Person: Reevaluating David Tepper

[Mr. Scot]

In his latest piece for The Athletic, Joe Person takes a look at David Tepper's role in both the recent coaching search and the process of Frank Reich building his staff in an effort to see whether it's worth reconsidering the at-times overwhelmingly negative image fans have had of the Panthers owner.

Panthers owner David Tepper has stepped in it of late, but delivered on this promise

(kudos to Joe for the title here)

Excerpts, interspersed with some of my own commentary:

(G)ive Tepper credit for putting his money where his mouth was to help Frank Reich build arguably the NFL’s most power-packed coaching staff, one that’s drawn universal praise in league circles.

Tepper, the hedge fund manager whose net worth grew to $18.5 billion after the pandemic, has pointed out previously there’s no salary cap for coaches. Then he proved it, bankrolling a staff that includes two former head coaches (Jim Caldwell, Dom Capers), several former players (including Reich, Josh McCown and DeAngelo Hall) and two guys (Caldwell, Ejiro Evero) who interviewed for Reich’s job.

In the case of Evero, the Panthers outbid Minnesota for the ex-Broncos defensive coordinator. Reich indicated that was not the only instance where Tepper’s money sealed the deal.

Person starts off by chronicling the various failures that led to Tepper being what he calls "persona non grata" in the Charlotte area (I won't rehash them here) before talking about the staffing process. Evero is once again mentioned as being somebody that we "outbid' another team to get.

For his part, Reich did say It wasn't a 'blank check' type situation, but credits Tepper's "no salary cap for coaches" approach with giving them the ability to compete for some guys that had multiple opportunities...and win.

...

Tepper is a hands-on owner who spends a lot of time around the football offices. He helped persuade Ron Rivera to switch to a 3-4 defense before the 2019 season. His hesitation on Matthew Stafford — Tepper reportedly wanted more background on Stafford’s back injury — gave the Rams time to swoop and trade for the Lions’ quarterback. Tepper drove the Panthers’ interest in Deshaun Watson last year, a failed pursuit that cost them a chance to re-sign Haason Reddick.

But at least in terms of putting together his staff, Reich was OK with Tepper’s involvement.

“Mr. Tepper’s involvement was not intrusive, but was strong in the right way,” Reich said. “That’s been a pretty cool experience.”

Interesting to see the description of Tepper as "a hands-on owner who spends a lot of time around the football offices. Reich is quick to mention though that he's not "intrusive" in the process.

Sounds like Tepper might now have found a good balance on that front.

I'd add you've gotta figure there's a lot to unpack in Reich's "pretty cool experience" comment regarding old boss Jim Irsay (and Person does just a little) but Reich doesn't seem like the type of guy who'd get too deep into that topic. He's previously been offered the chance to take a shot at Irsay but instead took responsibility himself for any issues with his Colts tenure.

(how much of that is genuinely deserved is something you can judge for yourself)

...

After admitting he ran a poor search three years ago before hiring Rhule, Tepper kept expanding his candidates list this time and sat in on every interview. Reich impressed Tepper and general manager Scott Fitterer with an extensive list of candidates for his staff positions.

Besides encouraging Reich to keep special teams coordinator Chris Tabor and offensive line coaches James Campen and Robert Kugler, Tepper also nudged Reich to go outside his “circle” with some of his other hires. Reich had not worked with Evero or offensive coordinator Thomas Brown, both of whom interviewed for head-coaching opportunities this cycle.

“(Tepper) has been involved in everything from Day 1. ‘Have you thought about this guy?’” Reich said. “What I’ve loved about how Mr. Tepper has approached it — whether it was a guy who he might have mentioned or a guy he didn’t mention — he’s doing his own vetting. And then we’re talking about it, and so is Scott.

We've talked regarding Tepper's admission (of what was arguably obvious) before. So glad he now sees that for what it was.

Also noteworthy is that the Panthers and Reich kinda followed Brian Daboll's example of going outside the circle of acquaintances when looking for the best assistants. I say "kinda" because part of me thinks it had as much or more to do with just not doing things the way Matt Rhule did them as anything else.

