Tag: Carolina Panthers

Panthers fans react to Ron Rivera’s firing on Twitter

Here’s how Panthers fans are reacting to the news of Rivera’s firing on Twitter.

Panthers fans knew today’s news was coming. Head coach Ron Rivera’s days were numbered ever since the team got blown out against the 49ers, which began a slide that’s now extended to five losses in the last six games. Rivera’s failures go back farther than that, though. His mismanagement of Cam Newton’s shoulder and foot injuries alone was grounds enough for Carolina to make a change.

Rivera was the most successful coach in franchise history. It’s obvious that it was a time for a change, though. It’s also clear he leaves behind a log of good will.

Here’s how Panthers fans are reacting to the news of Rivera’s firing on Twitter.

We wish Rivera the best in his future endeavors. He will almost certainly get another NFL coaching gig if he wants one – perhaps most likely as a defensive coordinator.

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The Panthers fired Ron Rivera and everyone instantly named him next coach of the Cowboys

Ron Rivera… next coach of the Cowboys?

The Carolina Panthers announced on Tuesday that they have fired head coach Ron Rivera, who went 76-63-1 during his 8 years with the team.

It wasn’t a shocking move, as many expected Rivera to be fired once the season was over but the timing of it did seem a little odd as they could have just let things play out over the next four weeks before letting him go.

Rivera was named the NFL’s Coach of the Year two times during his run with the Panthers, including in 2015 when he led the team to a 15-1 record and a trip to the Super Bowl where they lost to the Broncos.

It didn’t take long for many fans and analysts to predict that Rivera will be the next coach of the Dallas Cowboys, who are currently in first place of the woeful NFC East. As any football fan knows, Jason Garrett’s job status is anything but stable right now, even though the Cowboys would be in the playoffs if they started today.

Twitter is ready to see Rivera in Big D:

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Analysis: The Panthers made a much-needed change by firing Ron Rivera

Today, the Carolina Panthers announced that Rivera was fired, ending a partnership of over eight and a half years.

Ron Rivera is about as well-respected as any individual can be in the NFL. He always conducted himself like a professional and never gave any cause for concern off the field. Coaching at this level is an intensively competitive business, though and Rivera seemed to be falling behind his peers.

Today, the Carolina Panthers announced that Rivera was fired, ending a partnership of over eight and a half years.

Sunday’s mortifying loss to Washington might stick in fans’ minds most, but the team had a fair amount of success in the Rivera era. He didn’t win the Coach of the Year award twice for no reason and they did reach the Super Bowl one year. That being said, Rivera’s act had grown stale – which is the exact adjective Jonathan Stewart used to describer the team’s play a few weeks ago.

Whether it was his stubborn insistence on giving snaps to veterans over younger players, his inconsistent use of analytics or a determination to pursue an old-fashioned philosophy of football, time passed Rivera bye. It’s unclear exactly when it happened, but by the time the final whistle blew Sunday afternoon, it was clear the Rivera era was over. He deserves our respect for his character, but it was time to move on.

Moving forward, owner David Tepper should re-evaluate every part of his franchise – not just the coaching staff. General manager Marty Hurney may be a favorite, but he’s played a hand in this team’s falling short of its potential, as well.

For now, Perry Fewell and Norv Turner will guide this team as best they can for the last month of the season. That time should be used to evaluate and develop talents like Will Grier and Brian Burns and try new methods that Rivera may have eschewed in favor of tradition.

If they can do that, these last four games should be considered a success no matter how many they win.

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Panthers fire Ron Rivera, name Perry Fewell interim head coach

The Carolina Panthers have fired coach Ron Rivera following an embarrassing loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers have fired coach Ron Rivera following an embarrassing loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday. Here’s what owner David Tepper said about the decision, per the team’s official website.

“I believe this is the best decision for the long-term success of our team. . . I have a great deal of respect for Ron and the contributions he has made to this franchise and to this community. I wish him the best. I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers.”

