Video: Panthers' David Tepper Visits Restaurant to Ask About 2024 NFL Draft Sign
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVApril 26, 2024
Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper took it in stride when a local restaurant took a thinly veiled shot at him leading up to the 2024 NFL draft.
The sign outside Dilworth Neighborhood Grille in Charlotte, North Carolina, asked "Please let the coach & GM pick this year." That prompted Tepper to make a personal visit.
WBTV News @WBTV_News'LET THE COACH AND GM PICK' 🏈: Surveillance footage captured the moment <a href="https://twitter.com/Panthers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Panthers</a> owner David Tepper walked into a Charlotte restaurant after a sign was put up prior to the NFL Draft.<br><br>Full story: <a href="https://t.co/tYPhlekttU">https://t.co/tYPhlekttU</a> <a href="https://t.co/tc0eihPAkT">pic.twitter.com/tc0eihPAkT</a>
The Charlotte Observer's Alex Zietlow reported Tepper was "friendly" after entering the establishment.
Brock Saturno @Bsaturno9Panthers Owner David Tepper just stopped inside to have a word with the owners about the sign out front. This is not a joke <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Panthers?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Panthers</a> <a href="https://t.co/SYI0AyOlk4">pic.twitter.com/SYI0AyOlk4</a>
Matt Wohlfarth, the restaurant's owner, told Zietlow the sign went up Monday or Tuesday and said Thursday's visit wasn't the first from Tepper.
In January, Wohlfarth put up a message that read: "Meddling owners never win. Run from Jerry Jones." That prompted Tepper to stop by, and he "was sorta pissed off about that one," in the words of Wohlfarth.
Dilworth Neighborhood Grille is echoing the thoughts of many Panthers fans.
Since assuming ownership of the NFL franchise in 2018, Tepper has steadily eroded the goodwill that coincided with his arrival.
Carolina has had six straight losing seasons and the owner has cycled through three full-time head coaches already. The ouster of Frank Reich, who lasted just 11 games as coach, was the breaking point, with many starting to ask whether the Panthers can succeed on the field with so much dysfunction coming from the top.
The message on the Dilworth Neighborhood Grille marquee may have been a direct reference to the perception Tepper made the final call on taking quarterback Bryce Young with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft.
ESPN's Stephen Holder posted on X last October, "It's an open secret in the league that the owner heavily influenced the QB choice, which is never ideal." In his press conference after firing Reich, Tepper said there was a clear consensus behind picking Young over anybody else.
According to David Newton of ESPN, Tepper "asked the manager who he thought should make the pick" during his brief stop at Dilworth Neighborhood Grille. It seems like the answer was pretty straightforward.
In the end, the team traded into the first round to select South Carolina receiver Xavier Legette at No. 32 Thursday night.