Carolina Panthers reportedly violate NFL rule during coaching search

Sources told CBS Sports on Thursday evening that the Carolina Panthers violated league rules related to their head coaching search, according to an article written by Jonathan Jones of CBS. The issue is that Nicole Tepper, the wife of Carolina Panthers’ owner David Tepper, did not complete mandatory inclusive hiring training before the team’s head coaching search began. She is currently the Chief Administrative Officer of Tepper Sports and Entertainment–the parent company that owns the Carolina Panthers and Charlotte FC.

During his exit interview 10 days ago, former Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer told reporters that Nicole Tepper was involved in the process of searching for a new head coach, according to Anthony Rizzuti of Yahoo Sports.

Apparently an NFL executive called the Panthers on Wednesday morning to remind the team that all members of their head coaching search committee had to complete the mandatory inclusive hiring training before the beginning of the search, which has now seen five coaching candidates be interviewed for their head coaching position, including Steve Wilks, Frank Reich, Jim Caldwell, Shane Steichen, and Evero Ejiro.

“The inclusive hiring training is a key element of our efforts to foster an equitable hiring process,” Jonathan Beane, NFL SVP and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, said in a statement. “Any suggestion that this mandatory requirement was not met by applicable clubs will be addressed and corrected immediately.”

Carolina Panthers issue statement on Tepper

The Panthers were reached for comment and a team spokesman issued a statement: “She was trained prior to participating in interviews.” No further explanation was given.

Multiple sources have refuted the Panthers’ statement, according to the article written by NFL lead insider Jonathan Jones. It is unclear at this point in time if the NFL plans to issue any punishment to the franchise. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens in the future.

Carolina Panthers’ wide receiver D.J. Moore made one of the best plays of the year, when he hauled in a spectacular game-tying Hail Mary from P.J. Walker against the Atlanta Falcons. Carolina would go on to lose that game 37-34 in overtime, due to a missed extra point by kicker Eddy Pineiro in the final seconds of regulation. The Panthers finished with an overall record of 7-10 overall in the 2022-2023 NFL season.