Winning in the NFL is difficult, and there’s no better example of that right now than the Carolina Panthers.
Head coach Frank Reich spoke with reporters on Monday, in the aftermath of his team’s 42-24 loss to the Detroit Lions. When asked about owner David Tepper in the midst of a disappointing 0-5 start, Reich said everyone is trying to build a healthy balance between winning now and winning for years to come.
Buy Panthers Tickets“That’s what we all want,” he said. “We want to build a winner now and we want something that can be sustained. We want to build it on the right foundation. He’s got a lot of money. So we can throw a bunch of money at this guy, that guy — then it ends up blowing up in your face. We can give examples of teams that happened with. We’re trying to build it on good principles, build through the draft, re-sign your own players when you can — it doesn’t always make sense — but when you can. So I think, obviously, [Tepper] has a great perspective on that.”
Tepper has tried to lay a good enough foundation for his franchise in 2023. He’s thrown some of that money at Reich and his all-star coaching staff, some more of it at a few free agents and a bit of his team’s resources to nab who they believe is their quarterback of the future.
But Reich, who was later asked about rebuilding, said it’s still about both the present and the future.
“Well, I’m not calling it a rebuild. I’m not calling it a rebuild,” he replied. “Actually, let me say it this way — I think everything is always building. We probably all would agree with that. We’re always building. We’re always building.
“So, I’m really comfortable with that. I think players understand that. We understand that as coaches. So, you just want to see some fruitier labor a little bit earlier than we’re seeing it right now. I’m confident we’re doing it the right way with the right people. We just need a little bit more evidence, a little bit more fruit right now to get things going.”
