Panthers fans dish on Rhule’s firing, Tepper’s ownership, tanking and trades
It’s a Saturday night on the Santa Monica Pier, and in the back of Rusty’s Surf Ranch, there’s a party going on.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are battling the San Diego Padres on the TV in the beach-side karaoke bar, but Carolina Panthers blue and black has chewed up most of the scenery on the patio.
The Panthers will lose to the Los Angeles Rams, 24-10, roughly 24 hours from now, but the atmosphere — created by dozens of members of the “Roaring Riot” fan club — is surging with positive energy.
Before the Panthers turn 1-5 on the season, “Roaring Riot” is hosting its weekend festivities ahead of an early morning tailgate that will feature 125 fans who have traveled from far and wide to be part of the fun.
There’s a sense of both relief and excitement among the bunch as the miserable Matt Rhule era has just come to a halt. While some in attendance are only cautiously optimistic about interim head coach Steve Wilks, a large portion of the group believes Rhule’s dismissal will save them from another static season.
“I think it’s a good decision because of the timing,” Renay Joplin said of Rhule’s firing. “We liked him initially when he came but nothing really changed for the better, like we were hoping. Something needs to be done to mix things up and try something new.”
“We tried to give him as much time as possible,” Jeff Joplin, Renay’s husband, added. “Me and her probably gave more of a leash than other fans, especially going into this year. But at one point, it’s the same story every week and nothing is changing. I think for the team and the spark, you need to do something else to get on a new culture, a new path.”
During the party on the pier, The Charlotte Observer spoke with members of the traveling fan base to check the pulse of the Panthers faithful heading into the early days of the post-Rhule regime.
No Tanking, Please
The Joplins are season-ticket holders for the Panthers and Charlotte FC. Both are emotionally invested in the local teams and the community, and they are among the die-hard fans who traveled across the country to see a 1-4 team face the defending Super Bowl champions.
The season hasn’t gone how the Joplins had hoped, but the Charlotte-based couple still wants to see what Wilks can do in his interim role over the next three months.
“I think Steve Wilks, at least right now, is a really good hire because he’s from Charlotte,” Renay said. “And I think that’s what a lot of people wanted to see, too, is that tradition.”
Unlike a vocal portion of the fan base on social media, the Joplins aren’t interested in watching the Panthers take a dive for the first overall pick. The same could be said for Acey and Mike Holmes, who traveled from Castle Rock, Colo., to watch the Week 6 battle at SoFi Stadium.
“I never want to see a team tank for a pick ever,” Acey said. “If you have a tanking culture, ugh. Please, no thank you. We’re all done.”
Mike Holmes, who joined the Panthers fan base after meeting Acey in Charlotte in the mid-2000s, is a former high school football coach. Mike believes tanking would only hurt the Panthers’ culture and the fan base’s investment.
“Every single home game the next year will be like that San Francisco game (in Week 5), where the entire stadium is the opposite (team),” Mike said.
While Robbie Anderson was traded to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday, Jeff Joplin doesn’t want to see young cornerstones like cornerback Jaycee Horn, wideout DJ Moore and defensive end Brian Burns getting shipped out of town.
But Joplin and his wife, Renay, aren’t completely against the idea of getting a major haul for former All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
“We enjoy CMC, but at the same time, if he’s healthy and you can get a good deal, if that’s what’s best for the team, then we understand,” Renay said. “Not dumping everybody, but if one player is going to give you that edge, it is a business. As long as we feel like trusting the GM to make smart decisions, then we can get behind things like that.”
For what it’s worth, Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer has the Joplins’ backing based on his short history of being in charge of the roster.
“Scott, I feel like, has done a really great job,” Jeff said. “I’ve liked a lot of the moves he’s made.”
Bearing the burden of losing
Michelle Thorne lives in Rocky Mount and is a traveling nurse. She has been a season-ticket holder since 2017 and a fan since the team’s inception.
During one of her many travels for work, she was on a flight to Seattle with a huge group of Pittsburgh Steelers fans. The traveling support for the Steelers made Thorne take note of the passion for the team, and she, in turn, wanted to feel that camaraderie with Panthers fans, which led her on this trip out west.