The next coach hasn’t been decided yet, but they have a short-term plan already.

According to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, secondary coach Perry Fewell has been named the interim head coach. Norv Turner will be a special assistant.

Rivera leaves behind a complicated legacy. His time as head coach in Charlotte lasted eight seasons and 12 games. He went 76-63-1 during the regular season and 3-4 in the playoffs.

The team reached its peak under Rivera in the 2015 season, when they went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl, where they lost to the Broncos. Rivera won the Coach of the Year award twice.

Nevertheless, the NFL is, always has been and always will be a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of business. Rivera’s failures over the last few seasons to compete in a crowded NFC South division must have been a major factor working against him.

Considering the amount of talent Rivera had to work with, it feels like this group underachieved. Perhaps the next coach can do better.

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NFC playoff picture: The Seahawks continue to defy gravity

Here’s how the NFC playoff picture is shaping up with four games left to play.

The Carolina Panthers aren’t making the playoffs this year. Any lingering doubt about that was dispelled with Sunday’s loss to the lowly Washington Redskins. If you don’t believe your eyes, the math should do.

According to FiveThirtyEight, Carolina’s postseason chances are now less than 1%. Minnesota is the team to watch, now. One more win or a tie for them plus a Carolina loss or tie would officially eliminate the Panthers from the race.

Here’s how the NFC playoff picture is shaping up with four games left to play.

Playoff teams

1. New Orleans Saints (10-2)
2. Seattle Seahawks (10-2)
3. Green Bay Packers (9-3)
4. Dallas Cowboys (6-6)
5. San Francisco 49ers (10-2)
6. Minnesota Vikings (8-4)

In the hunt

7. Los Angeles Rams (7-5)
8. Chicago Bears (6-6)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-7)
10. Philadelphia Eagles (5-7)
11. Carolina Panthers (5-7)

Seattle is the big riser, moving up from the No. 5 seed to the No. 2 seed courtesy of its win over Minnesota and a tie-breaker over San Francisco. This was the Seahawks’ sixth win of the season by seven points or less. History says they’re overdue for a dropoff but for now they keep defying gravity. They visit the Panthers in two weeks.

Elsewhere, Dallas is still in danger of losing that No. 4 seed, which at the moment is the equivalent of a buzz-saw. If they hold their position, the 49ers may go down as the toughest fifth seed in the history of the NFL playoffs. Neither the Cowboys nor the Eagles want that particular smoke.

The Vikings made it interesting but couldn’t break Kirk Cousins’ winless streak in Monday night games. They’re in danger of ceding the No. 6 seed to the Rams.

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ESPN senior writer says Saints are a ‘wild card’ if Cam Newton tests free agency

ESPN senior NFL writer Jeremy Fowler suggested the New Orleans Saints could be a ‘wild card’ if Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton is available

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The future isn’t exactly clear for Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton. Newton landed on injured reserve earlier this year; the team has since gone 5-5 without him. Questions are mounting as to whether new team owner David Tepper will retain longtime head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Marty Hurney, so big changes could be on the way for Carolina.

One of those big changes could be a parting with Newton, the Panthers’ franchise quarterback. Newton’s year ended after foot injury lingered into the regular season, and his 2018 season was cut short with a shoulder issue. He was mightily effective on designed runs (gaining 5.1 yards per carry and averaging 38.4 rushing yards per game in his career) but the hundreds of extra hits he absorbed in that role have clearly taken a toll.

So it wouldn’t be a big shock if the Panthers showed Newton the door in 2020. It’s the last year of the five-year, $103.8 million contract extension he signed back in 2015, and cutting Newton would free up $19.1 million against the salary cap. That’s money Tepper could put towards finding his new quarterback or hammering out new deals for free-agents-to-be like linebacker Shaq Thompson (2020 class), running back Christian McCaffrey (2021), or right tackle Taylor Moton (2021).

