Two years ago, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper hired Matt Rhule to get his team to the promised land. But, as it turns out, he couldn’t even get them over the hump.
The visibly irritable billionaire faced the music on Monday afternoon, hours after firing his fellow short-order cook and head coach. When asked for the reasoning and timing behind his decision, Tepper stuck pretty firm (multiple times) in his response.
“Look, there’s numerous reasons why you make a decision like that,” he said. “Ultimately, I felt this was the time. Now was the time.”
But why now? And not earlier? He hit those points again later in the presser.
“Look, again, a lot of time, uh, has passed here,” he said. “We have the record we have. And, uh, again—there’s different reasons that go into that. I think that there has been progress—of some sort. But, look, we’re just not getting over the hump. And we gotta get over the hump.”
The record they have now, at least through five games here in 2022, is 1-4—which is good enough to give them current possession of the 2023 draft’s No. 1 overall pick. The record they’ve had with Rhule since he was hired is 11-27—which equates to the worst losing percentage for a head coach in franchise history.
It was clear, right from the start of his media availability, that Tepper wasn’t going to get too detailed about the choice to let his seven-year, $62 million investment go. He also wouldn’t get into his thought process for 2023, the future of his staff and players and the past failures he’s headed since buying the team.
So, if you want some more details into why this might’ve happened and how it did, perhaps you can read up on some of Scott Fowler’s recent work . . .
Whew. Tepper and Scott Fowler going at it pic.twitter.com/tJivNqQbyo
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) October 10, 2022
