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The Carolina Panthers Fired Head Coach Ron Rivera Following the Embarrassing Loss to the Washington Redskins
Introduction
On Tuesday, December 3rd, 2019 just two days after the Carolina Panthers suffered an embarrassing loss to the Washington Redskins at home, they have decided to fire their head coach, Ron Rivera. This loss marks the third time during the 2019 – 2020 NFL season that the Carolina Panthers lost at home to a team with a losing record.
Rivera was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers for the last nine seasons in the National Football League. He is the most winningest head coach in the history of the Carolina Panthers franchise. He ended his time in Charlotte with a regular season record of 76 – 63 – 1 and a postseason record of 3 – 4.
He led the Panthers to Super Bowl 50 in which Carolina lost to the Denver Broncos with a final score of 24 – 10 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Rivera was named the NFL’s coach of the year two times during his tenure with the Carolina Panthers. Although he had some very successful NFL seasons in Charlotte, he has also been fairly inconsistent as their head coach. Since taking over in 2011 Rivera has only produced 3 winning seasons out of the nine years as the head coach of the Panthers.
Current Personnel Changes
The Carolina have not only fired their head coach, but they have moved around a bunch of personnel at least for the time being. Their coach of the defensive secondary, Perry Fewell, was selected to be named the interim head coach of the Panthers. The offensive coordinator Norv Turner was moved to special assistant to the head coach. Their quarterbacks coach Scott Turner will slide into the offensive coordinator position. All these NFL moves and transitions are effective immediately.
Rivera's Coaching Results
| Simple Rating System | Playoffs | Challenges | ||||||||||||||||
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | W | L | T | W-L% | SRS | OSRS | DSRS | G plyf | W plyf | L plyf | W-L% | Rank | Num | Won |
| 2011 | 49 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0.375 | -1.3 | 2.6 | -3.9 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||||
| 2012 | 50 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0.438 | 0.8 | -0.5 | 1.3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| 2013 | 51 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0.75 | 9.2 | 0.6 | 8.6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| 2014 | 52 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 0.469 | -3.1 | -2.4 | -0.7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0.5 | 1 | 7 | 3 |
| 2015 | 53 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0.938 | 8.1 | 6 | 2.1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 1 | 17 | 10 |
| 2016 | 54 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0.375 | -1 | -0.2 | -0.8 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||||
| 2017 | 55 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0.688 | 4.3 | 1.7 | 2.7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| 2018 | 56 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 16 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0.438 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 3 | 7 | 4 | ||||
| 2019 | 57 | Carolina Panthers | NFL | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0.417 | -3 | 0.4 | -3.5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 9 yrs | 140 | 76 | 63 | 1 | 0.546 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0.429 | 2.1 | 58 | 28 |
Coaching Team's Ranks
| Overall | Offense | Rushing Off | Passing Off | Defense | Rushing Def | Passing Def | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Year | Tm | Role | Tms | WL% | T/G | Pts± | Yds± | Yds | Pts | GvA | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | FL | Att | Yds | TD | Int | NY/A | Yds | Pts | TkA | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | FR | Att | Yds | TD | Int | nY/A |
| 2004 | CHI | DC | 32 | 26 | 23 | 28 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 19 | 25 | 19 | 26 | 32 | 24 | 32 | 32 | 14 | 32 | 21 | 13 | 16 | 27 | 25 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 17 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 16 |
| 2005 | CHI | DC | 32 | 5 | 11 | 12 | 25 | 29 | 26 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 31 | 30 | 14 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 18 | 11 | 4 | 9 | 23 | 26 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2006 | CHI | DC | 32 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 15 | 2 | 28 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 23 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 27 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 11 | 1 | 31 | 11 | 9 | 2 | 1 |
