CHARLOTTE, N.C. — David Tepper thought he’d nailed it this time.
After firing Matt Rhule in October 2022, the Carolina Panthers proprietor was decided to get his second head-coaching rent proper. Tepper, the hedge-fund billionaire who purchased the crew in 2018, ran a extra thorough search in searching for Rhule’s successor, specializing in coaches with offensive backgrounds after lacking on what he known as a “CEO coach” in Rhule.
After interviewing 9 candidates, Tepper selected Frank Reich, the previous Indianapolis Colts coach and the beginning quarterback for the primary sport in Panthers historical past. Tepper, with a web price north of $20 billion, gave Reich a four-year deal and offered him the sources to rent an all-star workers that will assist develop a rookie quarterback.
However midway by Reich’s first season, Tepper already was considering one other teaching change.
With No. 1 general draft choose Bryce Younger struggling and the Panthers proudly owning the league’s worst file, Tepper warned Reich in early November he wanted to see enchancment on offense. Tepper had mortgaged the crew’s future to maneuver as much as draft Younger. The rookie’s improvement was stagnating beneath an avalanche of sacks and hits within the pocket.
After the Panthers scored simply 10 factors with Reich once more calling the performs in back-to-back losses towards Dallas and Tennessee, Tepper fired him Nov. 27. The Panthers had been 1-10 beneath Reich, whose tenure was the NFL’s shortest in 45 years.
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Throughout a information convention the day after Reich’s firing, Tepper declined to elaborate on his determination, telling reporters they may “speculate as to that.”
The offensive issues and Younger’s improvement doomed Reich. However there was quite a bit occurring behind the scenes on Reich’s workers.
The Athletic spoke to greater than 20 Panthers coaches, gamers and different league sources, a few of whom had been granted anonymity so they may communicate freely. They painted an image of dysfunction contained in the Panthers’ workplaces, with assistant coaches undermining different coaches as many went into self-preservation mode when it turned clear Reich’s days had been numbered.
Workforce sources described a “Starvation Video games” tradition at Financial institution of America Stadium. Coaches mentioned they believed different workers members had been textual content messaging Tepper behind Reich’s again about points they noticed with the crew. In a single occasion, normal supervisor Scott Fitterer and an offensive coach went to Tepper with a training suggestion for the quarterback.
“Individuals simply finger-pointing hoping they don’t get uncovered,” mentioned one assistant.
Days earlier than Thanksgiving, with the crew spiraling and Younger getting pummeled, Tepper advised Reich to repair the rookie’s footwork. Fitterer and others had advised Tepper that Younger’s ft had been the reason for a few of the Panthers’ safety points. They believed Younger wasn’t dropping again deep sufficient on his move units.
Tepper has been criticized for micromanaging and getting hands-on with soccer choices. Previous to the 2019 season, he persuaded then-head coach Ron Rivera to change to a 3-4 protection — which Tepper was accustomed to as a former Pittsburgh Steelers minority accomplice — and drove the crew’s curiosity in Deshaun Watson earlier than the quarterback was traded to Cleveland in 2022.
Tepper’s instruction about Younger’s footwork got here after weekly conversations between Tepper and Reich on Younger’s improvement and early struggles.
League sources mentioned Tepper struggled with the choice to fireside Reich. However the mixture of Younger’s problem understanding Reich’s offense, particularly the reads, timing and ball placement, in addition to Younger’s lack of safety, satisfied the proprietor the group wasn’t serving to its quarterback, however ruining him.
From left, Frank Reich, Andy Dalton, Bryce Younger and Josh McCown talk about issues throughout a sport earlier this season. (Jim Dedmon / USA Right this moment)
Reich’s firing got here 10 months after he was named the primary offensive-minded head coach in Panthers historical past. At Reich’s introductory information convention, Tepper boasted of Reich’s skill to construct a top-10 workers that “must be an absolute commonplace.” With Tepper supplying the capital, Reich assembled one of many NFL’s largest staffs, stocked with a pair of former head coaches (Dom Capers and Jim Caldwell), two ascending coordinators (Thomas Brown and Ejiro Evero) and several other different well-known assistants.
Tepper additionally inspired Reich to go outdoors of his “circle” with a few of the hires. As such, most of the offensive coaches had by no means labored collectively and introduced completely different philosophies to an offense that will be led by a rookie quarterback from Week 1. In addition to the disagreements in scheme, there have been character conflicts and factions shaped on a workers that included two predominant holdovers from Rhule’s workers — offensive line coach James Campen and particular groups coordinator Chris Tabor, each of whom had been retained at Tepper’s urging.
After Tepper named Tabor interim coach final week, one in every of Tabor’s first strikes was to fireside quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and operating backs coach Duce Staley, who was on Philadelphia’s workers with Reich in 2017 when the Eagles received the Tremendous Bowl. Staley was nonetheless with the Eagles two years later when McCown performed for the crew.
