Old North Banter
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Carolina Panthers: Rivera to the Rams? Kit-Kat Bar.

By John Woodcock

Dec 24, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) talks with head coach Ron Rivera in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 24, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) talks with head coach Ron Rivera in the fourth quarter at Bank of America Stadium. The Falcons defeated the Panthers 33-16. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is a suggestion that the Los Angeles Rams trade for Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera.

The Carolina Panthers lost to the Falcons and lost what precious little chance they had the playoffs. Yes, they would have lost that chance anyway when the Packers beat the Vikings. Are the Panthers ready to lose something else? Like their head coach?

No, this is not a ‘fire Ron Rivera’ piece. Rivera is the right guy for the Panthers going forward. He is the right combination of old school and players coach. He just needs the full roster of players to move forward.

The threat to Rivera comes from an interesting place, the Los Angeles Rams. The Rams have dumped their team builder coach Jeff Fisher despite a series of strange front office moves that never gave Fisher a healthy quarterback to use.

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Now they need a new standard bearer and someone who is a proven winner. With that in mind they have been mentioned as the team most likely to pursue a trade for Saints coach Sean Payton. However that is not the only coach in their sights, according to reports from the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

In Rapoport’s logic, Rivera is attractive to the Rams for three reasons. One, he is Hispanic and the Rams play in Los Angeles with its huge Hispanic population. Two, Rapoport reasons that Rivera could bring a steady hand to an unruly Rams team. Three the move would be eye-catching in its own right. A multi divisional champion with a Super Bowl appearance coming to Los Angeles.

An additional factor is that Rivera is from California, but his family is in the northern part of the state. He’d be closer than Charlotte, sure, but it’s still a plane ride to see the game.

Of course that is all great in the abstract. In the real world, Rivera is happy with his current job and under no pressure currently with the Panthers. The NFC is rife with parity and there is no reason to think that the Panthers could not be successful again once injured players come back and the AFC West leaves the schedule.

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The real world also says that trading for a coach is not easy. It has to be negotiated out. The Rams do not have the leverage of their best draft picks because they made the deals to move up to number one and draft Jared Goff this year. The Rams would have to trade something big like Robert Quinn or Todd Gurley and they most likely would not do that.

So nothing should come of this idea. It presupposes the Panthers are not sold on Riverboat Ron and I don’t think that is the case.

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