Wednesday afternoon, as his team prepared for their week one matchup against the Chicago Bears on the practice field in front of him, Carolina Panthers owner, David Tepper, held his first official press conference since the 2023 mid-season firing of Frank Reich.
During the roughly twelve minute availability, Tepper spoke about Bryce Young, Dave Canales, the progression of the team and more.
Here are seven things we learned:
Trending Upward
David Tepper believes the Carolina Panthers are trending upward and are in a better spot heading into this season than they were last season.
“Last year I said we’re not a playoff team, but we could get in the playoffs. I think we’re more of a playoff team this year than we were last year coming into it.”
Starting Fast is a Priority
There were a couple of references during Tepper’s availability about the need for the Panthers’ to limit early game deficits.
“We can’t have all come-from-behind wins in the NFL. So we get fast starts to games, we’re going to win,” Dave said when asked about the team’s expectations.
“We can go far,” he said while speaking about what Dave Canales and Dan Morgan have done in the last year. “We have the possibility. We know we can come from behind. We’ve got to start fast. We’ve got to start fast this season. We’ve got to start fast games. That’s it.”
Bryce Believer
Tepper was asked a couple of time about his level of confidence in Bryce Young, during which he affirmed his belief in the former number one overall pick.
“He has performed at a high level against high level competition. It seems to bring the best out of him. Bryce is the sort of guy that doesn’t feel the pressure. You saw it against the Rams twice. When you have that kind of performance, you know it’s there. Can he bring it every single game? I believe he can. You know it’s there. Like I said, I’m a believer and hopefully it comes true.”
String Wins
David Tepper was the very clear about what success would look like for him over the next couple of years and it includes doing something the Panthers have never done.
“I’ve said it for a long time about the Carolina Panthers – and maybe it’s in the water. So I won’t say it’s just one season, I’d like to have two winning seasons for the first time in this franchise’s history. I’d like to win this year and I’d like to win next year. I’d like to string wins. I’d like to see us string winning seasons. That’s success.”
Freeing Up Canales
When asked about Dave Canales giving up play calling duties, Tepper specifically referenced the move freeing up Canales to make faster in-game adjustments.
“What you hope is that we are faster in some of the things that we should be doing like making adjustments. Dave’s out there not with his head in the playbook, so he can see what’s going on and help make those adjustments sooner.”
Message to Fans
This was simple.
“Keep pounding.”
“We’re making progress. We’re going to continue to make progress. I believe in a winning season this year. Nothing’s easy in this NFL, but I believe we have everything here to win this year and we’ll have everything we need to win the the future too.”
Taking a Step Back
David Tepper has faced some criticism for being too involved with football operations, but due to his increased trust in football management he has admittedly taken a step back.
“I do think we’re on the right track and I do think we have very good people here in Dan and Dave and Brandt. I think we have a good management team on that side of the building. I trust them. I don’t feel the need to be around as much, because I trust them so much. And I’m optimistic. I’m realistic, but I’m optimistic.”