Following the introductory press conference of Frank Reich on Tuesday, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper admitted he made a mistake when hiring Matt Rhule.
It’s the first time that Tepper acknowledged that hiring Rhule, or the process that made him such a tantalizing candidate to begin with, was a mistake.
Rhule, who is now the head coach at the University of Nebraska, was signed to a massive seven-year, $62 million deal by Tepper in 2020. Rhule lasted just 38 games after making the transition over from college. He went 11-27 in Carolina, including 1-4 to start the 2022 season before he was ultimately fired by Tepper.
“I made this mistake,” Tepper said in a scrum with reporters via Sheena Quick on Twitter. “I think it’s a mistake to have a CEO-type head coach. That’s a mistake. Just in general, that’s what I kind of believe. I think you want to get somebody who’s really good on offense or really good on defense.”
Tepper: “I think it’s a mistake to have a CEO-type head coach.”
•#Panthers #KeepPounding pic.twitter.com/7hRR7pL8bA— Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) January 31, 2023
“We think that Frank is really good on offense,” Tepper added.
For Tepper’s sake, he and his decision-makers have to be right. Reich has shown his ability as a head coach and may have gotten a raw deal in Indianapolis, but Panthers fans aren’t going to be as patient with Tepper and Reich, for that matter, after Rhule’s disastrous tenure in Carolina.
