As nuanced as the game of football is and continues to become, any old-fashioned talk of the importance in establishing a certain “culture” may likely be met with an “ok, Boomer.” But—while it is possible for numerous methods of thought to co-exist—there’s certainly something to be said about instilling accountability, discipline and unity within an organization. That’s why you can’t dismiss what Ron Rivera has left behind in his nine-year tenure with the Carolina Panthers.
Right before that run was the 2010 season, where the team would have just one more win than they did players named Hilee. Rivera’s predecessor, John Fox led Carolina to a league-worst 2-14 record, finishing dead-last in point differential, second-to-last in yardage differential and a distant last in almost any category that involved putting the ball in the end zone or through the uprights.
The lowest moment of that dreadful campaign came in Week 11, in perhaps the most literal example of grabbing a guy off his couch to play. Stay-at-home dad Brian St. Pierre, who’d thrown just five passes in his seven years of bouncing in and out of practice squads, was summoned to start at quarterback against the Baltimore Ravens. It went about as well as you’d expect.
On Jan. 11 2011, 11 days after choosing not to renew Fox’s contract, Rivera entered the picture. The well-regarded defensive coordinator of the San Diego Chargers and, before that, the leader of the best defense the Chicago Bears had seen since their Super Bowl shuffle days was named the fourth head coach in franchise history.
Rivera delivered right from the start, tripling the team’s win total from the year prior to an earnest 6-10 mark. He’d also get the most out of rookie quarterback Cam Newton, who won AP Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in a record-breaking blaze while catapulting Carolina from the 32nd-ranked offense to No. 7.
Two seasons later, with some growing pains and seven victories sprinkled in-between in 2012, Rivera finally made a breakthrough. Following a 1-3 start to 2013, the Panthers refused to quit and wrapped up winning 11 of their final 12 games en route to their first NFC South title in five years and Rivera’s first of two AP Head Coach of the Year awards.
A similar hint of magic then appeared in 2014, when they’d again laugh in the face of an often fatal bad start. This time, they left behind a 3-8-1 stretch, strung together four straight victories and snuck into the postseason with a second division crown in as many seasons at 7-8-1.
Then, in 2015, the four years of rebuilding under Rivera paid off, culminating in the greatest season in franchise history. The Panthers ripped (and dabbed) through their opposition in an utterly dominant 15-win regular season campaign, heralding six First-team All-Pro selections as well as the team’s first league MVP in Newton.
Unfortunately, they’d succumb to the Denver Broncos and their generational defense in the team’s second trip to the Super Bowl. Rivera would never come close to that success, again.
Over his next three and three-quarter seasons at the helm, the Panthers went a combined 29-31. They clinched a wildcard berth after going 11-5 in 2017, their only playoff ticket since that Super Bowl appearance, and lost a heart-breaking battle to the division rival New Orleans Saints in the postseason’s first round.
While he couldn’t quite lift Carolina out of its roller coaster of mediocrity – let alone win a Lombardi Trophy – Rivera did help lead a regularly overlooked franchise to a burst of recognition it had never seen before. Highlighted by that majestic 2015 season, the Panthers achieved a small, but appreciable taste of sustained success.
Even with the 7-8-1 finish in 2014, they became the first team since the division’s current alignment to win three consecutive NFC South titles. But, just like the stark reminder that the Saints are fresh off matching that very feat here in 2019, it’s been the team’s recent and disappointing performance under Rivera that’s ultimately been his undoing.
Considering the level of talent Rivera had at his disposal, mainly Cam Newton and Luke Kuechly – the team’s record in recent years is a tough pill to swallow. That advantage may have been squandered for the next coach, too. We don’t know if Newton will get back to himself again after Rivera’s mismanagement of his shoulder and foot injuries.
Those missteps cannot be ignored.
That said, Rivera’s true impact on the Panthers was as a human being. On top of inspiring that aforementioned old-school, disciplined, never-quit mentality in his players, the son of 32-year U.S. Army veteran has been a beloved and unquestioned commander of sorts—the personification of a player’s coach.
He’s also helped foster some of the game’s well-noted humanitarians. His support for the respective off-field initiatives of Newton, Greg Olsen, Thomas Davis, Julius Peppers and Charles Tillman has, in part, developed another type of culture within the organization—one that promotes a close connection to community.
He wasn’t the slickest football mind out there, nor the most progressive coach. In fact, he’s about as stubborn as they come between the headsets. But through all the peaks and valleys, Rivera had nearly a decade as head coach of the Carolina Panthers to earn his place both as a man and a leader of men. And that is one opportunity he certainly didn’t miss.
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