The 44-year-old McCown logged 17 seasons within the NFL as a backup quarterback. McCown twice interviewed for the Houston Texans’ head-coaching emptiness, however his Panthers’ function was his first NFL teaching job.
Some in Carolina thought Reich and McCown weren’t robust sufficient on Younger because the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama acquired off to a bumpy begin.
Reich, Fitterer and the offensive coaches determined the precedence earlier than Younger’s first season was getting ready him to name performs within the huddle for the primary time and giving him time to soak up a playbook that blended Reich’s system with extensive zone ideas Brown purchased from the Los Angeles Rams. Any tweaks or adjustments the Panthers needed to make to Younger’s mechanics would wait till the offseason.
However Younger has been taking a beating. He’s been sacked 44 instances and is on tempo to complete with 64, which might be the fourth-highest complete in NFL historical past. Some within the group believed inconsistent depth on his dropbacks was a minimum of a part of the difficulty for the 5-foot-10 quarterback.
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After Tepper delivered the message to do one thing about it, McCown started working with Younger on his footwork earlier than the Panthers’ Week 12 sport at Tennessee — three months into the season. Veteran backup quarterback Andy Dalton mentioned Younger’s dropbacks had been among the many educating factors throughout the Panthers’ Thanksgiving week practices.
“Footwork’s part of taking part in this sport. And it’s not altering his footwork,” Dalton mentioned. “I believe it’s simply an emphasis on simply preserving it constant. I went by it, too. On sure throws, you need your footwork to look comparable and all that type of stuff. So I believe it’s simply extra of an emphasis on that.”
One supply mentioned he didn’t discover a lot change in Younger’s dropbacks towards the Titans, who had 4 sacks and 6 hits on Younger in a 17-10 loss that dropped the Panthers to a league-worst 1-10. As he left the guests locker room in Nashville, a visibly irritated Tepper shook his head and yelled, “F—!”
Reich was passed by the following morning, fired after the NFL’s shortest head-coaching stint since 1978 — and for the second time in as many seasons. Reich went 40-33-1 in 5 seasons in Indianapolis earlier than being let go in November 2022.
Reich, who turned 62 on Monday, would typically use the phrase “range of thought” when describing his workers. However attempting to include Brown’s concepts into his system — that includes shotgun units and a horizontal-stretch move sport — proved to be clunky.
“It’s simply not offense,” one staffer mentioned. “You didn’t see Indy’s offense once they (had been second in) the league in speeding (in 2021). You didn’t see Philly when he was there or when he was with the Chargers and people dynamic offenses. You didn’t see any of that.”
However many in league circles — together with expertise evaluators with different groups — query whether or not Fitterer surrounded Younger with sufficient playmakers after the GM despatched No. 1 receiver DJ Moore to Chicago as a part of the deal for the primary choose. The Panthers are 13-33 since Fitterer arrived in 2021, a .283 profitable share that’s tied with the Bears for the worst mark over that span. Fitterer has been given no assurances about his future in Charlotte, in response to a league supply.
Bryce Younger hasn’t thrown for 200 yards in a sport because the Panthers’ solely win, Oct. 29, towards the Texans. (Wesley Hitt / Getty Photographs)
With the Panthers 0-6 on the bye, Reich turned play calling over to the 37-year-old Brown, who coached operating backs and tight ends with the Rams however had by no means known as performs. After the Panthers beat Houston 15-13 within the first sport after the change, Reich gave Brown a game ball and later acquired choked up speaking concerning the second.
However the Houston win was adopted by losses to Indianapolis and Chicago, each of which had dropping data and had been lacking their beginning quarterbacks. The Panthers managed simply 13 factors in each losses and failed to attain an offensive landing towards the Bears.
The warmth was turning up on Reich, with The Athletic reporting after the sport towards the Bears that possession wanted to see extra progress on offense. Reich was getting the message as properly: On the Monday following the Week 10 loss at Chicago, Reich introduced he could be calling performs once more.
Reich’s reversal additional divided the offensive workers, with one assistant saying, “That was surprising.”
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After seeing Younger play properly in hurry-up mode on the finish of a few lopsided losses early within the season, Reich needed to make use of extra no-huddle offense and thought he was higher outfitted than Brown to run it. In Reich’s first sport again as play caller, a 33-10 loss to Dallas, the Panthers completed with a season-low 187 yards and Younger was sacked seven instances. In equity, the Cowboys are high 5 within the league in yards and factors allowed and rank seventh in sacks.
The injuries from Reich’s reversal on play calling haven’t healed but. When requested final week about Reich’s affect on him, Brown known as it a “loaded query” earlier than including he was lucky for the chance Reich gave him.
The Panthers’ defensive assistants, almost all of whom had labored with Evero beforehand, have been extra aligned, in response to sources.
However that has not been the case on the offensive facet. At one level, a number of coaches needed to bench Younger in favor of Dalton, who had the Panthers’ solely 300-yard passing sport when Younger missed the Week 3 sport at Seattle with an ankle harm. However these conversations by no means reached Reich, Fitterer or possession, in response to high-ranking crew sources.
