Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper was supposed to change the franchise for the better after taking over for Jerry Richardson. Instead, the Panthers were the worst NFL team in 2023 and it seems clear Tepper played a significant part in what happened.
The Panthers’ 2023 campaign was disastrous. Tepper invested heavily in the coaching staff, hiring Frank Reich as head coach and building one of the most well-paid and highly-regarded collections of assistant coaches in the NFL. However, what seemed like the perfect environment for rookie quarterback Bryce Young to learn ultimately turned into a disaster.
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Things turned ugly very fast for Carolina. As Young struggled early in the regular season, many prominent members of the Panthers coaching staff wanted to bench him in favor of Andy Dalton. However, the coaches were overruled and there were even bigger problems going on inside the facility.
According to Tony Pauline of Sportskeeda , Tepper reportedly had the equivalent of spies working within the Panthers’ coaching staff and locker room. Among them was offensive line coach James Campen, who “made a few enemies within the organization” as he operated as the eyes and ears for Tepper.