The Carolina Panthers have been oh-so close in numerous games this season, but that is not enough to keep them in the tough NFC Playoff picture, or enough to keep Ron Rivera employed. The Panthers fired head coach Rivera on Tuesday afternoon, cutting ties with their head man in the middle of his ninth season. The news comes following a tough 29-21 home loss to the Washington Redskins this past Sunday, dropping them to 5-7 on the season, which doesn't mathematically eliminate them from the playoff race, but does make it very difficult to make it happen.
The loss on Sunday was the third time this season that the Panthers were in the red zone in the final seconds of the game with a chance to tie or win the game, but they failed to pound the ball in to the end zone. They have already switched quarterbacks due to injury, as Cam Newton is on injured reserve, leaving Kyle Allen as their starter for the remainder of this season.
Rivera also struggled to end last season, as the Panthers lost seven of their last eight games to finish the season 7-9 following an impressive 6-2 start. The coach, who was hired in 2011, has been rumored to get fired after the 3-9 Redskins came in to Bank of American Stadium this past weekend and took them down.
Those rumors have come true for the man that brought three NFC South Titles to the franchise, along with one Super Bowl appearance, which was a loss to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 in 2015. Rivera made the playoffs four times with the Panthers, winning Coach of the Year twice, and finishing with a record of 76-63-1 with them. Although, he was under .500 at 3-4 in the playoffs, and 12-16 since owner David Tepper took over in 2018. Tepper felt that "it was the right time" to make this move, and has placed secondary coach Perry Fewell in the interim head coaching role for the rest of the season. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is expected to assist Fewell in that position until the team moves on to their next head man.
The loss on Sunday was the third time this season that the Panthers were in the red zone in the final seconds of the game with a chance to tie or win the game, but they failed to pound the ball in to the end zone. They have already switched quarterbacks due to injury, as Cam Newton is on injured reserve, leaving Kyle Allen as their starter for the remainder of this season.
Rivera also struggled to end last season, as the Panthers lost seven of their last eight games to finish the season 7-9 following an impressive 6-2 start. The coach, who was hired in 2011, has been rumored to get fired after the 3-9 Redskins came in to Bank of American Stadium this past weekend and took them down.
Those rumors have come true for the man that brought three NFC South Titles to the franchise, along with one Super Bowl appearance, which was a loss to Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50 in 2015. Rivera made the playoffs four times with the Panthers, winning Coach of the Year twice, and finishing with a record of 76-63-1 with them. Although, he was under .500 at 3-4 in the playoffs, and 12-16 since owner David Tepper took over in 2018. Tepper felt that "it was the right time" to make this move, and has placed secondary coach Perry Fewell in the interim head coaching role for the rest of the season. Offensive coordinator Norv Turner is expected to assist Fewell in that position until the team moves on to their next head man.
