David Tepper After Frank Reich Hiring: Panthers Trying to Break 'Old Boys Network'

Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper suggested on Tuesday that his hiring of Frank Reich was part of an effort to "break that old boys' network" in the NFL.

Tepper also pointed to an executive team that includes his wife Nicole (chief administrative officer), president Kristi Coleman, senior vice president and chief people officer Kisha Smith and general counsel Tanya Taylor. Smith and Taylor are both Black women.

Tepper told reporters:

"We have probably the most diverse executive team in the NFL right now. We are probably a minority of white men on our executive team right now. That's where it starts. That's America."

"How do you break that old boys' network? How do you break that process? You break the process by trying to get the best people possible in every role you can do. Whether it's the new [general counsel] we hired, who happens to be an African American woman. Whether it happens to be Frank Reich, who is a Caucasian male."

Citing Reich in an effort to break up the old boys' network will probably be met with raised eyebrows around the NFL, given that there are currently only four Black head coaches—Tampa Bay's Todd Bowles, Pittsburgh's Mike Tomlin, Miami's Mike McDaniel and Houston's DeMeco Ryans—in the league and Carolina passed on interim head coach Steve Wilks, a Black man, for the permanent position.

Tepper said the primary basis for hiring Reich was his background as a respected offensive mind.

"Every year we get in these NFL meetings, and every year they put in some new rules to benefit the offense ... every single year," he told reporters. "And it's never going to end. It's never going to end. And the reason it is, scoring brings eyeballs. That's what the league is about, getting eyeballs to watch the thing. So, I can tell you again, the new rules will be offensive-minded rules. So, you have that challenge, first."

General manager Scott Fitterer concurred.

"If you want to go offense, there are some advantages to that," he said. "And there are advantages to playing aggressively on the offensive side of the ball. ... You saw it this past weekend [in the NFC and AFC Championship Games, where all four head coaches were offensive-minded]."

Reich, 61, was a quarterback in the NFL before transitioning to coaching, where he climbed the ranks before becoming an offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers (2014-15) and Philadelphia Eagles (2016-17) and eventually the Indianapolis Colts' head coach (2018-22).

He went 40-33-1 with the Colts, leading the team to the postseason twice. As an offensive coordinator and head coach, his offenses finished top-10 in yards and points.

Reich was undoubtedly a qualified candidate. Whether his hiring was an example of breaking away from the old boys' network is a far more questionable position to take.