Tepper is clearly focused on MLS soccer and a new stadium and not...

[Ship]

A long time ago when this team played like they did today the owner was down in the locker room making a statement. What Tepper can do is take some direct leadership on this team until a new staff is here instead of sitting in his box watching the bullshit we saw today fester and let his new coach have to pick up the pieces. He could have kept Rivera and just told him he wouldn’t be retained and let him finish out the year. At least then there’d be an actual leader here to keep our guys disciplined. Instead we’re just hoping to get through the last week with our heads down then bring out the trash bags and dumpsters. He needs to make a statement to the players and staff on this team about what his vision is because right now we’re risking alienating the young talented guys we do have and the vets who will still be around on this team. He needs to wake the fug up.

[Woodie]

Tepper's first priority is the Panthers.  He is a football guy through and through.  He played it, followed it, and focused on it when he chose to invest in a professional sports team...then paid over 2 billion dollars to buy a team outright.  You don't spend that kind of money as a means to get a second rate sports franchise that you could have bought for pocket change regardless.  MLS is an investment for Tepper, but it's never going to be the cash cow the Panthers are (and money is the bottom line for any businessman).

As for this past offseason, the business side of the Panthers was an utter mess when Tepper took over.  It has been reported by multiple sources that it was far worse than Tepper thought.  So, he spent the first two years cleaning house and getting the business side in order.  Now that is done, so Tepper will be able to focus on the football side this offseason.  I know that as fans, our first priority is building the team, but the first priority for any businessman (especially one who spent as much as Tepper did) will be to get the business side in order so the team can start maximizing profit.

And I do believe Tepper when he gave the additional reasoning of being patient and learning what works and what doesn't and identifying the changes he needs to make.  While we have seen this team up close and personal, Dave only saw it from the periphery, and likely paid little attention to the Panthers until the opportunity to buy the team presented itself.  And I get the sense that he wants to completely understand every detail before making any big decisions.  But it sounds like he now has a very definitive plan, and he's just waiting for the offseason to implement it.

 

[DeSim]

35 minutes ago, Hotsauce said:

Original poster here....

My point should be looked at in regards to a mindset through the lens of an entire offseason(2018) and this season. In other words I felt Teppers silence and failure to make any real changes last season and ultimately early on in this season goes back to my point of where his priorities are. You guys are absolutely right, nothing could have been done in the last few weeks to change where we are today.

Tepper wants to build out his business. He bought the Panthers as a means to also get an MLS team. Getting an MLS team and new stadium will open many additional streams of revenue for him. Panthers winning helps, yes, but is not necessary for the two things he wants to accomplish. He has said this much from the beginning. 

Will any of you honestly admit you were  comfortable going into this season with a huge question mark on Cams health and Riveria/Hurney’s inconsistency, and huge gaps in the roster?

All i’m saying is let’s wait for him to put his own stamp on the team, which he will this upcoming offseason, and then we can begin to judge him based on the moves he makes then (which honestly would still be premature to do so).   He didn’t make any moves the past offseason because he said it himself, that he came into this team not knowing anything about the football side, so he wanted to take some time to learn first before making actions on the football side.  It might seem to some of you that he only cares about building a new stadium, creating an MLS team, but that’s business and he knows business and that’s the only thing he’s been able to do for now.  But now it appears that he’s been able to see and learn about the football side and is ready to make moves. 

[Gesualdo]

can i just point out that bob kraft has been an MLS owner since MLS began? granted, not a good one, but at one point he was one of three total owners singlehandedly keeping the league alive. didn't seem to prevent him from doing well in the NFL.

for lamar hunt, many who knew him said soccer was his primary passion. at the same time he was steering the merger that created the modern NFL, he was founding the NASL, which was the beginning of the rebirth of soccer in the United States. seems like his multi-tasking went okay...

they're owners, folks, not coaches

the falcons aren't bad because blank has a popular MLS team. give me a break.

[X-Clown]

3 hours ago, Ship said:

A long time ago when this team played like they did today the owner was down in the locker room making a statement. What Tepper can do is take some direct leadership on this team until a new staff is here instead of sitting in his box watching the bullshit we saw today fester and let his new coach have to pick up the pieces. He could have kept Rivera and just told him he wouldn’t be retained and let him finish out the year. At least then there’d be an actual leader here to keep our guys disciplined. Instead we’re just hoping to get through the last week with our heads down then bring out the trash bags and dumpsters. He needs to make a statement to the players and staff on this team about what his vision is because right now we’re risking alienating the young talented guys we do have and the vets who will still be around on this team. He needs to wake the fug up.

Scorching take skip. Next caller? 

[lightsout]

What is Tepper supposed to do? He fired Ron, I believe anyway, due to his own ethics about seeking other options and not wanting to string along a coach. Think about it in terms of a relationship. If you're married to a woman and things aren't going well, you're not happy and the relationship is clearly over, do you go shopping for her replacement while sharing a bed or do you get separated and file for divorce before going out looking? Tepper was trying to do the right thing, IMO.

