Info from the mini-conference

[Mr. Scot]

Via Joe Person The Athletic: Long term mediocrity will not be accepted (subscription required)

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Panthers owner David Tepper said he woke up twice Sunday night/early Monday morning, still pissed about his team’s 29-3 loss to Atlanta at Bank of America Stadium.

Tepper was bothered by the lopsided defeat, of course, but was particularly irked by the fact that it happened at home.

“Every time we have a loss, my mood is shitty,” Tepper said Monday during an hourlong gathering with Charlotte media at the stadium.

 

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The only ground rule was reporters were asked not to quiz Tepper on the status of general manager Marty Hurney and head coach Ron Rivera. Speculation about their futures in Carolina has increased since the Panthers have dropped three of their last four games to fall to 5-5.

But Tepper, the hedge fund manager who is the league’s richest owner, said repeatedly he would not accept long-term mediocrity in any business venture, including his football team.

The Panthers have never posted back-to-back winning seasons, and have an overall record of 195-198-1 in 24-plus seasons.

 

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Tepper said there were high hopes for the Panthers this season, adding he was pleased that Allen, an undrafted free agent in 2018, has managed a winning record in place of Newton.

Tepper also said Newton’s foot injury — he’s been out since Week 2 with a Lisfranc sprain — would be taken into consideration in his evaluation of the football side, while conceding Newton’s absence this season would make that evaluation more difficult.

Newton has one year remaining on his contract, and the Panthers could save $19.1 million in salary cap space by cutting or trading him this offseason. But Tepper said there’d be no decision made on Newton until he’s healthy, while adding in a perfect world a healthy Newton would lead the Panthers back to the Super Bowl.

 

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Among other topics, Tepper said:

- He wants to build a new downtown stadium, hopefully in the next 10 years, and agreed that Charlotte Pipe and Foundry, a 55-acre site a few blocks from the current stadium, would be a logical option. Tepper indicated he would be seeking public money for a new stadium, but also said he would use some of his $12 billion fortune for the project.

- The team hopes to keep a presence at Wofford, but said the lack of an air-conditioned practice bubble might make it difficult for the team to hold training camp in Spartanburg in the future. The Panthers’ football facilities at their Rock Hill headquarters are set to be ready by August 2022, and the team has told the school it will let them know its decision by February. If it’s not Wofford, the team will have camp at its practice facility adjacent to the stadium.

- The Panthers didn’t travel to Atlanta for Colin Kaepernick’s workout because if they were interested in working him out, they’d bring him to Charlotte. Tepper alluded to the Panthers’ decision last year to sign safety Eric Reid as proof that he’s not afraid to bring in players who are active in social causes.

 

[GoPanthers123]

None of the true fans could sleep either after that nightmare.   Someone will get removed because of this game. 

[1of10Charnatives]

4 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Via Joe Person The Athletic: Long term mediocrity will not be accepted (subscription required)

Excerpts...

 

 

 

 

I think on that last point about Reid and Kaepernick, there is no reason not to take him at his word.  Personally I'm also prepared to take him at his word that no decision has yet been made about Cam, partly because I can see solid reasons not to make that decision yet that I feel confident Tepper is also aware of.

[Mr. Scot]

Side Note: Reading The Athletic vs normal coverage is like watching cable vs broadcast networks. In both cases, the former doesn't censor any of the curse words

[Moo Daeng]

I think Marty and Ron will be on the way out. I like that Tepper won't discuss it. There is no real point to it  now. I think he likes them but want's to change things up for obvious reasons. I think everyone likes them personally.

[Mr. Scot]

Scott Fowler's take: David Tepper Unplugged

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In a spur-of-the-moment gathering of about 20 reporters, including three from The Charlotte Observer, Tepper left no doubt he’s dissatisfied with the Panthers’ long-term mediocrity. Without being asked, Tepper referenced the team never posting consecutive winning seasons in its 24-plus years, and its plodding, win-one, lose-one tendencies (Carolina is 195-198-1 in its franchise regular-season history, and 5-5 in 2019).

That’s not good enough, Tepper proclaimed. He said he despises mediocrity, especially when it never seems to end. The owner said he wants to win and said he can’t conceive of not seeing a day when the Panthers are consistently a winning team.

The session was for context only. Tepper didn’t want to be directly quoted, except for this: “Every time we have a loss, my mood is sh------.”

