Revisiting the "shakeup" talk

[Mr. Scot]

This is a link to a Jason LaCanfora article from which Igo posted an excerpt yesterday: Panthers could be headed for major shakeup with owner David Tepper frustrated by 2019 performance

And here's a little more from that article:

Quote

One year after mulling sweeping changes to his organization, Panthers owner David Tepper is again in the process of thoroughly evaluating his franchise, league sources said, with the potential for a major shakeup coming in 2020. Tepper expressed his displeasure with the state of the team to several members of the organization after last week's blowout loss, the sources said, and may not be as inclined to hold the line should the Panthers not make a rapid turnaround.

Tepper paid about $2.3 billion cash for the Panthers prior to the 2018 season and had serious concerns with the way the team was trending in the second half last season, reaching out for confidants around the league about perhaps overhauling his hierarchy for 2019. After a solid start, the Panthers have again slumped mid-season, losing three of their last four games by a combined score of 124-62. The blowout losses are reminiscent of a year ago and the defense -- being called by head coach Ron Rivera -- is again struggling, leading several sources who know the owner well to predict changes will come after the season barring a strong finish.

Tepper was very frustrated by last week's loss to Atlanta, a team who entered the game with just two wins, the sources said, which was obvious post-game. He held an impromptu session with the local media midweek, and though he declined to address the future of Rivera or general manager Marty Hurney during the briefing, the fact he held the briefing at all left some in the organization wondering if it was a precursor to changes.

(FYI: Igo's original thread is here: Tepper very frustrated by losing to Falcons)

If you click the article link above, you'll also see a video where LaCanfora relates the following...

- A year ago, right around Thanksgiving to be specific, Tepper starting reaching out to "confidants" around the league.

- These included mostly people with whom Tepper had became acquainted and/or close to as a minority owner in Pittsburgh.

- His purpose for the contacts was to discuss the state of the Panthers because he reportedly "didn't like what he was seeing".

- Among the ideas expressed, uncertainty about both head coach Ron Rivera and quarterback Cam Newton long term.

- In the year since those discussions, little to nothing has happened to allay Tepper's fears in either of those areas.

- And finally, besides the reporters meeting, Tepper has "voiced his frustrations" to people both inside the building and out during this past week.

Past stories have indicated that Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and Assistant Omar Khan could both be considered "confidants" of Tepper.  He went to both men for advice at the time he bought the team. Given that this was an in-season conversation, I'm not sure whether rules would prevent Tepper from having specific team related discussions with them but my guess would be they don't.

I'd say at the very least, things are sounding pretty ominous for Rivera. Probably Hurney too though LaCanfora spent most of his time talking about Rivera and only briefly discussed Marty Hurney and Cam Newton.

Draw your own conclusions, but I think LaCanfora is probably right. Barring a huge turnaround, this offseason could get very...interesting.

[pantherj]

I'm ready for an offensive minded head coach, so bring it on.

[LinvilleGorge]

6 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

And finally, besides the reporters meeting, Tepper has "voiced his frustrations" to people both inside the building and out during this past week.

You wanna destroy an organization from within? The leader doing this is the #1 way to do it.

The best business advice I've ever gotten is to "bitch up". You can't let your team feel your frustrations.

[run-run-pass-punt]

Change is inevitable, a constant and in this case, I think a good thing. It's time for a re-imagining of the Carolina Panthers.

Hopefully we can put our inconsistent past behind us soon, and become a playoff regular. (With a Lombardi or two before too long.)

[Khyber53]

Hedge funds don't succeed by jumping hastily off of one investment into another. They also don't ditch a steady, if unspectacular, investment and then throw money at an unknown or a derivative.

If applied to the coaching/GM side... well, RR/MH may not be tearing up the competition this season, but they are running about middle of the pack. If Tepper was to move, based on business style, it would be for a known/robust candidate with a track record and an achievable vision. There aren't many of those out there right now and the coaching trees that are active have begun to bear poor fruit -- even Belichick's stable has proven lackluster to poor so far. 

Bruce Arians went already. Bill Cowher isn't ever giving up that cushy job. Now Mike Holmgren... that would be the most tempting candidate, but who knows if he wants to go back into it? Otherwise it's a jump to the college level coaching ranks and that jump is a risky one that even Mr. Brass-balls-on-the-desk would be unlikely to make.

And general managers? That might be even harder to find than a head coach, for a good one with good scouting teams and cap watchers.

[Mr. Scot]

9 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Hedge funds don't succeed by jumping hastily off of one investment into another. They also don't ditch a steady, if unspectacular, investment and then throw money at an unknown or a derivative.

If applied to the coaching/GM side... well, RR/MH may not be tearing up the competition this season, but they are running about middle of the pack. If Tepper was to move, based on business style, it would be for a known/robust candidate with a track record and an achievable vision. There aren't many of those out there right now and the coaching trees that are active have begun to bear poor fruit -- even Belichick's stable has proven lackluster to poor so far. 

Bruce Arians went already. Bill Cowher isn't ever giving up that cushy job. Now Mike Holmgren... that would be the most tempting candidate, but who knows if he wants to go back into it? Otherwise it's a jump to the college level coaching ranks and that jump is a risky one that even Mr. Brass-balls-on-the-desk would be unlikely to make.

And general managers? That might be even harder to find than a head coach, for a good one with good scouting teams and cap watchers.

Football isn't investing.