‘I’m happy that we do have the ‘Roaring Riot’ to be able to do the same thing,” Thorne said. “That we can go anywhere and show our support for the team, win or lose.”
Unfortunately, the Panthers have done a lot more losing than winning over the past few years. Thorne, like her fellow fans on the LA trip, wants to see some morsel of hope come out of this season.
“To show that it can be done, that there’s hope in this team,” Thorne said. “There’s hope in the players. It’s not just one – it’s a group, it’s a team effort as well as a fan effort and an ownership effort and coaching effort. It’s 100% everyone’s effort to just turn it around.”
Owner David Tepper has occasionally drawn the ire of Panthers fans since buying the team in 2018.
Last week, following Rhule’s firing, Tepper made a polarizing statement about the franchise’s history of success, which caused a stir on social media.
Tepper said the Panthers have never had a winning culture, as he referenced the fact that the team has never had back-to-back winning seasons, despite a run of three consecutive NFC South division titles from 2013 to 2015.
The Holmeses have debated the validity of that statement.
“We did have a winning culture, where we were winning in a positive way,” Acey said about the John Fox and Ron Rivera eras. “So, absolutely we do, and we got separated from it. Those three to five years were really freaking great.”
“But, still, it was every other year,” Mike said immediately afterward. “But there was a culture where (winning) could happen.”
The Tepper Effect
The Tepper era has endured multiple front office and coaching changes, a failed practice facility project in Rock Hill and plenty of losses on the field.
Some of the traveling fans have felt a disconnect from the team amid the string of setbacks.
“Last year, there were a lot of conversations — ‘Is this it? Am I picking a new team?’ — and I just can’t right now,” Acey said. “I can’t bring myself to do it.”
Despite the outward angst of some of the more vocal Panthers fans, the Joplins believe Tepper has tried to embrace the community and the fan base, even as the COVID-19 pandemic impacted social gatherings throughout most of his tenure.
“I feel like Tepper connects to the fans, he’s out — I mean, we’re Charlotte FC season-ticket holders also, and I know that’s a little bit different compared to the Panthers, but he seems engaging, at least with the FC, and from what I’ve seen from the Panthers, he’s still around,” Jeff Joplin said. “You see him out in public more.”
But Jeff Joplin and Mike Holmes both noted the feel of a culture shift for the fan base during the Tepper era.
Holmes attributed that change to the younger generation of fans, who weren’t adults during the heydays of Fox and Rivera.
“You’re working on the new crowd, the crowd that was born after ‘95,” Mike said. “And that crowd is the ‘What have you done for me lately?’ crowd.”
What’s next?
Despite the current standing of the team, every fan The Observer spoke with on Saturday said they’d like to see Wilks receive a fair shot at earning the long-term job.
However, the more likely outcome will be that the Panthers have a new coach next season. Mike Holmes already has a candidate in mind.
“I honestly think our next head coach should be Byron Leftwich,” Mike said. “Because Byron Leftwich will (presumably) keep Steve Wilks on as the DC, so it’s not as huge of a transition, you keep some of the previous staff there, and it would be really interesting to see what he does with this group — how he can motivate them, how he can move forward – because Al Holcomb is also there, and Al Holcomb is a dude. I think with Byron Leftwich — potentially Al Holcomb, Steve Wilks – there’s a massive potential to be really successful.”
Thorne believes hiring a Black head coach — like Wilks or Leftwich — would mean a lot to Charlotte’s diverse community.
“It shows that you see a person, not a color,” Thorne said. “You’re looking at a person, you’re not looking at the color or the race.”
No matter who the Panthers hire as Rhule’s long-term replacement, Acey Holmes just wants to get back to the fun of being a fan during the glory days of the franchise in the mid-2000s.
“For me, what made me fall in love with the Panthers was the city and the community, and the locker room was positive and energetic and fun,” Acey said. “And then the Ron Rivera stage, I liked him a lot. They just never seemed to sync again.”
This story was originally published October 19, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
