Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper gives votes of confidence to coach Matt Rhule, QB Sam Darnold

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David Tepper gave a strong vote of confidence to his head coach, Matt Rhule, who went 5-11 and 5-12 in his first two seasons.

When Rhule was given a seven-year deal in January 2020, Tepper said it could take five years to build an organization capable of sustained excellence.

He said it could be six years on Wednesday.

I believe in Matt. He has my full support, Tepper said. I like to watch TV. I don't like to lose. Who doesn't like to lose? I want to win. It takes time and a foundation to win. I think Coach Rhule and Scott Fitterer have done a great job of creating that foundation.

Tepper gave a vote of confidence to Sam Darnold on the eve of the NFL draft in which the quarterback remains on the table for Carolina with the No. 6 pick.

I want to say one thing, I think we have a very good quarterback in Sam Darnold, and I think he is capable of getting Carolina to a Super Bowl.

Since the New York Jets made him the third pick of the 2018 draft, he has gone 17-32 and was 4-7 last year as Carolina's starter.

Christian McCaffrey was injured last season. He said that the injury that put him on injured reserve was a shoulder injury.

There was a lot of different things that happened last year that hopefully will not repeat this year that give me some hope.

The hiring of Ben McAdoo and the upgrade to the offensive line in free agency are things Tepper is encouraged by.

That doesn't mean the Carolinas can't take a quarterback in the draft. The team is likely to add another quarterback through the weekend or through the draft, according to Fitterer.

Getting the quarterback position right is important to the future of Rhule.

Unless you have that guy that gets you to playoffs and Super Bowls, you have to keep reexamining that, Tepper said in December of 2020.

On Wednesday, Tepper talked about building a foundation and patience. The left tackle position is a big question entering the draft, as part of the emphasis on building that foundation.

There is a good chance that one or two of the top three left tackles will be available at No. 6.

I said it for five years from the time Coach Rhule was hired, trying to get fans to have patience.

It is hard to build that foundation. It is hard. I have a new appreciation for how stupid I am.

Winning does play into decisions, but he likes the setup for this season.

There is a saying, what was then, what is now? Tepper said. We are not in that time.

If we have an expectation for sustained winning, we have to build it. We have to be patient. I want to win, but I know you have to have a foundation.