Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper has no relation to the singer Robert Tepper. Which is a shame.
See, David Tepper is a billionaire former hedge fund manager who bought the Panthers in 2018 and has mismanaged them into becoming one of the bottom-rung franchises in the league.
Robert Tepper is a singer/songwriter most famous for the song "No Easy Way Out" attached to the late night driving montage in Rocky IV.
In the film Rocky decides that he has to face his fears head-on by travelling to the Soviet Union to fight in an unsanctioned prize fight on Christmas day to honor the memory of his best friend who died in the ring after a two round bludgeoning at the hands of a monosyllabic Russian giant named Drago. But when Rocky's wife Adrian learns about his decision to fight Drago she confronts him; dousing his hopes with ice-cold water by screaming, "You can't win!"
With a hangdog expression, Rocky lowers his head and admits that she may be right, but that Drago is going to have to be willing to stand in front of him too. And then he leaves the house—even though he just got home!
From there he jumps into his 1984 Lamborghini Jalpa and begins the most contemplative and emotional driving sequence ever put to film.
As Rocky's hand touches the door handle the Robert Tepper kicks in. A one-note synth rock repetition joined by a drum machine snare timed to every edit as the sequence charts his dramatic exit down out of the estate's driveway.
We're not indestructible
Baby, better get that straight
I think it's unbelievable
How you give into the hands of fate
The NFL is structured in a way to lend a hand to the teams struggling to win games. Along with the sharing of all television and streaming revenue, it also rewards losing with higher drafts picks and an easier schedule, making it more difficult to be a prolonged loser.
When David Tepper bought the Panthers in 2018 fans of the team hoped that his deep pockets would bolster their chances by out-spending other franchises on coaches, infrastructure, and travel amenities; all things outside the NFL salary cap's purview. At the time Tepper was the wealthiest NFL owner in their exclusive club.
"The first thing I care about is winning. The second thing I care about is winning. The third thing I care about is winning—on and off the field." David Tepper. May 22, 2018.
Tepper is the second Panthers owner in franchise history, following the disgraced Jerry Richardson, who chose to sell the team following allegations of racial and sexual misconduct in the workplace that the league eventually fined the team $2.75 million for. In the public's eye you could say Tepper received a clean slate and a low bar to clear.
Inheriting a team a few years removed from a Super Bowl appearance that went 11-5 in 2017 and made the playoffs, Tepper took the baton of leadership from Richardson, sanitized it (hopefully), and promptly did the only thing that fans revile more than racism and sexual harassment: he lost a lot of football games.
The season opening loss to the New Orleans Saints last week brought Richardson's record as owner and to 31-69. The 47-10 thrashing dousing any hope Panthers fans had that the new coach (Tepper's seventh in seven years) would be any different than the last one.
When the football gods yelling at the rich man from the top of the stairs, "You can't win!" he should get into his exotic sports car, and try to outrace his demons.
Some things are worth fighting for
Some feelings never die
I'm not askin' for another chance
I just wanna know why
Tepper's touch could turn low-risk investments into gold in finance, but in football success has baffled him. Worse, it has mocked him.
Every move the owner has made seems to compound upon the last. As the team transitioned away from the stars and coaches who took them to the Super Bowl in 2016 it struggled to backfill the giant holes left behind. The general managers (they get fired too) have had no clear plan to replace Cam Newton, Luke Kuechly, Greg Olsen, or Ryan Kalil.
Even when the Panther tried to sell an asset high to recoup draft capital the choice has blown up in their faces. Trades for ascending players like DJ Moore, Christian McCaffrey, and Brian Burns gave the team the extra picks that eventually helped it swing for the fences in the 2023 draft.
Trading up from the 9th overall pick to the 1st overall pick to select quarterback Bryce Young from Alabama the Panthers gave up: wide receiver DJ Moore, the 61st overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft, the 2024 first-round pick (which turned into the 1st pick overall; Bears quarterback Caleb Williams), and their 2025 second-round pick.
Young has struggled to live up to the expectations, to put it mildly.
Young was the worst quarterback in the NFL last week, according to Pro Football Focus, and first-year head coach Dave Canales is already being asked whether it is time to bench him .
Young, who was 13-for-30 for 161 yards, no passing touchdowns and two interceptions, received a grade of 32.6 per Pro Football Focus as the new-look Panthers looked even worse than they did last season. Young's first pass of the season was intercepted; a pass so out of Panthers' players range that it was difficult to know who he had aimed it at.
When Carolina kicked a field goal to end the first half it ended a nine quarter scoring drought going back to last year; the longest scoring drought since the Bengals in year 2000. The kick cut the Saints lead to 30-3.
