Friday Morning Thoughts: How Much Patience is There?
Another week, another loss for the Carolina Panthers, dropping them to 1-8 on the season. For most teams who had the number one overall pick, this wouldn't be all that alarming. But as you well know, the Panthers weren't your ordinary team with the top pick.
They mortgaged the future to go up eight spots in the draft order to get Bryce Young and in order for that deal to come to fruition, they had to part with their top playmaker in DJ Moore. Last night, Moore hauled in five receptions for 58 yards against his former team in the 16-13 win.
Very few around the league believed the Panthers had enough on the roster to make a true run at the playoffs, but no one expected this poor of a start. And in a lot of ways, it's unexplainable. How is it that an offensive line that was so dominant down the stretch last season regress so quickly? How is this all-star coaching staff unable to find answers for everything that has gone wrong through the first half of the season? How can the Panthers expect Bryce Young to succeed when his supporting cast is less than ideal? Why is there no creativity in the offensive play-calling despite the change at the bye week?
These are all valid questions that many are asking. But the biggest question...How much patience does David Tepper have? Can he really fire two head coaches in as many seasons? My initial thought is no, you can't. But if things don't improve and actually continue to regress throughout the season, Tepper may not have a choice. Anytime you have this bad of a season, no job is safe and that includes GM Scott Fitterer.
When you look back at all the trades, signings, and contract decisions Fitterer has made, there's more bad than good. The move that could prove the most costly is the one he made with the Bears to get in position to draft Young. I'm not saying that as a shot at Young, but more so the optics of making that trade and following that up with a 1-8 start to the season. The Panthers included their first round pick in 2024 as part of the deal, so there is no carrot for being the worst team in the NFL this season.
The thing is, Tepper was all-in on making the trade. He had no issue with it all. But at the end of the day, if it doesn't work out, it's on Fitterer, the guy who said this team was ready to drop a rookie quarterback in and make a push to take control of the NFC South division.
As I mentioned on our podcast last week, this is setting up to be a similar situation to last season. The Niners embarrassed Carolina at home with 70% or so of Bank of America Stadium filled with fans in red. Rhule was fired the next day. Next week, the Panthers host the Dallas Cowboys who obviously have a large fan base and it wouldn't be all that surprising to see them take over Charlotte just like Niner fans did. If that happens and the Panthers get crushed, it might lead to someone losing their job. The question is, who will it be?
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