Panthers coach Matt Rhule: Owner David Tepper called before Sean Payton report dropped
Panthers coach Matt Rhule said team owner David Tepper called him earlier this week after learning about a report coming out that said Carolina was eyeing retired Saints coach Sean Payton.
He said Tepper told him that there was “nothing to it.”
“I know Dave Tepper well enough to believe he wouldn’t be talking to another coach right now,” Rhule said Friday.
The report, published on Front Office Sports on Thursday, said that the Panthers “are eyeing the Super Bowl-winning coach as the savior who can lead them back to the NFL Playoffs and Super Bowl,” adding that they might be willing to wait a year for it. The report cites “sources,” but does not name a source.
A team spokesperson refuted the report Thursday, and pointed to the statement he provided to the site.
“We would not talk to — or consider — a coach who’s under contract with another team,” the Panthers spokesperson said.
Payton announced his retirement at the end of the 2021 season in January, but seemed to leave open the possibility for a return.
“Retirement, I don’t think is the right word today,” Payton told reporters in January. “I don’t know what’s next, and it kind of feels good.”
Though retired, Payton, 58, remains under contract with the Saints until the 2024 season. Trades for coaches rarely happen in the NFL, but when they do, they come with a steep price.
When the Raiders traded Jon Gruden to the Buccaneers in 2002, the Bucs gave up two first-round draft picks, two second-round draft picks and $8 million.
Another important factor is that the Saints have the ultimate say, and teams in the NFL rarely trade within their division. So the likelihood that the Saints would even agree to send arguably the greatest coach in their franchise’s history to a division rival, is slim.
The report came less than a month after Tepper spoke with media for the first time in more than a year. Among the things he addressed was Rhule’s job status, saying that he believed in Rhule.
“He has my full support,” Tepper said in April.
Tepper hired Rhule in 2020, giving him a seven-year contract, which was unprecedented for a coach coming from the college ranks. The Panthers are 10-23 in two seasons with during that span.
But Tepper has liked what Carolina has done this offseason to improve, including some of their coaching hirings and what it has done in the draft.
“When he came to my house 2 1/2 years ago, he told me that this was a five-year rebuild. That’s what he said to me,” Rhule said. “He convinced me then to come be a part of it and build it with him. We’re not where we want to be and I don’t think it’s going to take five years, I don’t want it to take five years, but those were the words he said to me. I’m looking forward to taking a step this year.”
Rhule said he doesn’t expect all news about him to be positive, but he reaffirmed that he wouldn’t pay much attention to this moving forward.
“I have a lot of faith in the people in this building, the way that everyone is working and I certainly have a lot of faith in Dave,” Rhule said. “I left a great job with people that I loved and cared about to come here because I believed in his long term vision to get this thing done. Do I want stories like that out there, probably not, but at the same time, I know a lot of people lose their edge when there are a lot of great stories about you.”
This story was originally published May 13, 2022 at 3:54 PM.