During an appearance on the ESPN Daily podcast with host Mina Kimes, ESPN senior NFL writer Jeremy Fowler noted that he could envision Newton wearing black and gold some day, maybe as an heir for New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

“The wild card here is New Orleans,” Fowler said after discussing more-realistic landing spots like the Los Angeles Chargers or Chicago Bears. “Now, it would be unlikely, but one guy I talked to said Sean Payton secretly loved Lamar Jackson in the draft, and he loves that style of quarterback. Where you can get creative — you can run and you can throw and you can do whatever you want. And so, they’ve kind of experimented with that with Taysom Hill as a result.”

Hill’s usage on designed quarterback runs and passes off of play-action rollouts could be interpreted as a trial for new elements of the always-evolving Saints playbook, and it makes sense that Payton could be considering other prospects who can do those things while staying on the field as a conventional passer.

Hill could certainly be a candidate to do that, but it’s worth mentioning that he doesn’t have an edge over Newton as far as age (Hill is 29, Newton is 30) or health (Hill went undrafted back in 2017 after four of his five years at BYU cut off with season-ending injuries) are concerned. If anything, Newton’s extended NFL experience as a passer helps his case. Any further developments Hill makes on dropbacks will be in pursuit of trying to get where Newton already is.

Still, maintaining Newton’s versatility was something Fowler stressed, and he admitted that Brees’ continued high level of play could keep the Saints out of Newton’s sweepstakes should he become available: “So if you do Newton you’d have to be all in, and it’d have to be a successor situation to Drew Brees. But (if) Brees continues completing 74% of his passes or whatever it is now, it’s going to be hard to move on from him.”

Of course, it all comes down to whether or not the Panthers even let Newton hit the free market. If they are seeking to make a long-term change at quarterback, they’d like to do so on their own terms in a trade, and Fowler made certain that a deal between the two NFC South rivals isn’t happening: “And they would never trade him there (to New Orleans). So that would have to be an outright release where he’s let go, and the Saints work him out and they sign him to a big contract.”

It’s tough to say what happens next for the Saints quarterbacks. They’re going year-to-year with Brees, who will turn 41 in January and could retire at any time without creating a huge shock. Hill should stick around another year at least on a restricted free agent tender. Teddy Bridgewater won all five of his starts in Brees’ place this year and would be the preferred successor, but he’s likely to get an offer he can’t refuse in free agency. You would think if the Saints can afford to sign Newton to a big contract, they could do the same with Bridgewater, who has already proven he can win in their system.

Nevertheless, changes are coming, and it wouldn’t be impossible for Newton to end up joining the Saints should a few factors break the right way. Crazier things have happened in the NFL, and in New Orleans. Remember when the Saints took a shot on Brees, a virtual unknown and then-San Diego Chargers washout, just months removed from reconstructive shoulder surgery?

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Panthers open 2.5-point underdogs vs. Falcons for Week 14 matchup

What a difference three weeks makes.

What a difference three weeks makes. The last time the Carolina Panthers faced the Atlanta Falcons, they went into the matchup as 5.5-point favorites playing at home. A lot has happened since then, including a stunning 29-3 defeat against Atlanta that exposed the Panthers as paper tigers rather than anything resembling true contenders.

Things haven’t gotten any better in the interim. Despite a valiant effort, the Panthers came up just short against the Saints on the road, then they blew a 14-point lead against Washington. The oddsmakers have taken notice of the slide. According to BetMGM, the Panthers are 2.5-point underdogs this time around in Atlanta.

It’s hard to argue with. The Falcons have absolutely dominated this division rivalry in recent years, winning seven of the last eight matchups. Their only loss to Carolina came by just three points and included an extremely rare drop in the end zone by Julio Jones.

[Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.]

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Panthers fall 3 spots in Week 14 power rankings

The Panthers look like they’re on their way to another second-half collapse.

The Panthers look like they’re on their way to another second-half collapse. Following Sunday’s disturbing loss to a toothless 3-9 Washington team, Carolina has now dropped four games in a row and five of the last six going back to the blowout against the 49ers.

