NFC Notes: Dave Tepper, Frank Reich, Bryce Young, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

• Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles says LBs Lavonte David and SirVocea Dennis are back practicing and will be monitored as they progress. (Greg Auman)

Panthers

• Per the Athletic’s Joe Person and Dianna Russini, things got bad in Carolina this year with team sources describing a “Hunger Games” culture with staff members in survival mode as things deteriorated for former HC Frank Reich. 
• One story relayed to them was about GM Scott Fitterer and an assistant going to owner Dave Tepper saying they thought first-round QB Bryce Young needed to improve his footwork and drop depth because that was contributing to their protection problems. 
• Right before Thanksgiving, Tepper brought that up in his weekly meeting with Reich and told the coach he wanted the rookie’s footwork fixed. However, Reich, Fitterer and the staff had decided before the season they would focus on integrating Young into the playbook and the NFL before tweaking his mechanics in his first full offseason. 
• One assistant responded to the whole situation: “People just finger-pointing hoping they don’t get exposed.”
• The Athletic reports there were issues early on, with Tepper encouraging Reich to go outside of his “circle” with some of the hires he made. But Reich struggled to integrate it all into a cohesive offensive identity. Many of the coaches had never worked together and there were disagreements over scheme, personality conflicts and ultimately factions that formed among the staff.
• There was nowhere near as much discord on defense under DC Ejiro Evero, due in part to Evero hiring a number of coaches he’d worked with before, per the Athletic. 
• Person and Russini write that Reich was hired to bring a good offense and instead oversaw one of the worst on-field products of his career, with one staffer telling them: “It’s just not a good offense. You didn’t see Indy’s offense when they (were second in) the league in rushing (in 2021). You didn’t see Philly when he was there or when he was with the Chargers and those dynamic offenses. You didn’t see any of that.”
• Person and Russini add Tepper didn’t want to fire Reich but he ultimately felt he had no choice with how much Young was struggling to thrive in Reich’s offense. Tepper told Reich in early November he needed to see improvement for Reich to keep his job, and when that didn’t happen he made the move in an effort to avoid ruining the player they traded up to No. 1 overall for.
• That was also a major consideration for Reich, and Person and Russini point out it was starting to become a sticking point in the locker room as Reich tried to protect Young’s confidence. While Reich would call out Young for mistakes during team-wide film reviews early in the season, along with other players, he backed off in recent weeks.
• ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler confirms other reporting that the Panthers will likely look for a coach with an offensive background as their next hire, ideally a young up-and-comer. He mentions Lions OC Ben Johnson, Eagles OC Brian Johnson, Texans OC Bobby Slowik and Dolphins OC Frank Smith.
• Fowler adds he does not get the sense Michigan HC Jim Harbaugh would be in play for Carolina.
• The Carolina Panthers announced they will hold training camp in Charlotte in 2024. The team has gone away to Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for camp since the team’s inception in 1995. 

Saints

• According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, early in the week it was looking like it would be a long shot for Saints QB Derek Carr to play in Week 14 against the Panthers due to an accumulation of injuries.
• He’s currently in the concussion protocol and being evaluated for a rib injury, and earlier this season he sprained his AC joint in his right throwing shoulder and had to leave the Week 10 game due to the concussion protocol as well.