 

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There was one other pre-established guideline besides that “don’t-quote-Tepper” rule. Reporters were told before meeting with Tepper that he wouldn’t entertain any questions about the long-term job security of either head coach Ron Rivera or general manager Marty Hurney.

Otherwise, Tepper was in rare form. Well, not that rare — the city of Charlotte is finding out that Tepper in most situations is generally uncensored and inherently likable.

In a freewheeling Q-and-A that lasted nearly an hour, Tepper expounded on everything from quarterback Cam Newton to the team’s stadium situation to how much he was still seething that Carolina got whipped at home, 29-3, by Atlanta on Sunday. The owner said he had to get up twice Sunday night because he was still so mad about it.

But Tepper didn’t get to be worth $12 billion by making rash decisions based on short-term irritation. And he’s not planning to do that with the team that he bought for $2.275 billion before the 2018 season — and one that he has seen go 12-14 under his ownership, continuing along that path to mediocrity that Tepper loathes. (If the path continues over the next six games, though, it’s fair to assume Rivera and Hurney’s jobs are in danger.)

 

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Tepper advocated a measured approach to the decision of what to do with quarterback Cam Newton. If Newton can fully come back from his Lisfranc foot injury, Tepper believes Newton can still be one of the NFL’s top quarterbacks.

In an ideal world, Tepper said, the Panthers would win a Super Bowl with a healthy Newton. But, as the owner said, there are a lot of other options for the team, and not all include Newton.

 

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Tepper said several times there would be no decision on whether Newton plays for the Panthers in 2020, the final year of his contract, until it’s determined whether Newton can actually get healthy. The owner also said he didn’t know if Newton was going to have surgery to repair his injured foot, which sidelined the ninth-year quarterback for all but the first two games of the 2019 season.

It now seems certain that Tepper’s looming decision on whether to keep Rivera and Hurney (likely made in early January) will come weeks before the team decides on whether to pay Newton $21.2 million next year. If Tepper were to replace Rivera and Hurney, the new coach and GM would be instrumental in that decision.

 

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Other things Tepper said that I found interesting:

▪ Tepper undoubtedly thinks that the Panthers are going to need a new stadium at some point and that renovations to Bank of America stadium will stave off the inevitable — but not forever. One option he would consider is land owned by Charlotte Pipe & Foundry, which sits near the stadium.

▪ If Tepper and the city of Charlotte don’t get a Major League Soccer team, I’ll be stunned.

▪ Tepper is well aware of the long-term commitment permanent-seat license owners made to the current stadium, and it sounded to me like some price break or other accommodation would be made for PSL holders in a new stadium. But what sort of break hasn’t been determined, since a new stadium sounded as if it were at least 7-10 years down the road and maybe more.

▪ Tepper said the Panthers weren’t in the market for quarterback Colin Kaepernick and so it would have been disingenuous (he used a much more colorful word) to attend Kaepernick’s workout Saturday in Georgia. He did say he watched a bit of Kaepernick’s workout on his mobile phone, however.

▪ Tepper said the organization has determined that several factors — including mobile ticketing, Newton’s absence and a lack of high-profile home opponents — have contributed to the Panthers’ dwindling crowds at some games.

▪ Tepper and a team official said the Panthers have told Wofford College they will let them know whether they will hold training camp there in 2020 by February. The team plans to build a new training site in Rock Hill, but that won’t open until 2022. Tepper noted the team also could simply hold “camp” at home in Charlotte, as many NFL teams now do, and possibly use the dorms at Johnson & Wales.

▪ My biggest takeaway? Tepper’s continued use of the word “mediocrity,” and how frustrated it makes him. He said he understood why Panthers fans would be frustrated, too, especially if they’ve watched seasons like this one unfold for so many years.

One way or another, a lot of change is coming.

 

[Go DJ that's my DJ]

sounds like wofford is done and with good reason, cant have rain-out ballroom practices anymore. I just hope he fires rivera.

[Mr. Scot]

New girl Alaina Getzenberg was also in attendance, though the focus of her writeup is primarily Cam Newton: Panthers owner sheds light on Newton's future

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Much speculation had been made of whether it made sense to put Newton on IR with there being a potential that he could return this year.

Tepper said that even if Newton could have returned to the field this season, the move wouldn’t have made sense. He indicated that if the team was not performing well, he didn’t want to have Newton come in to play those games, and that even if the team was on the brink of the playoffs, it wouldn’t make sense to change course and go with a different quarterback at that time.