As expected, this latest failure has hurt their position in Touchdown Wire’s weekly NFL power rankings. Heading into Week 14, Doug Farrar has them at No. 18, down three spots from last week.

“One week after a close loss to the Saints in which Carolina seemed like a team on the verge of doing something relevant this season, it all fell apart against a Redskins squad that has spent most of 2019 insisting on losing in the most agonizing ways possible. . . The Panthers have now lost four consecutive games, and this marks the second season in a row in which they’ve collapsed down the stretch — last season, they took a 5-2 record halfway through to a 7-9 finish. There comes a point where Ron Rivera and his staff have to be a bit concerned about their jobs.”

Looking ahead, it’s clear Rivera’s job will be in jeopardy once the regular season is over, no matter how the team finishes.

Owner David Tepper might be tempted to clean house and start over with a whole new front office. General manager Marty Hurney could survive any offseason purge given his relationship with Tepper. Nobody should feel too comfortable about their positions though, even Hurney.

Whoever winds up on top when the dust settles will have to make an extremely difficult decision about what to do with Cam Newton, who is going into the last year of his contract.

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Bears get help in NFC Wild Card race as Vikings fall to Seahawks on MNF

The Bears have an opportunity to get back into contention for a Wild Card berth following Minnesota’s loss vs. Seattle.

Don’t look now, but the Chicago Bears are about to play meaningful football in December starting Thursday night against the Dallas Cowboys.

While the Bears cling to slim playoff hopes, they got plenty of help throughout Week 13. The Philadelphia Eagles and Carolina Panthers both lost, which dropped them to 5-7. Chicago sits in eighth place in the NFC heading into Week 14.

Although it wasn’t a perfect Week 13, as the Los Angeles Rams routed the Arizona Cardinals to improve to 7-5. Given the Rams hold a tiebreaker over the Bears, they need to lose two of their final four games — and the Bears to win out — for Chicago to best them. That, or the Bears can lose just once if the Rams lose three of their final four games.

But perhaps none more so important than the Minnesota Vikings losing to the Seattle Seahawks on Monday Night Football. The loss dropped the Vikings to 8-4, and the Bears are now just two games out of that final Wild Card spot.

According to FiveThirtyEight, the Bears playoff chances shifted from a 2% to 3% chance with Minnesota’s loss to Seattle.

The Bears still have a long road ahead of them. Not only do they need to win out just to have a chance, but they need a lot of help from the Vikings and Rams along the way.

If the Bears do win out — which is a big if, considering they have games against the Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Kansas City Chiefs and Vikings — they need both the Vikings and Rams to lose two of their final four games to take control of that final Wild Card spot.

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Panthers QB Kyle Allen has thrown the third-most dropped interceptions in 2019

According to Pro Football Focus, the Panthers’ backup-turned-starter has thrown nine dropped interceptions this season.

Every NFL quarterback can get unlucky when it comes to interceptions. If a pass bounces off their receivers’ hands and gets picked off, it’s no fault of their own but a pick will still show up in the box score. There’s a flip-side to that coin, though. Some QBs throw a lot of passes that should be intercepted but get dropped by the defender. Kyle Allen is one of them.

According to Pro Football Focus, the Panthers’ backup-turned-starter has thrown nine dropped interceptions this season. That ties him with Giants rookie Daniel Jones for the third-most in the league. Only Jameis Winston and the ghost of Philip Rivers have thrown more.

Allen has thrown 10 actual interceptions, as well.

It’s odd that Allen’s remaining supporters likely criticized Cam Newton for his accuracy, but Allen has been no better than Cam at the lowest points of his carer. He’s completing just 61.5% of his passes this year.

That being said, Allen may yet develop into a legitimate starter. He has a lot to improve on, though. Allen’s habit of panicking when his first read isn’t open is the most glaring problem area. A better offensive line would help make him more comfortable, but for now the unit is what it is.

Allen will keep getting chances to improve. Coach Ron Rivera reiterated to the media today that Allen will continue to start at QB.

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