Side Note: Reich has referred to Scott Fitterer numerous times in his early statements. Sounds like those two are likely going to have a good working relationship.

...

The result was a well-regarded — and well-compensated — staff that includes a diverse mix of young and old, White and Black, and experienced and first-time coaches. While Tepper was criticized for not promoting interim coach Steve Wilks, the Panthers are the only team with Black offensive and defensive coordinators.

Assembling a good staff is just the first piece of the puzzle. The Panthers need more impact players, starting at quarterback. And while Reich and Tepper are still in the honeymoon phase, the early signs are encouraging.

Caldwell, the 68-year-old, former head coach in Indianapolis and Detroit, laughed Tuesday when asked about Tepper, saying he tries to avoid “examining my boss.”

If one of my bosses had been Jim Irsay, I'd do that too

Two catchphrases I've heard a lot from Reich so far are "diversity of thought" and "consistency of excellence". While those might not rival the beauty and complexity of things like "The Process', "The Brand" and "OOU", they can at least be described as less esoteric in nature.

...

“I can just tell you that my initial impression of him (is) a very good man, really serious about making certain that it’s a great product here,” Caldwell added. “Wants to win in the worst way. A great guy to be around, but he’s driven.”

Got a feeling that's not the first time someone has called David Tepper "driven"

The bottom line here though is that Person paints a picture of a guy who's learned from his mistakes.

A while back, Charles Robinson mentioned Tepper having earned a rep for being hard to work for. It's also known that Tepper is someone who's very conscious of how he's seen in the media so you'd have to expect that didn't escape his notice.

At least for now though, Tepper seems to have found a much better balance between "hands-on" and "intrusive". He's actually letting the football people do their job...

(which is all that many of us wanted)

...

Some additional notes from Person:

• At Reich’s introductory presser, it seemed contradictory that Tepper talked about moving away from a CEO-type coach in favor of someone with an offensive or defensive expertise, while Reich left open the possibility someone else might call the offensive plays. Maybe that would have been the case if the Panthers hired someone like Brian Johnson as offensive coordinator. Instead, Reich will call the offense while leaning on Brown, the former Rams assistant head coach who was the primary play caller for three years at the University of Miami.

Having looked at both their resumés, I'm not so sure I agree with Person that Brian Johnson's would warrant more leeway way to call plays than Brown. That's his opinion though

...

• Reich already has given thought to who would succeed Brown or Evero if they’re hired as head coaches, which would bring the Panthers’ a pair of third-round draft picks (for each instance) under Rooney Rule incentives. Reich believes Tabor also could be in the mix for head-coaching jobs.

“All three of our coordinators are and are gonna be legit head-coaching candidates, so you have to think (of successors),” he said. “It would be foolish not to think that (way).”

Jourdan Rodrigue described it as a pipeline. Someone else on here evoked the image of a football university. But regardless of your preferred metaphor, I love the approach. I think it could potentially put us in really good standing for something Panther fans have been craving since the beginning: sustained success.

...

• Reich said he wasn’t ready to say whether the Panthers will bring free agent quarterback Derek Carr in for a visit because he and his staff have just started evaluating players. Carr, whose brother, David, played a season in Carolina, has already visited the Saints and Jets. Given Fitterer’s “in on every deal” philosophy, it would not be surprising if the Panthers at least kicked the tires on Carr, who turns 32 next month.

Plenty of discussion on this topic already, but Person's take on it is pretty reasonable, similar to what Will Kunkel said yesterday.

...

As an aside, I've criticized Person for what I considered some lazy writing in a few of his recent articles, but I have no such criticism of this one. It's a good piece.

Kudos

[csx]

Glad they didn't trade for Stafford. Plenty of valid criticisms but that was a good thing to be concerned about. They weren't winning too much more with Stafford anyway.

Reluctance to go all out for him or Watson were not losing out.....0 for 2....or whatever people said. It was being prudent.

Edited February 22, 2023 by csx

[Mr. Scot]

11 minutes ago, csx said:

Glad they didn't trade for Stafford. Plenty of valid criticisms but that was a good thing to be concerned about. They weren't winning too much more with Stafford anyway.