In investing, you can make money, your friends can make money, your enemies can make money, and as long as everyone makes enough money everybody's happy.

In football, what's best in life is to crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentations of their wonen.

Basically, if you're not the champion, it isn't good enough.

What you're advocating here is exactly what's been destroying the Panthers, the acceptance of mediocrity.

No way am I down for more of that.

[Tbe]

14 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Hedge funds don't succeed by jumping hastily off of one investment into another. They also don't ditch a steady, if unspectacular, investment and then throw money at an unknown or a derivative.

If applied to the coaching/GM side... well, RR/MH may not be tearing up the competition this season, but they are running about middle of the pack. If Tepper was to move, based on business style, it would be for a known/robust candidate with a track record and an achievable vision. There aren't many of those out there right now and the coaching trees that are active have begun to bear poor fruit -- even Belichick's stable has proven lackluster to poor so far. 

Bruce Arians went already. Bill Cowher isn't ever giving up that cushy job. Now Mike Holmgren... that would be the most tempting candidate, but who knows if he wants to go back into it? Otherwise it's a jump to the college level coaching ranks and that jump is a risky one that even Mr. Brass-balls-on-the-desk would be unlikely to make.

And general managers? That might be even harder to find than a head coach, for a good one with good scouting teams and cap watchers.

You should read up on how Tepper made his money. 

[WarPanthers89]

11 minutes ago, Khyber53 said:

Hedge funds don't succeed by jumping hastily off of one investment into another. They also don't ditch a steady, if unspectacular, investment and then throw money at an unknown or a derivative.

If applied to the coaching/GM side... well, RR/MH may not be tearing up the competition this season, but they are running about middle of the pack. If Tepper was to move, based on business style, it would be for a known/robust candidate with a track record and an achievable vision. There aren't many of those out there right now and the coaching trees that are active have begun to bear poor fruit -- even Belichick's stable has proven lackluster to poor so far. 

Bruce Arians went already. Bill Cowher isn't ever giving up that cushy job. Now Mike Holmgren... that would be the most tempting candidate, but who knows if he wants to go back into it? Otherwise it's a jump to the college level coaching ranks and that jump is a risky one that even Mr. Brass-balls-on-the-desk would be unlikely to make.

And general managers? That might be even harder to find than a head coach, for a good one with good scouting teams and cap watchers.

I disagree. Hurney didn't get a sniff around the NFL after he was fired...the guy was on the radio. It’s not hard to upgrade our gm. Rivera? Same thing. He literally has identical stats to John Fox at this point, and if you can only get a franchise 3 winning seasons out of 9 with prime Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly to build your team around? Child please. 

[Mr. Scot]

30 minutes ago, pantherj said:

I'm ready for an offensive minded head coach, so bring it on.

From the article...

Rivera has one year left on his deal and would be heavily sought after if the Panthers were to go in a different direction. Tepper may not be inclined to offer the kind of extension Rivera's cumulative record with the Panthers suggests he is worth, and the owner may lean toward a more analytical, offensive-minded head coach, according to some who know him.

[Mr. Scot]

30 minutes ago, LinvilleGorge said:

You wanna destroy an organization from within? The leader doing this is the #1 way to do it.

The best business advice I've ever gotten is to "bitch up". You can't let your team feel your frustrations.

For context, I'd say listen to the video at the link and see how you interpret it.

[pantherj]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

From the article...

Rivera has one year left on his deal and would be heavily sought after if the Panthers were to go in a different direction. Tepper may not be inclined to offer the kind of extension Rivera's cumulative record with the Panthers suggests he is worth, and the owner may lean toward a more analytical, offensive-minded head coach, according to some who know him.

Fantastic. The NFL is about putting the ball in the air and scoring TDs. No more terrible red zone play. Load up on weapons and a coach like (dare I say it) Payton (minus the pills and smugness) and I'm a happy camper.

[Mr. Scot]

Now here's where the torches and pitchforks come out...

The guy LaCanfora seems most confident that the Panthers will move on from is Ron Rivera.

He seems also to be mostly confident they'll move on from Cam Newton. Click here if you want more on that (few weeks old but still relevant).

The guy I've seen him mention the least of the bunch?

Marty Hurney.

Now to be fair, you can get the sense from LaCanfora that Hurney is pretty closely tied to Rivera (another writer specifically stated this) but he doesn't really mention Marty much by name.

Don't shoot me. I'm just the messenger.

[Jon Snow]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Scot said:

Now here's where the torches and pitchforks come out...

The guy LaCanfora seems most confident that the Panthers will move on from is Ron Rivera.

He seems also to be mostly confident that they'll move on from Cam Newton. Click here if you want more on that (a few weeks old but still relevant).

The guy I've seen him mention the least of the bunch?

Marty Hurney.

Now to be fair, you can get the sense from LaCanfora that Hurney is pretty closely tied to Rivera (another writer specifically stated this) but he doesn't really mention Marty much by name.

Don't shoot me. I'm just the messenger.

Stoning it is then.

Seriously Marty should already be out the door.  There's absolutely no reason he should still be here...ever.

[Mr. Scot]

Just now, Jon Snow said:

Stoning it is then.

Seriously Marty should already be out the door.  There's absolutely no reason he should still be here...ever.

I don't argue that, and I think plenty of people see he and Rivera as a package deal. LaCanfora might too.

Just sayin'...