During his exit interview 10 days ago, Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer made a comment he’d probably like to have back. He told reporters that Nicole Tepper, Chief Administrative Officer of Tepper Sports & Entertainment and wife of David Tepper, was involved in their search for a new head coach.
Welp . . .
As reported by CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones on Thursday night, the Panthers are in violation of league rules pertaining to their head-coaching search. The violation is in regards to the involvement of Tepper—who, according to Jones’ sources, “had not fulfilled the required inclusive hiring training necessary for her to take part in the interviews as of Tuesday night.”
Jones, in his report, included a statement from NFL SVP and chief diversity and inclusion officer Jonathan Beane. It reads:
“The inclusive hiring training is a key element of our efforts to foster an equitable hiring process. Any suggestion that this mandatory requirement was not met by applicable clubs will be addressed and corrected immediately.”
Additionally, a Panthers spokesman said the following about the matter:
“She was trained prior to participating in interviews.”
Carolina has already interviewed Steve Wilks, Frank Reich, Jim Caldwell, Shane Steichen and Evero Ejiro for the position.
