Watch: Panthers owner surprises restaurant employees that called him out ahead of NFL Draft

The Dilworth Neighborhood Grille changed its sign outside the restaurant to read "PLEASE LET THE COACH & GM PICK THIS YEAR" ahead of the 2024 NFL Draft, which began on Thursday night.

"The restaurant’s manager said Tepper paid them a surprise Thursday night after seeing the sign and asked who was behind the sign," WBTV's Caroline Hicks reported. "The manager told him that person was not there at the time. The employee did say Tepper was pleasant about it."

Carolina traded up during Thursday's first round to select wide receiver Xavier Legette out of South Carolina with the 32nd overall pick.

Tepper purchased the Panthers in 2018.

The team is entering 2024 with its third head coach in three years and a new general manager.

Carolina fired head coach Frank Reich in late November, just 10 months after being hired and 11 games into his first season. The Panthers went an NFL-worst 1-10 under Reich, and it was the second straight year that Tepper cut ties with head coaches in the middle of a season.

Tepper also fired general manager Scott Fitterer in early January.

Matt Rhule was fired from his head-coaching gig in October 2022 following a 1-4 start and is now the head coach at the University of Nebraska.

Soon after Reich's firing, it was reported that the owner's habit of letting go of lead men early in their tenure with the franchise caused some candidates to withdraw from the search process last offseason. Reich was fired after only 11 games at the helm (and an NFL-worst 1-10 record), the shortest tenure in the league since 1978.