Reluctance to go all out for him or Watson were not losing out.....0 for 2....or whatever people said. It was being prudent.

I was never sad that we lost out on Watson.

[onmyown]

Maybe I’m old school but he’s a garbage owner until results say otherwise.
 

Feelings and money are just wonderful, results are better.

[Mage]

47 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

 Reich already has given thought to who would succeed Brown or Evero if they’re hired as head coaches, which would bring the Panthers’ a pair of third-round draft picks (for each instance) under Rooney Rule incentives. 

Just to clarify, this is only true if they are here for at least the 2023 and 2024 seasons.  

[TJKJ23xx]

37 minutes ago, onmyown said:

Maybe I’m old school but he’s a garbage owner until results say otherwise.
 

Feelings and money are just wonderful, results are better.

Not every owner has won or even tried to win a SB some legit just treat it like a business venture. Tepper has done a lot to try to get a SB people who think otherwise are just resentful from years of missing out. Give the man a fair shot at trying, yes he fuged up with Rhule but you learn from your mistakes. Y'all sure didnt have this much energy for Massa Richardson.

[top dawg]

31 minutes ago, onmyown said:

Maybe I’m old school but he’s a garbage owner until results say otherwise.
 

Feelings and money are just wonderful, results are better.

That's really a tough bar, as well as a colorful description. 

Won't you even concede that Tepper has reaped good results in the coaching search? NFL types are saying that we have an excellent staff.

On an off note, we even tried to get analyst Dan Orlovsky. That's hilarious. 

[KatsAzz]

10 minutes ago, TJKJ23xx said:

Not every owner has won or even tried to win a SB some legit just treat it like a business venture. Tepper has done a lot to try to get a SB people who think otherwise are just resentful from years of missing out. Give the man a fair shot at trying, yes he fuged up with Rhule but you learn from your mistakes. Y'all sure didnt have this much energy for Massa Richardson.

The main improvement I like pertaining to Tepper was stated in this article as follows:

 ("At least for now though, Tepper seems to have found a much better balance between "hands-on" and "intrusive". He's actually letting the football people do their job.").

[KSpan]

44 minutes ago, top dawg said:

That's really a tough bar, as well as a colorful description. 

Won't you even concede that Tepper has reaped good results in the coaching search? NFL types are saying that we have an excellent staff.

On an off note, we even tried to get analyst Dan Orlovsky. That's hilarious. 

NFL types were saying that Rhule was a hot candidate too. I get the sentiment and this sure appears night and day different from that debacle, but what happens on the field is what matters. I'll give Tepper some credit for not being a dumbass in this search but that's as far as it goes at the moment... dude has a deep hole to dig out of before being 're-evaluated'.

Edited February 22, 2023 by KSpan

[top dawg]

1 minute ago, KSpan said:

NFL types were saying that Rhule was a hot candidate too. I get the sentiment and this sure appears night and day different from that debacle, but what happens on the field is what matters. I'll give Tepper some credit for not being a dumbass in this search but that's as far as it goes at the moment... dude has a deep hole to dig out of before being 're-evaluated'.

Being a hot candidate from the college ranks, and being respected in NFL circles for your knowledge and experience in the league are really two different things. But, point taken: all this is nice on paper, but it's the results on the field that will tell the story. I at least respect the way that Tepper has started the new chapter. 

[Mr. Scot]

I can't say what Rhule's reputation within the NFL was at the time, but from what I've read it sounds like most of the "hype" came from the media.

I guess that coupled with some meatballs gets you 63 million.

[ickmule]

20 hours ago, onmyown said:

Maybe I’m old school but he’s a garbage owner until results say otherwise.
 

Feelings and money are just wonderful, results are better.

Yep. I’m waiting to see how this turns out and his future decision making. I’m optimistic but not going to get excited just yet. 

[Mr. Scot]

 

[countryboi]

The amount of hate and love that Tepper swings wildly based on the day and how much money he is spending. At the end of the day he is middle of the pack owner with deep pockets.