Jonathan Jones looks at Tepper and Wilks

[Mr. Scot]

Jonathan Jones talks about what it will take for Steve Wilks to win the Panthers job alongside how the league views David Tepper.

Panthers owner David Tepper faces another uphill battle after another midseason coach fiting

Excerpts regarding Tepper:

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper is very likely to endeavor in his second head coach search in just four-plus years of ownership. Panthers fans should hope the search goes better than his Monday press conference.

Tepper spent the first 20 minutes of his half-hour presser navigating well the questions of why his seven-year, $62 million coach didn't work out. In the final 10 minutes, the hedge fund billionaire turned "aggressive, defensive and spiteful," according to one AFC team staffer, revealing his combative, sharp-elbowed nature that helped him get on the Forbes list but has soured his southern fanbase and many observers around the league.

"I heard dealing with him makes it hard to do your job," said one NFC personnel executive. "Similar to the press conference, dealing with that every day."

"Contrition is not a big trait of his," said a high-ranking club executive.

"He wears his frustrations on his sleeve," said a different high-ranking club executive, who gave the most charitable read of Tepper among the nearly dozen sources contacted by CBS Sports. "Introspective, humbling press conferences are not what you normally see in the NFL."

Said one agent: "Any [coach] with options will use him for leverage."

Edited October 15, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[Mr. Scot]

About Wilks:

Why is a coaching search inevitable for Tepper? Could the next permanent head coach of the Panthers be the current interim?

"No promises were made," Tepper said Monday. "But if he does an incredible job, he'd have to be considered for that."

...

Wilks is known for a warm but direct leadership style with his players. A Charlotte native, Wilks is in his second stint with the Panthers after having previously served as the defensive coordinator there in 2017. That same year the Rams interviewed him for their head coach opening that ultimately went to Sean McVay.

The Arizona Cardinals hired Wilks in 2018 to be their head coach. Sources have indicated he was strongly encouraged to hire Mike McCoy as offensive coordinator. The club went into the year with Sam Bradford as their starter and rookie Josh Rosen, taken 10th in the draft, as the backup. Bradford would never again play in the NFL after that season and Rosen was just released from his sixth team in five years. Wilks also had to navigate a training camp without GM Steve Keim, who was suspended for a July 2018 arrest of driving under the influence.

Wilks also oversaw a failed defensive overhaul where he attempted to take Arizona from a 3-4 defense and turn it into a 4-3 defense. Arizona went 3-13 that season and owner Michael Bidwill fired Wilks after just one year.

...

Wilks has since joined Brian Flores' discrimination lawsuit, claiming he was hired in Arizona as a "bridge coach." That lawsuit remains ongoing.

"I'm not going to really go down that road and talk about what's fair,'' Wilks said earlier this week when asked about his shot in Arizona.

He now has a 12-game audition to do an "incredible job" in Carolina.

[Jackie Lee]

I could see Wilks getting a full 2nd year with an offseason to get his own OC. Mainly because no desirable coaches want to walk into 2023 with 4 draft picks and no cap space. 2024 is wide open for a reset unless we get crazy with trades in the next 2 weeks

[WarPanthers89]

I like Wilks a lot, but I see no way that he can do an “incredible job” with what he has been handed. He still has to go with the playbooks we have, with the personnel decisions someone else made. Tepper will want a proven coach or a big NFL name this time.

Edited October 15, 2022 by WarPanthers89

[mrcompletely11]

Just now, Jackie Lee said:

I could see Wilks getting a full 2nd year with an offseason to get his own OC. Mainly because no desirable coaches want to walk into 2023 with 4 draft picks and no cap space. 2024 is wide open for a reset unless we get crazy with trades in the next 2 weeks

There are only 32 of these jobs in the world.  We have an owner that is going to spend money.  We are going to have coaches fighting for this job

[Mr. Scot]

13 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

There are only 32 of these jobs in the world.  We have an owner that is going to spend money.  We are going to have coaches fighting for this job

I wouldn't be so sure of that.

For one, when asked about the deal he gave Rhule, Tepper said he needed to "conform" more to standard coaching contracts. He's clearly aware of how much ill will that first contract caused. If he does that again, and blows it again, it just makes things that much worse.

Second, Jones confirmed what other sources have said about Tepper getting a rep around the league as someone you don't want to work for. The Panthers seem to be gaining the image of a place nobody wants to go. That could result in a situation where anybody who's actually any good and has other options will look somewhere else but, as the agent in the article mentioned, use Tepper for leverage.

We're starting to feel like the Raiders under an aging Al Davis.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[Jackie Lee]

11 minutes ago, mrcompletely11 said:

There are only 32 of these jobs in the world.  We have an owner that is going to spend money.  We are going to have coaches fighting for this job

Yeah, that's why I said desirable. I'm sure there'll be plenty of sideways moves kinda guys interested

[Mr. Scot]

14 minutes ago, WarPanthers89 said:

I like Wilks a lot, but I see no way that he can do an “incredible job” with what he has been handed. He still has to go with the playbooks we have, with the personnel decisions someone else made. Tepper will want a proven coach or a big NFL name this time.

He may want one, but can he get one?

He's already indicated that he won't offer the same kind of control he did Rhule. Pair that with the fact that he's getting a rep as a bad owner to work for, and your choices start becoming limited.

[Waldo]

My thing with Wilks his he doesn't bring anything of value to the offensive side and it would feel like just more of the same. We can get a damn good DC without trying, hell I would be more interested in Wilks as a DC is he can get jus that unit tightened up. 

Ron, Fox, whatever the fug Rhule was. Can we just get one coach that knows how to score and wants to do a lot of it? Maybe play some chess instead of tic-tac-toe we have had to sit through for years? 

[frankw]

42 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Said one agent: "Any [coach] with options will use him for leverage."

Well that's not good. It's looking like the other owners knew exactly what they were doing when Tepper got pushed to the front of the line when the Panthers went up for sale.

Edited October 15, 2022 by frankw

[Panthercougar68]

What other coaching spots are actually gonna be open this offseason? Half the NFL had a new coach within the last 2 years.

Washington and Houston?

Edited October 15, 2022 by Panthercougar68

[Jaxel]

Again, year over year it gets said "x is not a desirable job, no one will take it," and year over year said team gets their top 1 or 2 choice. I'm not worried in the least, we will get a good set of coaches to choose from, we just can't screw it up.

[Mr. Scot]

7 minutes ago, Panthercougar68 said:

What other coaching spots are actually gonna be open this offseason? Half the NFL had a new coach within the last 2 years.

Washington and Houston?

The Colts job is considered a strong possibility. Arizona is becoming increasingly possible too.

Speculation that the Lions job could open up but I wouldn't bet on it. Ditto the Broncos but with a new owner, who can say? Mike McCarthy could wind up on the outs also because Jerry Jones.

Beyond that, there's almost always at least one surprise firing.

Edited October 15, 2022 by Mr. Scot

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, Jaxel said:

Again, year over year it gets said "x is not a desirable job, no one will take it," and year over year said team gets their top 1 or 2 choice. I'm not worried in the least, we will get a good set of coaches to choose from, we just can't screw it up.

You think Lane Kiffin was the raiders top target?