Reaction to the Panthers Firing Ron Rivera

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When the news broke yesterday afternoon that the Carolina Panthers had parted ways with head coach Ron Rivera, I was shocked.  I think most people around the Charlotte area were surprised as well.  He had been the head coach of the Panthers since 2011 and is currently the winningest coach in franchise history, ahead of John Fox.  But just because I was shocked to see the news come across the screen yesterday doesn’t mean I don’t necessarily think it was the wrong decision.  I really don’t know what to think just yet.

I knew changes were coming several weeks back within the organization, and even predicted there would be several major changes.  I didn’t specify what changes, such as a head coaching change, but thought it was certainly possible.  The game that led me to thinking about “major changes” was the Falcons game at Bank of America Stadium.  You cannot just lose to a team like that in the way they did at home.  It was a flat-out embarrassing game.  And then you have last week’s game, which was the nail in the coffin.  The Redskins are laughably bad this year.  To let them come into your house and beat you says a lot about who you are as a team.

So, with these losses, I knew changes were coming.  I just figured we would all have to wait to see them.  So many things on this team needs to be fixed.  There has been a question mark about the quarterback position for a while now, so it will be interesting to see what the team does about that this offseason.  The offensive line is atrocious.  The defense has been awful.  And then the coaching…what coaches will have to find new homes.  I was just surprised that they went straight to Rivera.

I don’t have a problem with the team wanting to find another head coach.  But I also wouldn’t have had a problem with them holding onto him either.  He certainly had his players’ respect, and that is tough to find in NFL head coaches.  So, replacing that aspect will be tough.  But like I’ve mentioned with the poor team performances, things needed to change.  This season’s team performance isn’t on Rivera.  It’s been from poor play from the team, along with very questionable play-calling at critical times.  But it’s the head coach who takes the fall every single time.  That’s the way the NFL works.

I thought Coach Rivera deserved to at least finish out the season.  He’s earned that.  He’s done great things for this franchise and had his players’ respect.  But, now if you’re the Panthers, you have to go all the way in on making major changes.  You can’t just get rid of the head coach and see how things play out.  By getting rid of Rivera, you’re telling the fanbase that enough is enough, and a lot of other changes are on the horizon.  Other coaches need to be gone as well.  And some key positions on the field need to be changed.  If you sit on your hands after getting rid of Rivera and hope everything else will play out, you have failed your job and failed your fanbase.

Ron Rivera is not a bad coach at all.  He’s actually a pretty good one, especially if you look at a lot of the other head coaches around the NFL.  And he won’t be without a job for long.  He had a good run with the Panthers, but sometimes it’s just time for both sides to move on.  Is now that time?  I’m not quite sure.  But David Tepper has decided it is, so the Panthers must do just that.  Move on.  Right now the fans have no idea where this franchise is headed or what the visions are for it.  I’m sure we will find out much more in the next few months, but for right now having a sense of direction for this team would be nice.  Are the Panthers going to start over?  Are they going to be competitive next year?  That’s something we’ll just have to wait and see.

Garett