Panthers owner David Tepper has declared a war on mediocrity. The problem is, he bought into a league where mediocrity is a feature, not a bug.
So while it might bug Tepper — the richest single owner in the NFL — that he can’t spend as much as he wants on players because of the salary cap, he made it clear this week after introducing new coach Matt Rhule that he plans to spend on everything else to give his team any edge he can.
“Remember one thing about the NFL, it’s an 8-8 league,” Tepper said. “It’s an 8-8 league because you all get so much to get the same players. That’s why it’s an 8-8 league. It’s not an 8-8 league when you build facilities. It’s not an 8-8 league when you get trainers. It’s not an 8-8 league for other sort of things you can bring in here.
“And I’ve heard this, the Carolina Panthers have an owner who has some resources.”
He grinned as he said that last part and walked away, having no problem referencing his extreme wealth.
He began that process by paying $2.275 billion cash for the Panthers, the kind of move you can make you’re worth a reported $12 billion. Then he built a practice bubble behind Bank of America Stadium so they didn’t have to practice in the rain, even though he’s about to build a whole new practice facility in South Carolina. Then he skewed the salary curve for Rhule, paying a buyout to Baylor in the process.
Rhule talked during his introduction about sports science and recovery and all the modern amenities he didn’t have as much access to at Temple and Baylor. While Tepper may not give him a complete blank check, it’s obvious that the Panthers owner’s intent is to spend what it takes to lift his team out of that 8-8 rut.
“I keep telling you guys, again and again, I want to be the best,” Tepper said. “We’re going to do everything we can at the best level.”
Tepper talked at length about how impressed he was with Rhule being a walk-on linebacker at Penn State for Joe Paterno, and is prepared to add his new-money to Rhule’s old-school approach.
“Now we have a master developer who has been tremendously successful with fewer resources,” Tepper said. “So imagine what he will be able to do with the resources we are going to give him. . . .
“There’s a lot of people calling us right now, because they know what’s here. They can see the vision, and they know the resources. it’s a really unique situation where there’s an alignment. People aren’t stupid, they can see an alignment of ownership and coaches and G.M. You think that just happens? You think that happens everyday? You really think that happens every day, with resources that can make things happen? You think about that. I think we’ll get people with talent in here.”
And since he can’t go overboard on players, he sounds ready to go overboard on everything else to fix a team that went 195-204-1 in its first 25 years.