| 2008 | SDG | DC | 32 | 17 | 11 | 7 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 11 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 25 | 15 | 17 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 14 | 18 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 11 | 18 |
| 2009 | SDG | DC | 32 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 12 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 19 | 31 | 11 | 32 | 3 | 23 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 16 | 11 | 19 | 12 | 20 | 7 | 24 | 15 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 20 | 13 |
| 2010 | SDG | DC | 32 | 14 | 23 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 17 | 9 | 15 | 4 | 22 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 23 | 8 | 4 | 20 | 5 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 1 |
| 2011 | CAR | HC | 32 | 23 | 13 | 20 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 23 | 13 | 13 | 21 | 10 | 28 | 27 | 17 | 21 | 25 | 29 | 25 | 14 | 6 | 24 | 25 | 20 | 32 |
| 2012 | CAR | HC | 32 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 3 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 16 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 10 | 18 | 18 | 12 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 13 | 23 | 12 |
| 2013 | CAR | HC | 32 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 26 | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 30 | 29 | 15 | 13 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 5 |
| 2014 | CAR | HC | 32 | 19 | 13 | 23 | 12 | 16 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 7 | 21 | 13 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 15 | 8 | 22 | 10 | 21 | 10 | 9 | 16 | 21 | 27 | 6 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 14 | 10 |
| 2015 | CAR | HC | 32 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 15 | 27 | 24 | 3 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | CAR | HC | 32 | 25 | 21 | 25 | 25 | 19 | 15 | 27 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 28 | 20 | 21 | 26 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 28 | 29 | 20 | 4 | 20 |
| 2017 | CAR | HC | 32 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 14 | 19 | 12 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 27 | 28 | 18 | 25 | 19 | 7 | 11 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 17 |
| 2018 | CAR | HC | 32 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 14 | 19 | 12 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 23 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 15 | 26 |
| 2019 | CAR | HC | 32 | 18 | 18 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 13 | 27 | 19 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 26 | 7 | 21 | 23 | 21 | 29 | 22 | 26 | 6 | 15 | 29 | 32 | 32 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
| 15 yrs | 63 | 62 | 61 | 57 | 53 | 65 | 55 | 69 | 66 | 73 | 59 | 55 | 35 | 45 | 56 | 55 | 55 | 63 | 60 | 66 | 70 | 64 | 64 | 53 | 64 | 43 | 58 | 58 | 67 | 65 | |||
| 9 yrs | CAR | HC | 58 | 62 | 54 | 61 | 54 | 63 | 57 | 75 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 62 | 36 | 38 | 53 | 49 | 51 | 61 | 49 | 70 | 76 | 65 | 55 | 46 | 73 | 47 | 53 | 55 | 65 | 57 | |
| 3 yrs | CHI | DC | 69 | 64 | 59 | 33 | 24 | 41 | 28 | 69 | 53 | 54 | 45 | 30 | 29 | 23 | 30 | 46 | 24 | 74 | 85 | 79 | 51 | 59 | 89 | 66 | 65 | 26 | 71 | 75 | 83 | 84 | |
| 3 yrs | LAC | DC | 69 | 61 | 85 | 68 | 80 | 95 | 76 | 53 | 34 | 68 | 27 | 59 | 39 | 89 | 91 | 84 | 100 | 59 | 66 | 42 | 72 | 67 | 67 | 58 | 39 | 50 | 58 | 51 | 56 | 70 |
Media Statements
"I believe this is the best decision for the long-term success of our team," says Carolina Panthers owner, David Tepper. "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."
"We are going to take a comprehensive and thorough review of our football operation to make sure we are structured for long-term sustained success," Tepper explained. "Our vision is to find the right mix of old-school discipline and toughness with modern and innovative processes. We will consider a wide range of football executives to complement our current football staff. One change that we will implement is hiring an assistant general manager and vice president of football operations. We all must recognize that this is the first step in a process, but we are committed to building and maintaining a championship culture for our team and our fans."
Sources:
“Ron Rivera out as Carolina Panthers coach after nine seasons”, David Newton, espn.com, December 3, 2019.
“Ron Rivera”, pro-football-reference.com, December 3, 2019.