 

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Another question that has been continually brought up about the quarterback situation is whether the Panthers and Newton’s camp have been on the same page. Tepper asserted that the decision was made in a way that was beneficial for all parties.

Newton initially injured his foot in August during Carolina’s third preseason game against the New England Patriots. But he returned to the field about two weeks later for the season-opener vs. the Los Angeles Rams.

While the future of Ron Rivera and Marty Hurney were not specifically discussed, Tepper did say that Newton’s injury would have to be included in any evaluation of the team.

 

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Kyle Allen has gone 5-3 as the starter this season in Newton’s place and the Panthers’ owner said that he is overall pleased with his production. Newton has not addressed the media since he was placed on IR.

Throughout the meeting with reporters, Tepper brought up the fact that a good quarterback is one of the most crucial pieces to having a winning football team and how important that was to him. He even called Newton one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks.

 

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Other notes from Tepper’s conversation:

- Reporters were requested to not ask about the future of general manager Marty Hurney and coach Ron Rivera. The meeting was not unprecedented, Tepper also met with reporters following the end of the 2019 season.

- Tepper said that he wants to stay in Charlotte for the long-term. In terms of stadium and attendance, the Panthers owner did mention that mobile ticketing has been somewhat of a problem throughout the NFL and that they are continuing to work on that. But he does not feel that there is a reason to reduce the capacity of the stadium. He would like to see a new stadium built in Charlotte at some point, and that it would be good to find a way to provide different viewing options in the stadium, including for people to stand and move around more during games.

- In addition to saying positive things about Allen, Tepper mentioned that he thought the team’s game management has improved, but noted that does not win football games.

- The Panthers have not made a decision on where training camp will be held in 2020. The team is expected to inform Wofford College, where training camp has been held since the team’s inception, in February if they will be holding camp there once again. A strong option for training camp, if it is not held in Spartanburg, would be at the Panthers’ facility. Much of that would be based on the presence of the indoor bubble in Charlotte. Practicing without the indoor space, he noted, is a competitive disadvantage.

- The team is currently building its new training facility in Rock Hill. The expectation is still that it will be open for training camp in August 2022.

- Tepper spoke heavily on the fact that long-term mediocrity was not an option for the Panthers, even mentioning that the loss to the Falcons woke him up twice the night after the game. He said while winning may not happen overnight, it was certainly what is most important. The owner said that the team isn’t going to be waiting forever to start winning and that it is the priority.

- As far as why the Panthers did not send a representative to free agent Colin Kaepernick’s workout, Tepper said that the Panthers did not need to bring in a veteran quarterback and that the team has the video. He said that bringing in a veteran quarterback did not make sense for the team at this time, but mentioned that he watched a portion of the workout on his phone.

 

[SBiii]

26 minutes ago, 1of10Charnatives said:

Personally I'm also prepared to take him at his word that no decision has yet been made about Cam, partly because I can see solid reasons not to make that decision yet that I feel confident Tepper is also aware of.

Tepper's playing a public hand of poker here.

He's going to make Cam and his camp think Cam is a risk....doing so will keep them in check and should prevent them from making any absurd contract demands. 

Folks, if Cam plays in the NFL next year it will be for the Carolina Panthers.

[bigpoppa]

 

13 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

While the future of Ron Rivera and Marty Hurney were not specifically discussed, Tepper did say that Newton’s injury would have to be included in any evaluation of the team.

There is always a built in excuse for how this team consistently craps the bed.

[Mr. Scot]

1 minute ago, bigpoppa said:

There is always a built in excuse for how this team consistently craps the bed.

I was about to say I don't think this quote is going to be very well received by several folks here.

[Mr. Scot]

Side Note: Man, the turnover at The Observer is brutal.

I guess the Panthers beat belongs to Alaina Getzenberg now.

[SBiii]

29 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Side Note: Man, the turnover at The Observer is brutal.

I guess the Panthers beat belongs to Alaina Getzenberg now.

Another "local" source for you to put your trust in.....since they're the only ones who can be relied upon.

[Mr. Scot]

6 minutes ago, SBiii said:

Another "local" source for you to put your trust in.....since they're the only ones who can be relied upon.

I've rarely ever talked about Brendan Marks.

I will say one thing with regard to the sources that I trust vs yours though.

Mine exist.