Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has had a rough start to his time at the helm of an NFL franchise. Numerous reports have painted Tepper as a meddling, mercurial football neophyte who burns through coaches without a second thought.
Tepper has had raging success in the financial world to amass ungodly amounts of wealth. NFL scouting and talent evaluation aren’t what you’d call his forte. However, many insiders and reporters have said in so many which ways that Tepper was the mastermind behind Carolina’s move up to No. 1 overall in last year’s draft to select quarterback Bryce Young.
The pint-sized signal-caller looked overwhelmed as a rookie, and what’s worse, the Chicago Bears fleeced the Panthers in that trade so badly that they wound up atop the 2024 draft, with the rights to select a QB with far more upside, Caleb Williams.
So you could imagine the greater Charlotte area has taken issue with the fact that their team not only missed out on Williams, but also watched 2023 second overall pick CJ Stroud catalyze an instant turnaround for the Houston Texans. Stroud led a team widely perceived to be worse than the Panthers to a division title and a playoff victory.
Hence, a local restaurant named Dilworth Neighborhood Bar and Grill apparently has a manager who ain’t too fond of Tepper’s shenanigans. That led to an alleged confrontation on Thursday, hours before the draft.
Something like this isn’t beneath Tepper. If you recall not many moons ago, he hurled his beverage onto an opposing fan who was taunting him for how awful the Panthers were and are.
Sometimes, owners can get away with sticking their greedy paws in the football operation pie. When it comes to the steep sacrifice it took to move up for Bryce Young, Tepper picked the most inopportune time to f**k around and find out — and he deservedly continues to pay for it in the form of heavy criticism from fans.
ESPN just dropped a recent report that very credibly includes details about how Tepper gives data-based feedback to his coaches on their play-calling. This was implied to be a bad fit with Bill Belichick, a head coaching candidate Carolina reportedly only considered for a fleeting instant before hiring Dave Canales.
Now I will say, the Panthers made a promising step forward on Thursday night, trading up one spot into the 32nd and last pick of the first round to select South Carolina wide receiver Xavier Legette. Getting a local product who happens to fit into a position of dire need is always going to buy you some goodwill. I have a feeling Legette wasn’t an owner-mandated pick, though. Maybe the restaurant manager made the call! Who knows!?
Anyway, Legette should be able to deliver the goods as a thicc 6-foot-1, 221-pound playmaker who runs a 4.39-second 40, with a 40-inch vertical leap to boot. He had 71 receptions for 1,255 yards and seven TDs for the Gamecocks this past season.
I hope Legette has a great NFL career. Really liked him as a prospect. However, with Tepper in charge, we could see the Panthers descend into a dire situation reminiscent of Dan Snyder’s reign of terror in Washington.
Hopefully Tepper’s tenure won’t have as many nefarious and/or disturbing undertones, but in terms of bottom-line results on the field — a 31-68 record to date — he ain’t exactly off to a rip-roaring, confidence-inspiring, steady voyage toward progress and sustained winning.
I’ll end with this: On the heels of a 2-15 season, ticket prices are going up. Golly gee David Tepper, that’s certainly a, um, choice.
