Frank Reich: Postgame meetings with David Tepper haven’t been fun

David Tepper has seen a lot of numbers in his lifetime, and most of them have probably been quite good. But the two that he’s been looking at in the record column over the past six years can’t be sitting well.

Since taking ownership of the Carolina Panthers in 2018, Tepper’s team has gone 29-58. The right side of that mark has been getting all the attention lately, as the Panthers have strung together five straight losses to begin the 2023 season.

Head coach Frank Reich spoke following the latest of those defeats, a 42-24 drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Lions, and was asked about his conversations with Tepper.

“Talk to him every week, multiple times. Usually talk either Monday or Tuesday after a game,” he said. “And he’s super competitive. Wants to bring a winner to the Carolinas. He wants it now. Wants it now. And pushes me and pushes us to that end. He wants to do whatever it takes and turn over every stone. Turn it as much as he has to to produce winning football. So, I appreciate those conversations—they’re always very challenging. He’s a super-competitive person. He’s not gonna sit idly by.”

He certainly didn’t sit idly by this offseason. Tepper’s Panthers were quite aggressive leading up to what’s been a disappointing campaign—as they assembled an all-star coaching staff, inked a number of decent names in free agency and traded up to the No. 1 overall pick to secure a franchise quarterback.

All of that activity, however, has resulted in an early 0-5 record—leaving Carolina as the only winless team in the NFL heading into Week 6. So, obviously, Reich hasn’t fully enjoyed his weekly meetings with a presumably frustrated owner.

“There’s different philosophies in ownership,” he later added. “Some owners kinda stay away and don’t engage a whole lot. Other owners do. And his philosophy is he’s gonna engage.

“And listen, it’s only been a short experience, but it’s been a really good experience. It hasn’t been fun. It’s not fun. Those meetings—I wouldn’t characterize them as fun meetings. But those meetings make me better and I trust they make us better.”