CHARLOTTE – Ron Rivera will be a head coach in another NFL city before you know it. Maybe even next season.
I advocated for the Carolina Panthers to retain Rivera, Marty Hurney, and Cam Newton for the 2020 season in this space just last week. I still feel that trio could make things work for the Panthers for one more year, if not beyond.
That won’t happen, with Rivera being fired on Tuesday. And here’s the thing.
I get it.
Owner David Tepper laid out the reasons why he made this move with four games left on the schedule, rather than wait until the end of the season.
1) The team’s play hadn’t elevated since he arrived as owner.
2) Other teams in the NFL are already beating the bushes in search of a coach for their own teams.
3) The current four-game skid is bad, thanks to losses to bad football teams in Atlanta and Washington.
Tepper had seen enough. He had exercised patience. He talked with people within the organization. He gathered opinions. He did his homework.
He analyzed.
The equation ended poorly for Rivera in Carolina but not for his coaching future.
The sum that Tepper is looking for out of this mathematical enigma, is sustained football excellence. That is something this franchise has never had. The Panthers have never posted back-to-back winning seasons. Yes, they did win three straight NFC South titles, however, that little matter of 7-8-1 record in 2014 is the the season that keeps the streak intact.
Tepper is committed to winning. He lives for it. Craves it. Loses sleep over losing (he admitted as much recently). This move was not easy for him, because he respects his now former head coach so much, that he wouldn’t begin the process of looking for a new head coach, while the one he had was still in his employ.
This decision is unpopular to many who feel Rivera should have been allowed to finish the season (I would be in that camp). After hearing Tepper’s genuine responses to reporters questions Tuesday night, retaining Rivera for even four more weeks could have potentially painted the Panthers into a corner, on a decision that is perhaps the MOST critical in Tepper’s brief history as owner.
For me, covering Ron Rivera was a joy, as I watched him play for the Chicago Bears back when the Bears were THE team in the NFL. He was part of THE linebacking corps that ruled all NFL defenses. I enjoyed talking with Rivera off camera even more. Best Chicago deep-dish pizza: He said Lou Malnati’s, I am a Geno’s East guy. Chicago style hot dogs. No ketchup, on a steamed poppy-seed bun. Two thumbs up.
In dealing with the media, he was always willing to answer fair questions and even took on the not-so-fair ones. Even though he didn’t like to do it. Rivera was, and will remain, a professional. Carolina was his first head coaching job, but it certainly won’t be his last.
Ron Rivera will be a head coach in another NFL city before you know it. Maybe even next season.
I’ll be watching to see where the Riverboat docks, and will be happy for his success. You should do that, too.