Ron Rivera Out As Head Coach Of The Carolina Panthers

By Jordan Long

The Carolina Panthers stand at 5-7, 3^rd in the NFL South Division.  They are preparing to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.  Carolina will do it without Ron Rivera who was fired after 9 seasons.

                Rivera was hired by the Panthers on January 11, 2011 after the Panthers let go of John Fox.  Fox led Carolina to a 73-71 overall record and 3 trips to the playoffs. The Panthers even went to Super Bowl 38 but fell to the New England Patriots 32-29. Carolina was hoping Rivera could turn the franchise around.

                In 2011, Carolina finished at 6-10.  The 2013 season, the Panthers finally had success under Rivera going 12-4, making the playoffs.  Unfortunately, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round 23-10.

                2015 was Rivera’s top season with Carolina.  They finished the regular season at 15-1, earning the #1 seed in the NFC playoffs.  They went all the way to Super Bowl 50 but lost to the Denver Broncos 24-10.  The Panthers made one more playoff appearance under Rivera in 2017.  They were knocked off by the New Orleans Saints  31-26 in the Wild Card Round.

                Last season they finished 7-9.  This year they are a team that is going to miss the playoffs for the 2nd year in a row.   Rivera leaves Carolina with an overall record of 76-63-1, a winning percentage of .546

                According to MSN.com, Carolina Panthers’ Owner David Tepper said, “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 Panthers needed to move on from Rivera.  The offense isn’t doing their job this season.  They score 23.3 points per game ranking 14^th in the NFL.   They haven’t been able to throw the football averaging 220.8 yards per game, 21^st  in the NFL.

                The defense can’t stop teams from passing or running the football.  The Panthers allow 229.2 yards passing 14^th in the league and 137.5 yards rushing per game, ranking 29^th.  Those numbers tire out the defense and teams can control the clock to keep the Panthers’ offense off the field.  Rivera hasn’t been able to adjust on defense during games.

                 Carolina will finish the final 4 games of the season with Secondary Coach Perry Fewell as the interim Head Coach.  Once the year is over, Carolina will start a search for their next Head Coach.