CHARLOTTE, N.C. — With Sunday's one-sided loss to the Dallas Cowboys in front of a pro-Cowboys crowd at Bank of America Stadium, the Panthers are now guaranteed to have their sixth straight losing season under owner David Tepper.
Since Tepper took ownership of the team, it's been a hot mess in Carolina. After a 6-2 start to Tepper's first year as owner, Cam Newton suffered a shoulder injury against Pittsburgh. Things quickly went downhill as the team finished the regular season 1-7 amid Newton's health struggles.
That was the closest Carolina's come to a winning season under Tepper. Since that time the Panthers have finished with 5, 5, 5, 7 and to date, 1 win. The Tepper era is on pace to be the leanest period of football in franchise history dating back to the team's inaugural season in 1995.
The only period that's close is from 1997 until 2022, when the Panthers missed the playoff six straight years. They did, however, finish .500 in 1999 and sprinkled in two 7-9 seasons.
Carolina hasn't made the playoffs since 2017, the final season under Jerry Richardson's leadership. The team's streak of five, soon to be six, straight seasons without making the playoffs is the fourth-longest in the NFL, behind Detroit, Denver and the New York Jets.
During that time, the Panthers have had five head coaches, 10 starting quarterbacks and 61 losses. Adding to fans' frustrations is the fact that Steve Wilks, who took over as interim head coach after Matt Rhule's firing, led the team to a 6-6 record last season as they nearly rallied to make the playoffs. Instead of hiring Wilks, Tepper went in another direction, choosing to hire an offensive-minded head coach. It's clear the results aren't what anyone envisioned when Frank Reich was hired earlier this year.
And now at 1-9, there's a serious chance the Panthers are once again looking for a head coach this offseason as the franchise seeks the best coach to help develop rookie quarterback Bryce Young and build the roster around his skillset.
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