Panthers leadership get mixed reviews in NFLPA Team Report Card this year

Sliding backwards is only to be expected from a franchise in constant flux

The Carolina Panthers received an uninspiring assortment of grades on their 2024 report card from the NFLPA. They ranked 17th overall out of 32 clubs, down from 12th last season.

This year’s edition has more and slightly different categories than the 2023 report card. The team took small steps forward and few more steps backward on some of the similar categories, but the headlines this year come from the new stuff. For the first time, the NFLPA surveyed players on the quality of the ownership and head coach of each franchise.

It is unclear when exactly this survey was conducted, but it does seem likely that it was done after the hiring of Dave Canales as the Panthers new head coach. Players gave Canales an A- grade while handing team owner David Tepper a D.

That ranks Canales as the 14th best coach in the league and Tepper as the fifth worst owner. Tepper came in ahead of only the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Joel Glazer, the Arizona Cardinals’ Michael Bidwell, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Art Rooney II, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Clark Hunt.

Players must really hate Hunt to rate him last even after his franchise has won three Super Bowls in five years. I guess winning doesn’t fix everything.

I say it is likely the survey took place after the Canales hire because it is hard to imagine players giving either Frank Reich or Chris Tabor an A-. That suggests that Canales, whose relentless optimism has scared some fans, has actually been connecting with at least some of the locker room. It’s early, but a good start is a good thing. Still, an A- is only so good compared to his peers. 14th out of 32 is barely above the median grade and 19 teams overall gave their coaches an A- or higher.

Tepper’s grade, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to hang on when these surveys occurred. He is the only constant at the top of the organization after six years of loss and change. Set aside any rumors of his meddling in the locker room or undermining Reich, at the end of the day he’s responsible for the each mess this team has stepped in. It’s clear the team sees that.