CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Panthers owner David Tepper has made it clear he will not accept mediocrity. At 5-5 with six games to go, Carolina is the definition of mediocre heading into Week 12.
When Tepper spoke to the media Monday, it was requested he not be asked specifically about coach Ron Rivera or general manager Marty Hurney, which left some questions about this team's future open-ended.
Rivera is in his ninth season as the Panthers' coach and has a 76-61-1 record (.554) _ more wins than anyone in the franchise's 25-year history. In four of his seasons, Carolina has made the postseason, including the 2015 run to Super Bowl 50.
The Panthers have never put together back-to-back winning seasons, have lost three of their past four games and the fan base is growing tired.
"That's to be expected," Rivera said of Tepper not accepting long-term mediocrity. "That's what it's about. This game is about winning, this game isn't about anything else other than winning. This is my 33rd year, I get it. When I hear (Tepper) talk about it and say the things that he should say so that our fans understand that, hey, I don't accept it either. And that's something that everybody has to understand. We don't accept it."
While Tepper did not mention Rivera or Hurney specifically in his conversation with reporters Monday, he did say that any decisions made about the franchise wouldn't be easy. With Cam Newton playing just two games this season, Tepper, the NFL's the richest owner worth a reported $12 billion, said that any decision would have to take the quarterback's injury into account, which only makes matters that much more complicated. Tepper also said that winning isn't something that happens overnight and that some patience would be needed.
But it was clear that the team's second major blowout of the season, Sunday's 29-3 loss to the Falcons, irked Tepper. He indicated that it was one thing to have one major loss on the road in a season, but that it is another to have a second at home.
Since Rivera took over as coach in 2011, the Panthers have the 10th-best winning percentage in the NFL. This season, he passed John Fox as the winningest coach in franchise history. He has accomplished things that no other Panthers coach has, including three straight playoff appearances from 2013-15.
As Tepper pointed out, it is hard to judge a team that doesn't have its starting quarterback healthy because of how important the position is to an NFL team.
All of this comes as Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen prepares to make his return to the very place he had his first NFL start in Week 17 last year. To date, his first game against the Saints is still one of Allen's best statistical starts. Despite the Saints playing some backups in that game, New Orleans coach Sean Payton acknowledged that they "unfortunately" game planned despite having already clinched the No. 1 seed in the NFC. However, Allen played well in the Superdome and sparked a Carolina victory, and that the game was part of the cut-up the Saints are watching of Allen for Sunday.
While speculation has increased about the lack of job security surrounding Rivera because of bad losses, they only get louder when Allen throws a franchise-record four interceptions against the Falcons _ including three deep in opposing territory _ the coach said the media makes a bigger deal of the bumps than what they actually are.
"I'm trying to make sure everyone understands, here's a young man, a young quarterback who's going into his 10th start, who's done a lot of good things for us, he's had a couple of rough games, but we understand that's going to happen, those are going to be growing pains," Rivera said. "Now there's going to be a point when that's no longer there, the process is over, and there's no longer a crutch saying that he's young.
"As he continues to work and grow, we're going to have some positives, some negatives, the way he responds, the way we respond, that's going to be what's more telling, that's what's more important."
The way the Panthers respond this weekend against the Saints will likely show a lot about this team and where this season is going to go. With a contentious NFC, there is not a lot of room for Carolina to drop many more games, especially against division opponents.
This team averages out to middle of the pack in most statistical areas, but there are outliers. Carolina is tied for the league lead in sacks (39) with the 49ers, and have Christian McCaffrey, who is quite literally setting records every week.
But they also have given up the second-most yards per play in the red zone (3.81), which has proven costly.
Perhaps this trip to New Orleans will show which side of mediocre this team is, but whether a rebound occurs Sunday may help answer some questions.
"You've got to be able to turn it around and get it going in the right direction," Rivera said. "If (Tepper's comments are) out there, it's out there, but that's the truth. We live with it and we go forward and we do our best, and we go out and play as hard as we can and see what happens. I tell everybody, that's why we play on Sunday."
