The fact that Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule got to keep his job after a particularly embarrassing 2021 campaign might’ve been enough of an endorsement. But he never received the all-important public backing from owner David Tepper . . . until today.
After over a year away from team media, the 64-year-old billionaire did some catching up with reporters on Wednesday. He began by expressing his approval of Rhule, both for the job he’s doing now and moving forward.
“I think I wanna thank Matt, I want to compliment and thank him, for the real progress toward winning this season. I want to compliment him on assembling a new staff that brings a lot more experience than we had with the old staff, including two former head coaches,” he said. “I believe in Matt and he has my full support.”
Despite the pomp and circumstance of the hiring back in 2020, Rhule has driven the Panthers to two lackluster five-win seasons. He’s also failed to corral a franchise player under center, something Tepper may actually think they have in Sam Darnold.
“I do think we have a very good quarterback in Sam Darnold,” Tepper said in upping the praise of his current regime.
“At the time that we made the trade, Sam’s compensation was moderate, and what the coaching staff and what the scouting staff thought at the time was he was a very talented young man,” he later added. “He still does have incredible skills.”
Those skills translated into a 4-7 mark for Carolina in Darnold’s 11 starts. The fourth-year passer, obviously, finished with a fourth straight miserable year—completing a hair under 60 percent of his passes for 2,527 yards, nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