In 17 professional starts, he has thrown 11 touchdowns, against 12 interceptions, and won twice. (2-15).
At Alabama Young lost only three times out of the 27 games he started, which is why Tepper became so enamored with him. Gripping the wheel at 2 A.M. on another late night joyride leading up to the 2023 draft, Tepper glances at the rearview mirror to make sure that no opponents scouts see how covetous he has become of Young.
If he is the generational talent that Tepper thinks he is then maybe, just maybe, he could finally start winning games and stop being made fun of by podcasters. Not that Tepper would listen to their podcasts when he could opt for the Rocky IV tape he's cherished all these years.
There's no easy way out
There's no shortcut home
There's no easy way out
Givin' in can't be wrong
The team has been trying to fill Cam Newton's large shoes for so long that they actually brought him back briefly in 2021 to see if nostalgia had any effect on the scoreboard. It did not. Jumping from Teddy Bridgewater to Sam Darnold to Baker Mayfield, under Tepper's watch the Panthers can't figure out if the quarterbacks play poorly because they have no support, or if the supporting pieces cannot be accurately evaluted given how poor the QB play is. (Both Mayfield and Darnold won games they started for different teams in Week 1.)
This season's roster was reconfigured to give more support to Young—which came at the expense of weakening the other side of the ball.
The case for Young "needing more help" does not have much oxygen in the tank. The Panthers traded for disgruntled Steelers reciever Diontae Johnson to pair with Young's favorite target Adam Thielen. Johnson should be motivated as he is in the final year of his contract and seeking a raise.
Depending on the metric you use, the Panthers are more invested financially in the offensive line than nearly every other team. The team gave large contracts to Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to bolster the interior of their offensive line in the hopes that the Young would blossom if given a little more room to see the field. Young still stands 5'9" which makes seeing his teammates down the field ambitious. He stood 5'9" at the combine too, but that did not scare off Tepper.
The beleaguered hedge fund manager never had trouble spotting an undervalued asset before. Why would a franchise quarterback be any different?
I don't wanna drag you down
But I'm feelin' like a prisoner
Like a stranger in a no named town
I see all the angry faces
Afraid that could be you and me
Talkin' about what might have been
I'm thinkin' about what it used to be
And then there are the temper tantrums; the clickbait emotional outbursts.
After a close loss to the Titans last season Tepper made headlines for screaming "FUCK!" as he exited the locker room. Tepper was infuriated by that loss that he fired Frank Reich the next day, less than a year into the head coach’s tenure.
He forced Reich to meet with him after every game. The beatings will continue until the morale improves, Frank.
Between the Panthers and his MLS team, Charlotte FC, Tepper has now fired 10 coaches in eight seasons. Tepper goes through coaches the way Tyreek Hill goes through baby showers.
His fingerprints on the clubs have not only been marred by the performances on the field. Tepper has poisoned civic relationships as well. He broke ground on an $800 million practice facility in Rock Hill, SC, sweetened by $115 million in tax breaks, only to abandon the project when that city declined to cough up more cash.
He was disciplined by the league for throwing a drink at a fan . The $300 thousand dollar hit to his multi-billion dollar wallet having the same effect of one gnat attacking a Las Vegas buffet.
When Tepper saw a sign at a local restaurant leading up to the 2024 draft that read "Please let the coach & GM pick this year," he went inside and asked to speak to the manager about it. As the manager copped to making the sign, Tepper took off the man's hat, apparently because it was a Philadelphia Eagles hat. The whole interaction went viral thanks to surveillance cameras.
There's no easy way out
There's no shortcut home
There's no easy way out
Givin' in can't be wrong
Perhaps the biggest albatross around Tepper's neck now is that the quarterback he passed on might already be gifted enough to deliver a championship. Though only a season into their careers, the Texans C.J. Stroud has not simply ended the "who's the better prospect?" debate so much as he's put the their two names into the Michael Jordan/Sam Bowie conversation.
Stroud, named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, surprisingly led the Texans to an AFC South title and a playoff win and is a trendy pick this year to win the Super Bowl—at 22-years-old!
I suppose it could always be worse for Panthers fans.
Tepper was one of the many owners who was willing to trade the farm for Deshaun Watson back in 2021 before Watson made his desires known. (Just typing that sentence makes me cringe.)
Imagine the toxicity of that marriage for a second. Talk about no easy way out.
No matter how much money you spend on it, you can't outrace bad decisions.
Brutal takedown of a franchise in full tailspin
So guaranteed win then!!!!
Joe Alt looks legit