Carolina Panthers: Five possible replacements for Ron Rivera
By Luke Tucker
On Sunday, the Carolina Panthers (5-7) fell to the Redskins (3-9) in an ugly 29-21 defeat. It could be the final straw in the Ron Rivera era.
Following a three-game losing streak, Sunday’s matchup with the Redskins was supposed to be an opportunity for Ron Rivera and the Carolina Panthers to get back on the beam. What should’ve been a win culminated into an ugly game that consisted of pitiful run defense and once again, inconsistent quarterback play. Even stud running back Christian McCaffrey was mostly a non-factor.
The Panthers have now lost four-straight, and their already microscopic playoff chances have officially been kissed goodbye. Carolina doesn’t have much left to play for in 2019, and players don’t seem to be giving the type of effort to give much security to Rivera’s job status. It hasn’t helped that owner David Tepper has vowed not to accept mediocrity, and in two of Carolina’s last four contests, the Panthers were far from being even that. Rivera has said to have been on the hot seat at several points during his tenure as the Panthers’ head coach, however, his job has never truly seemed to be in as much danger as it is now.
At this point, given the Panthers’ second-consecutive late-season collapse, Rivera will in all likelihood be relieved of his duties following the conclusion of this season. A fair point can be made that losing Cam Newton hurts, and it does, however, Rivera has never led the Panthers to two-straight winning seasons, and has only three winning seasons in his first eight full years in Carolina. In fact, he has been so “mediocre” that aside from the Super Bowl season in 2015, Rivera’s record with the Panthers stands at exactly 61-62-1–one game under .500.
The ninth-year coach has done great things for the franchise, and has brought the team to the national spotlight on multiple occasions, but as with all good things, they must come to an end. And in doing so, Tepper should be scouring his options on the head coaching market. Here are five candidates who the Panthers could consider as the team’s next head coach.