CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Merriam-Webster defines a whirlwind as "a confused rush." David Tepper defines a whirlwind as his rookie season as the owner of the Carolina Panthers.
In an exclusive interview with Panthers.com reporter Bill Voth, Tepper said said it was a whirlwind from the time he purchased the team and was approved at the NFL owners meeting to closing out the regular season in December. After spending about a decade as a minority partner with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tepper was no stranger to the NFL, but he quickly learned it's a whole new ballgame when your buy a team.
"The amount of emotional attachment surprised me. How much I care," Tepper said. "I care about winning, care about losing, care about things that are happening in the stadium. I care about fans. I guess it did surprise me how much the emotional feeling is."
After an impressive 6-2 start, things quickly came unraveled beginning with a 52-21 loss at Pittsburgh on November 8. It wasn't long before Cam Newton showed obvious signs of a shoulder injury that led to him missing the final two games of the regular season.
"I think it's pretty well known that he wasn't throwing at practices. That was probably a problem. That threw off his rhythm and at the end of the season, we couldn't throw the ball downfield."
Tepper's optimistic that Newton will be ready for next season and isn't ready for any drastic changes at the quarterback position but he did say the team has to improve its offensive line after an up-and-down season protecting Newton.
"We and him are going to do everything we can to make that shoulder better. I'm not panicking over Cam's shoulder this year, I don't think we're going to panic. Hopefully it's good, hopefully he's great."
As for head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney, Tepper insisted that he trusts both of them, despite the team's woeful 1-7 finish to the season.
"Bottom line decision is this, you have to trust the people that are working here. Marty Hurney makes a lot of decisions. Once the players are in there, it's Ron," Tepper said. "I have confidence in those two people."