Did Prejudice Cause the Panthers Another Losing Season?

Read Time:5 Minute, 35 Second

Monday, July 9, 2018, may go down as one of the worst days for fans of the Carolina Panthers. It was on the day that the sale of the team became official and David Tepper became the new owner of the Panthers replacing Jerry Richardson who was facing scandal accusations of sexual and racial workplace misconduct.

Now, 5 years later with Tepper at the helm, the team that he has purchased has yet to see a winning season and has yet to hire a competent coach. Three head coaches in five years and the firing of the latest head coach, Frank Reich has lots of fans speculating if this organization is still an organization that refuses to hire an African-American coach.

There are many reasons why one may speculate this. After all, it was Tepper who decided to hire Frank Reich as head coach 11 months ago rather than Steve Wilks. It was Wilks who became interim head coach and took a terrible 1-4 Panthers team under his wing and changed the team’s culture within a matter of weeks. A team that seemed to be done for the season made a miraculous run and went 6-6 under Wilks missing the playoffs by only one game.

As the 2022 season came to an end, almost everyone thought it was a sure thing that Wilks would become the new head coach. Everyone except Tepper. Tepper went on to hire Reich who was dismissed earlier in the year by the Indianapolis Colts after starting the season 3-5. with a team that was predicted by many to make the playoffs and win the AFC South. It was said that Reich had a better interview and came in with a plan, whereas Wilks did not. A better plan? A better interview? Come on. What better example can an individual give than a realistic job preview? Wilks exemplified everything you wanted in a head coach by showing what he could do on the field and in the locker room, yet because he didn’t interview well you hired Reich.

This is the same Panthers team that passed up on Eric Bieniemy, who was a 2-time Super Bowl champion coach with the Kansas City Chiefs from 2018-2022 and put together one of the best offensive-minded teams of the decade. Instead, Tepper decided to go with Matt Rhule who had no NFL experience and who was eventually fired as the Panthers head coach in his 3rd year after compiling an 11-27 record.

Is it wrong for one to ask if Tepper is uncomfortable with a black coach running his team? After all, there were several quality black coaches that he has had the opportunity to hire. Is it the fact that maybe Tepper only interviewed Wilks because of the Rooney Rule, which requires all teams seeking a head coach to interview at least one minority candidate?

Everyone knows that the Rooney rule is broken and completely a slap in the face to minorities as organizations continue to use these individuals just to appease a rule. How unethical, wrong, and completely humiliating for these individuals. If you have no intent in hiring an individual then why interview them?

Former NFL quarterback Doug Williams, who was the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl when he led the Washington Redskins to a win against the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXII, agrees that the Rooney Rule is broken.

In an interview I did with Williams he said: “I’m kind of with you,” said Williams. “When the Rooney Rule came out at first, I was in favor of it because I thought everyone was going to be fair, do it the way it was supposed to be done.” Williams continued, “The NFL owners have circumvented the Rooney Rule. They use it to interview a minority candidate and then hire the guy they want to hire. That’s unfortunate.”

Unfortunate indeed. One has to wonder why in a league that has close to 70% minority players there is so much trouble when it comes to hiring a minority coach. “The thing that gets me more than anything and that I don’t understand the most is that when you got over 65%-70% of your players that are minority and you don’t look at it from a way these players will respond to a black coach,” said Williams. “Don’t get me wrong. Andy Reid, Sean Payton, and Bill Belichick are great coaches that do a great job, but there are some teams that are built for a minority coach to get an opportunity out there.”

Several organizations use the excuse that the pipeline doesn’t have lots of minority candidates, but Williams disagrees, “Don’t tell me about the pipeline not being full. The problem is they won’t release the valve. That’s so unfortunate that the Rooney Rule has not worked the way it was intended to work.”

As one wonders why Wilks was not offered the head coaching job last year, one has to also wonder why special teams coach Chris Tabor was given the interim head coaching position over experienced former NFL head coach Jim Caldwell who is currently a special advisor for the Panthers. Caldwell has a 62-50 lifetime record as an NFL head coach and his teams have made the playoffs 4 of the 7 years including a 2009 Superbowl appearance with the Colts. Is it maybe he’s worried about Caldwell getting these players to play at a high level like Wilks did and getting himself into the same situation that he was in last year having to make the decision to not keep Caldwell, like he made not to keep Wilks?

“The most important thing when you look at this realistically, and I’ve been around this league a while, is who you are comfortable with.” Williams continued. “Who I don’t mind sitting at the dinner table, drinking coffee with, or sitting around the fireplace. Are you comfortable with a black coach sitting at the same table as you? The most important thing is comfort. You look around this league and you see some of the coaches have been in the league and how they faired over the last year or so and the last few years and they’re getting rehired and rehashed. It’s the same ol thing because why? That’s who they’re comfortable with.” concluded Williams.

Tepper will have another chance at hiring a new coach come the end of the season and one has to wonder whether he will open the valve on the pipeline and hire one of the many minority candidates that are out there or if will he do the same ol thing.