Different coaches felt they couldn’t voice their opinions with out being considered as malcontents.
A number of sources mentioned Reich would name out Younger for errors throughout team-wide movie evaluations — as he did different gamers — early within the season however backed off in current weeks, with Younger’s confidence in thoughts.
“You’ll be able to coach a participant laborious,” mentioned one staffer, “with out killing his spirit.”
However one participant mentioned it wasn’t Reich’s nature or teaching type to be overly vital of any participant or place group.
There even have been points with scheme matches.
Brown’s background is with the Rams’ mid-zone and wide-zone runs, which weren’t a terrific match for a few of the Panthers’ offensive linemen. Proper guard Austin Corbett ran the scheme throughout three seasons in L.A., together with the Rams’ Tremendous Bowl season of 2021. However Corbett missed the primary six video games this yr whereas recovering from ACL surgical procedure, then injured his MCL in the identical knee towards Dallas in Week 11 and was misplaced for the season.
Middle Bradley Bozeman conceded his extra bruising ability set wasn’t superb for the extensive zone, finest suited to faster linemen who can occupy defensive linemen early within the play after which get to the second degree.
“Working downhill is what I like to do,” Bozeman mentioned. “That’s what I’ve made my cash on. Sadly, we didn’t have many alternatives to try this.”
Reich experimented in coaching camp with placing Younger beneath heart, which Younger did occasionally in school. Some ideas that may have helped negate an opponent’s move rush, together with play-action passes, are simpler when the quarterback is beneath heart. However when the season began, Reich — Jim Kelly’s backup within the Payments’ Ok-Gun offenses throughout the Nineteen Nineties — had Younger lined up in pistol and shotgun units virtually completely.
With Brown again calling performs Sunday in a 21-18 loss at Tampa Bay, Younger was beneath heart for seven of the Panthers’ 13 first-quarter performs. However the acquainted points quickly resurfaced; Younger was sacked 4 instances and threw an interception on his remaining move to finish any comeback hopes.
Bryce Younger has been sacked 44 instances in 11 video games this season. (Bob Donnan / USA Right this moment)
Reich’s efforts to spice up Younger’s confidence — some gamers considered as overprotectiveness — continued by what turned out to be Reich’s remaining offensive play with the Panthers at Tennessee. Trailing by 7 and going through a fourth-and-6 on the two-minute warning, Younger noticed the Titans line up in what he believed to be Cowl 0 — man protection with no deep defender — and checked to a large receiver display screen to DJ Chark.
Chark caught the ball 4 yards behind the road of scrimmage and was tackled for no achieve by security Amani Hooker, permitting the Titans to reclaim possession and run out the clock. After the sport, Reich mentioned it was the suitable test by Younger and that Chark might need gotten too far behind the road of scrimmage. A clearly agitated Chark insisted the Titans had been not in Cowl 0 and the Panthers ought to have caught with the unique play name.
A former NFL head coach agreed, saying the Titans fooled Younger into pondering they had been in Cowl 0 earlier than dropping their bottom security to the put up space.
That the postgame highlight fell on one of many receivers was not a brand new improvement. The group’s difficulties getting open has been a season-long narrative.
“I don’t assume we acquired the brunt of coaches’ criticism. However I do really feel like we do get a whole lot of the blame in relation to the success of the offense,” Chark mentioned final week. “Clearly, if you discuss offense, the very first thing that we are saying (is), ‘You’ve gotta give Bryce weapons,’ and issues like that.”
The offensive issues have endured all season: The Panthers are averaging 15.9 factors a sport and haven’t topped the 20-point barrier since a 42-21 loss at Miami on Oct. 15.
Bozeman isn’t certain whether or not the issues stem from scheme or personnel. “The very fact of it’s we didn’t actually rating many factors this season,” he mentioned. “We by no means might execute and get it to that time.”
The Panthers want somebody who can get Younger untracked and taking part in nearer to the extent of Texans rookie C.J. Stroud, Younger’s good friend and former AAU basketball rival in southern California. Tepper once more is predicted to focus his search on coaches with offensive backgrounds, with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson — who canceled his interview with the Panthers final yr — considered as a high goal.
Johnson is a local of Asheville, N.C., who performed at North Carolina. However it may not be simple to lure him to Charlotte: Some within the Panthers’ group, in response to a league supply, have been texting Johnson about how sophisticated it’s been to work in Carolina this season.
Whereas Tepper prepares to begin one other teaching search and Reich, Staley and McCown ponder their subsequent strikes, the gamers and remaining coaches will attempt to keep away from turning into the primary 1-16 crew because the NFL adopted a 17-game schedule.
“I can truthfully say I don’t assume (Reich) was the only downside and all the things is mounted now,” Chark mentioned. “We’ve nonetheless acquired a whole lot of stuff we have now to repair.”
(High photograph of Bryce Younger and Frank Reich: Wade Payne / AP Picture)
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