Tepper Wants a Winner and 'He Wants it Now'

The Carolina Panthers are the last winless team in the NFL.

Author:
Schuyler Callihan
Oct 10, 2023 8:43 AM EDT

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Losing is never fun. Losing and then having to answer questions from your boss is even less enjoyable.

For Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich, it's a conversation he doesn't necessarily look forward to having for the past month as the team remains winless through its first five games.

Tepper is a heavily engaged, locked-in owner. He wants to know what's going on, how things are progressing (or not), and what he can do to help the team have success. Having a weekly catch up with the head coach isn't something new. It's not a conversation that is taking place because of the losses continuing to stack up. It's something he's always done.

Depending on the schedule for that week, Tepper and Reich will typically chat late Monday night or Tuesday to discuss the most recent game. But that's not the only time the two talk throughout the week. Reich mentioned yesterday in his press conference that they talk "multiple times" every week.

"He's super competitive. He wants to bring a winner to the Carolinas. He wants it now. He pushes me and pushes us to that end. He wants to do whatever it takes and turn over every stone, churn it as much as he has to produce winning football. I appreciate those conversations. They're always very challenging. He's a super competitive person and he's not going to sit idly by.

"It's been a short experience, but it's been a good experience. It hasn't been fun. Those meetings, I wouldn't characterize them as 'fun meetings,' but those meetings make me better and I trust they make us better."

The bad news is, Frank is likely to have at least one more "not-so-fun" call before the bye week. This Sunday, Carolina plays the Miami Dolphins who may have the most explosive offense in the NFL. According to multiple sportsbooks, the Panthers are two touchdown underdogs, meaning there's a pretty good chance Carolina falls to 0-6 by Sunday afternoon.

After the bye, there's an opportunity to erase the goose egg in the win column thanks to a three-game stretch that features the Texans, Colts, and Bears. If for whatever reason they fail to get a single win in that stretch, it's going to be tough sledding the rest of the way out.

Tepper, GM Scott Fitterer, and many around the league applauded Frank Reich for the staff he assembled in Carolina all offseason long. But that staff has not lived up to the billing and if things don't change, there could be changes made to that staff. And that includes Reich as a possible one and done.

Now, in order for Reich to be fired after one season, it's going to have to be a monumental disaster. I'm of the belief that coaches in the NFL operate on too short of a leash, but in this particular situation, you have to make sure you have the right guy in place to develop your franchise quarterback. Is the reason for Carolina's shortcomings a factor of personnel issues? Coaching? Both? We're about to find out.