places I want to work anyway.

You'll notice in the article that Fitterer was questioning Rhule about developing young players.

[kungfoodude]

Just now, Mr. Scot said:

You'll notice in the article that Fitterer was questioning Rhule about developing young players.

Yep. He probably viewed this as, "I don't need this job, so what do they have to offer that makes we WANT this job."

I almost always do that.

[Fox007]

9 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Yeah but not many employees have the sack to take that tact with a potential employer. You get a lot of deferential behavior and BS. Some of those types want a yes man.

That is why I generally go into most interviews not caring much or viewing it as what they have to offer me, rather than what I need to do to work there.

You'd be surprised how often that is successful. And, typically, the places it isn't aren't usually places I want to work anyway.

In every interview I've ever done it was most certainly loose and open. There has always been the opportunity to ask the interviewer questions...like where are you people interviewing at? I work at Booz Allen Hamilton as an engineer so hearing that type of poo is just basic to me. You always get to question your interviewer and tell jokes and poo.

Maybe other worse jobs are different?

[therealmjl]

43 minutes ago, Zod said:

Good story. Likely earned him some respect. No one likes an ass kisser. 

Marty Hurney would have probably been like 

"Oh, Mr. Tepper that is great! May I please jot this down and use it in the future? I'll be sure to quote you on it?"

[Mr. Scot]

5 minutes ago, kungfoodude said:

Yep. He probably viewed this as, "I don't need this job, so what do they have to offer that makes we WANT this job."

I almost always do that.

This was something like his third or fourth GM interview. He reportedly came in second to Joe Douglas for the Jets job.

You could definitely say he had reason to be confident.