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Panthers owner David Tepper likes coach Ron Rivera and wanted to bring him back.

But he wants to offer him some help as well.

During an interview with a small group of reporters Tuesday, Tepper said there are ways Rivera can improve things on the field, and they might adjust the coaching staff to reflect that.

“I think there’s some sort of evolution that should be happening here,” Tepper said. “I’ve talked about analytics before; we’ve talked internally about a game management person of some sort — a coach; things like that. You want to do everything you can to give you every edge you can on that field.”

For all the things he’s good at, clock management is a thing that gets away from Rivera at times. Tepper alluded to such times in his in-house video earlier this week.

“I’m very much focused on not giving anything, anything we can for free,” he said. “I don’t want to see 10 seconds go away, I don’t want to see 5 seconds go away that we should save.”

If they handle this issue with a specific personnel addition, they won’t be the first team to hire such help, or even the first in their division. Falcons coach Dan Quinn has designated an assistant coach to help with clock management, replay challenges and timeouts.

Like Rivera, Quinn is taking over defensive play-calling this year, and as a head coach adds things to his plate something needs to come off. And recognizing that Rivera needs some help is a good first step. The Panthers were notoriously stingy with assistant coaching salaries under previous ownership, and if Tepper is willing to pay for some extra help, it may offer a significant return on the field.