So what is he supposed to do right now? He really can't go after coaches during the season as most aren't taking interviews until the season ends when they don't feel like they're "cheating" on their current job (some exceptions exist, I acknowledge). He has to let this corpse of a team finally rot. Let it go how it's gonna go, expect nothing, figure out what pieces you are going to keep at an organizational level. This "I want it now" culture among fans is toxic as hell. If Tepper does NOTHING by training camp to shake things up, I'll say I was wrong. I don't think we'll see that though. We'll see a facelift to the team and the product may not be instantly a contender, it will be obviously shifting towards that in another year or two or three.

I draw on hockey a lot, but I think it's fair. The Carolina Hurricanes hired Tom Dundon in January 2018. The Canes were always middling since 09, just barely missing the playoffs or a little further down the standings. He makes some changes, boom, team is in the playoffs last season and almost make the Stanley Cup. Did he make big shifts during the 2017-2018 season? No. He got hired mid season, didn't do much immediately. Soon as that season ended, he shifted some things around. Tepper already has a year in and his first offseason, he didn't do much to change but the team, but he got a team that wasn't far removed from a Super Bowl appearance and multiple divisional championships and his first year, the team started 6-2 and then Cam gets hurt. So he has to view it as "OK, we have something that could be special, we had an unfortunate event that derailed the season. Let's give it another year, get healthy, and then evaluate." This happens, Cam goes down early in the year, he gives Ron most of the season to show that he can lead this team without Cam for essentially a full season, and he failed the test. So this is Tepper's chance to mirror Dundon's positive control over the team. This offseason. Not before.

[Black&Blue]

I have the opposite grievance with Tepper.  He's clearly way too involved with the Panthers football ops, even though he doesn't know his ass from a hole in the ground when it comes to football.  Frankly, the fact that he thinks he can do this rebuild without any consultation from experienced football minds should terrify everyone.   

[1of10Charnatives]

11 hours ago, Hotsauce said:

The Panthers!

Hi Dave, I know you or your cronies are reading this. 
 

It’s painfully obvious that Tepper’s 5 year plan is centered around 2 things:

1) establishing a MLS fan base 

and

2) building a new stadium 

 

...building a winning NFL franchise is 3rd in his list. All he cares about is doubling his revenue by adding a second sport. 
 

For about the dozenth time:

The notion that a self made billionaire who’s hedge fund is one of the most successful ever cannot properly manage multiple business projects at once is patently absurd and is on the order of telling a functioning adult with a job and family that he needs to stop walking if he wants to chew gum properly.

Winning in the NFL is incredibly hard, and requires many things to go right, so don’t misunderstand me, I’m not asserting that Tepper can easily snap his fingers and fix the Panthers, but anyone who’s ever been in management successfully can tell you that one of the quickest ways to fail is to micromanage those under you.

Owning an NFL team requires important high level decisions. Making those decisions is not like digging ditches. It does not take up your whole day. Tepper can do these other things handily whether the Panthers are winning the SB or losing every game. They literally have no impact in the same way that how complicated your haircut is doesn’t impact your stylist’s ability to carry on a conversation with you while doing it.

[NAS]

11 hours ago, Woodie said:

No, it was actually a respectful and classy thing to do.  He had already made the decision to move on, so rather than go behind his back, he made the move. 

And the season was already over, so despite how things are looking now, there really wasn't any on-field reason to hang on to him for a few meaningless weeks.

this, and Ron gets paid no matter what, probably even next year - for doing nothing.  

[NAS]

12 hours ago, Hotsauce said:

The Panthers!

Hi Dave, I know you or your cronies are reading this. 
 

It’s painfully obvious that Tepper’s 5 year plan is centered around 2 things:

1) establishing a MLS fan base 

and

2) building a new stadium 

 

...building a winning NFL franchise is 3rd in his list. All he cares about is doubling his revenue by adding a second sport. 
 

What a stupid take.  If he didn't care about Panthers winning - he would have kept Rivera on as head coach and let them repeat their 7-9 or  8-8 record  year after year.  What the fug did you expect to happen?    

Best team this team can do right now is lose their remaining games and get a draft pick that the new coaching staff and hopefully a new GM can build around.  

[raz]

if hurney is the gm after the draft and has much say in the draft, that's when i'll judge tepper.  not yet

[Sam Mills Fan]

What an absolutely moronic take. Unless someone can tell me what David Tepper could have done to have made us win yesterday, I think this discussion is pointless.

[Brooklyn 3.0]

Tepper reads the board, lol. Good one. Tepper tasks someone to read the board then report to him, lol. Good one.

[Rubi]

It’s highly concerning Tepper mad a “calculated” choice by retaining Hurney given his track record. 
 

Starting to wonder about Tepper...