Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper got into it with a local writer at his press conference this afternoon.
Tepper spoke with reporters following his decision to relieve head coach Matt Rhule of his duties after two-plus seasons. At the end of the session, Charlotte Observer columnist Scott Fowler asked for some further insight into what led to this decision and if he “woke up this morning and decided to do it or knew last night.”
“Scott, I read your column, okay? You know better,” Tepper said, before saying there were “numerous factors” that led to Rhule’s dismissal.
Pressed to be more specific on what those factors were, Tepper got even testier with Fowler.
“I actually read your columns and I can go back to your columns and regurgitate them. So you can read your own columns for that answer,” Tepper said.
We’re not sure what might have been brewing that led to this exchange, but Tepper is probably feeling the heat himself after investing so much money ($62 million) in Rhule only to have it backfire.
Since Tepper bought the team from Jerry Richardson in 2018, the Panthers are 23-47. The organization was trending down before he took over, but Tepper hasn’t exactly been able to get it back on track either.