What can conclusions can be drawn about our future from Jerry's interviews?

[panther4life]

First the letter to psl owners at the end of the 2010 season.

"Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson recently sent out letters to Panthers PSL (Permanent Seat License) holders.

Here’s what Richardson wrote:

I know how difficult the season has been for you. As the person ultimately responsible for putting a team on the field, I take full responsibility for our shortfalls. It is agonizing that we have not performed at the level we had planned for and expected.

When the season began, we believed there was every opportunity for success. Many of the players were returning from a team that had finished last year very strong. The motivation for this approach was both performance-based and a commitment to the future. Obviously we have fallen short, but our faith and commitment are still the same.

Going forward, our plan of attack is to build through the draft while retaining our core players. We have one of the youngest teams in the League, and a number of those younger players have shown genuine promise in this otherwise disappointing season. We won’t give up on them. We also have a solid nucleus of veterans that we will seek to keep intact.

I want all of you to know that we plan to look at every aspect of our organization. What we do in the future will entirely be geared toward putting the best possible team on the field. I am committed to fielding a winning team, and I’m willing to invest the resources necessary to make it happen.

Allow me to raise another personal issue. Much has been made of my reluctance to address the play of the team in the media. Throughout the history of the franchise, I have rarely done in-season interviews. It’s just not my style. In my opinion, comments from ownership during the season are a distraction, and I do not want my comments to interfere in any way with the performance on the field.

This year is further complicated with the uncertainty regarding Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Let me be clear: A successful CBA is critical in sustaining the competitive balance of the NFL. We’re all in this together, and what is good for football is good for the continued success of each and every team. It’s important for us to reach an agreement that benefits the fans, players, and teams. I want the players paid fairly, and I want us to play winning and exciting football.

I understand that in a season like this, words can sound hollow, but, as PSL Owners, you have my commitment to provide you a team that will make you proud. With three NFC championship game appearances, we have come close. I can assure you we will be aggressive in getting there again.

Thank you for your patience and support in a very challenging time.

Respectfully,

Jerry Richardson"

http://reederstake.freedomblogging.com/2010/12/07/richardson-sends-letter-to-psl-owners/7710/

His interview with Morgan Fogarty is here. http://www.foxcharlotte.com/news/local/Carolina-Panthers-Owner-Jerry-Richardson-Full-Interview.html

And finally his q&a with the observer...

PrintReprint or License Share Tool NameClose tool goes here Q&A with Jerry Richardson

By Tom Sorensen

[email protected]

By Tom Sorensen The Charlotte Observer

Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 04, 2012

Modified: Wednesday, Jan. 04, 2012

"Jerry Richardson is on the telephone when I walk into his house Wednesday afternoon. A man in New Jersey whom Richardson has never met is waiting to have a heart transplant. The man, who had emailed Richardson, wants to know what to expect.

He talks about how tired he is and Richardson, who underwent a heart transplant in 2006, encourages him, tells him try to take three steps, and if that works to try for four the next day

When the call ends, Richardson tries to fight back tears. He fails.

"He has no idea," Richardson says.

Richardson, 75 and the owner of the Carolina Panthers, is considerably more upbeat when he talks about his team.

Answers have been edited for brevity.

Q: The Panthers no longer pursue high-priced free agents. Do you agree with the strategy?

RICHARDSON: Of course. The times that we have gone out and been aggressive on free agents and paid substantial amounts of money I can't really think of one player that has justified the money we spent or the cap room he took up.

(One free agent who did pay off, says Richardson, is running back Stephen Davis, who signed in 2003. Davis' contract was laden with incentives, and Davis, he says, attained them.)

Q: Who, or what kind of player, do you expect to select in the draft?

RICHARDSON: What I hope we can do is get a football player that can be a starter and a tough football player. I think toughness is important and compatible with Ron's (head coach Ron Rivera) coaching style. I don't think we'll be drafting a finesse player.

Q: Who do you consider tough?

RICHARDSON: Thomas (Davis). There are others but in my judgment he's No. 1.

(Davis, an outside linebacker, has torn the ACL in the same knee three times and is trying to come back.)

I saw him (working out at Bank of America Stadium Wednesday) and I said, 'Every time I see you you're in here' and he said, 'Mr. Richardson, I'm going to be in here every time. And I'm going to beat the odds.' And I believe him.

Q: How did you react when you heard Indianapolis fired president Bill Polian, Carolina's general manager when you started the team?

RICHARDSON: I'm not the right person to ask about that.

Q: I'd like to throw out some names and ask your opinion. Wide receiver Brandon LaFell?

RICHARDSON: I think he's got great potential and I think David Gettis does as well.

Q: Armanti Edwards?

RICHARDSON: He's in a strange spot because he's not getting a chance to play, primarily because of the two guys we brought in from the Chargers. We're not going to know until he gets playing time, real playing time.

Q: Chris Gamble?

RICHARDSON: I think he's extraordinary. His tackling's improved. I think our whole team's tackling has to improve.

Q: Sherrod Martin?

RICHARDSON: What about him?

Q: What do you think about him?

RICHARDSON: I think he plays safety.

Q: Steve Smith?

RICHARDSON: He was fabulous.

Q: DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart?

RICHARDSON: I can't imagine that you could have two better running backs for our team from those two.

Q: Jeff Otah?

RICHARDSON: I think the ball really is in his court. We put him on IR this year at our own risk. We possibly could have held on and gotten him playing time. But we wanted to see if he really can be the player that we hope he can be. So far they're telling me he's working out and doing what he's supposed to do.

Q: Jack Del Rio, the former Carolina defensive coordinator whom Jacksonville fired as head coach in November?

RICHARDSON: He did a great job for us and since then I don't even know what his record was.

Q: What do you like about your coaching staff?

RICHARDSON: They respond to the rule changes and try to use them to their advantage. An example is the fans who drive from Wilmington and they sit there for 3 hours and we score 7 points or we score 10 points. Unless you win that's a long ride home. Conversely, if we score 35 points and we lose the game at least they've been excited and the trip isn't quite as long. We as a league want high-scoring games because that's what our customers want.

Q: A mid-level free agent you signed before the 2011 season is tight end Jeremy Shockey. How would you assess his impact?

RICHARDSON: He doesn't know how to fake anything. He's what you and I would call old-school football. I talked to him about his reputation off the field, more specifically his reputation off the field at night. And he said he had grown up. He turned out to exceed anything I would have thought. If a player made a bad play he'd almost always go to the player. I don't know what he said, but I suspect it was helpful.

Q: Will he be back?

RICHARDSON: I hope. I think it'd be a big loss to lose him. "

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/04/2899436/richardson-happy-with-direction.html#storylink=cpy

[AceBoogie]

Go sign shockey now!!! Like right now don't past go just go straight to his house and hand him a damn jersey

[YoureWelcome]

I still lol at JR creeping on Morgan Fogarty.

[thunderraiden]

I still lol at JR creeping on Morgan Fogarty.

If i was him i wouldn't give a fug. Already on you're second life anyways.

[LinvilleGorge]

Sounds to me like Richardson still plans on dictating to the new GM and continue with the same plan going forward.

[TruCatzFan]

I just read the entire OP and watched the interview...

The man is impressive, and seeing and hearing his laugh at the end was awesome!

The Big Cat on twitter? LOL

I don't really know what conclusions can be drawn... He seemed very confident in Rivera's abilities at the time. We know that he does NOT make any personnel decisions based off of what he said...

He seems like an old school genuine guy. He's either at the stadium or at his house... Doesn't do anything else.

I just hope he leaves the franchise to someone that will love it as much as he does, and more importantly will keep it in Charlotte