Ron Rivera spent part of Wednesday packing memorabilia and personal items from 40 years as an NFL player, assistant and head coach into boxes in his house in northern Virginia. The movers will get the big stuff, but Rivera and his wife, Stephanie, wanted to handle the things that held special meaning.
Rivera, the former Carolina Panthers coach, is returning to northern California next week to take a still-to-be-defined position with the Cal football program. It’s a full-circle move for Rivera, an All-American linebacker at Cal before being selected by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1984 draft.
With quarterback Cam Newton hurt and the Panthers mired in what would become an eight-game losing streak, owner David Tepper fired Rivera late in the 2019 season. He left as the franchise’s all-time winningest coach, having guided the Panthers to the playoffs three consecutive years and four times in a five-year span from 2013-17.
Rivera’s daughter, Courtney, lives in Charlotte, where she’s a freelance videographer who does contract work for the Panthers’ social media department. Rivera, the Washington Commanders’ coach from 2020-23, was back in Bank of America Stadium in December as an analyst for a national radio broadcast of the Panthers’ 36-30 overtime win over the Arizona Cardinals.
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He took a break from his packing to speak with The Athletic on a number of topics, including his thoughts on Panthers quarterback Bryce Young and coach Dave Canales, Newton’s recent comments and his memories from the 2015 Super Bowl season.
Rivera on:
Bryce Young’s development and 2024 turnaround
Coming into the season, I know their expectations and he didn’t start off strong. I thought Dave Canales did something very brave, and that was he benched him. He did it for a couple of reasons. And one was it was early in the season and they still had a chance. I thought Andy Dalton came in and did a terrific job with the team. I thought Andy also did a great job of mentoring Bryce. And I think the conversation that coach Canales had with Bryce was probably about being positive, staying focused and being ready because you’re gonna get your chance again. And lo and behold, guess what? He got his chance. What was impressive about it was while he was sitting back as the backup, he really stayed engaged it looked like. He stayed involved with the team. He didn’t go sulk. And I thought that was a very important thing. I’ve really gotta give him credit for keeping himself engaged. When he got his opportunity again, he showed (out).
Coming back to Charlotte to call the Panthers’ Week 16 game versus Arizona
I was thrilled to get the chance to come call the game for national radio. But at the same time, get a chance just kind of as a fan to watch them play. And I was very pleased with the way things were going. And I think Dave has done a nice job and has kind of put this group of players in a position where they can grow and get better.
Ron Rivera spoke with Panthers owner David Tepper during the Panthers’ Week 16 matchup against the Cardinals. (Jim Dedmon / Imagn Images)
Canales joining Rivera as one of five head coaches in NFL history of Latino descent
I think it’s really cool. I’ve reached out to him. We’ve texted back and forth, talked a couple times on the phone. He’s asked questions. I’ve given advice. I’m very happy to do that for him because I’d love to see him succeed. One of the fastest-growing minority groups in fandom in the NFL is the Hispanic community. I think it’s important that there is representation. And it’s gotta be earned representation. He’s earned it. He earned that opportunity. I’m very proud of him.
How Dan Morgan can fix the defense
I don’t think there is such a thing as a quick fix. I think it’s gotta be steady growth. You might hit on a guy that comes in and transforms the defense. Is that a middle linebacker like a Luke Kuechly? That was one of the things that transformed us. Once Luke became our mike linebacker, things really fell into place for us. It was a lot of fun and exciting. Is that guy out there in this coming draft? I’m not sure. But I do think they’ve gotta look and see.
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Luke Kuechly not making it to Canton in his first year of eligibility
There were no first-timers. And I thought there were a lot of guys that were worthy. I really do believe Luke is worthy of the Hall of Fame. I also felt he was worthy of being a first-timer. I feel the same way about Eli Manning. When these guys play in big games and perform in big games and do things that catch people’s attention, to me that’s deserving. Eli won two Super Bowls. That’s a guy that I really thought deserved that opportunity. I think Steve Smith will get in, too.
Cam Newton’s “locker room of losers” comment about the 2010 Panthers
Sometimes things are better left unsaid. And I’d loved to have seen him be a little more diplomatic. Just because a lot of those guys on that 2010 team became some of those guys that went to the Super Bowl in 2015. It’s unfortunate he made the comments and now he’s just gotta live with them and own up.
Favorite memories from the Super Bowl team of 10 years ago
You know what was really cool? When we practiced on Friday before that (NFC) championship game against the Cardinals, it started snowing. If you ask the players about that, they’re gonna tell you they thought it was one of the best practices we ever had. How crisp, how detailed, how fluid the practice was. Credit to (former football operations manager) Bryan Porter and his staff. They would clean off part of the field, half the field, then we’d go over and practice on it. As soon as they got done clearing the other side up, we’d switch over. So they were going back and forth while we were practicing. We were just following them. As the field got clean, we went to the next one.
The other one was being an undefeated team and going to Dallas (on Thanksgiving) and knowing that Dallas was favored initially because Tony Romo was coming back (from an injury). That didn’t sit very well with the guys.
Falling to Denver in Super Bowl 50
(We were) wanting to win for the city. One of the hardest things for me was when we drove back into the facility and we had a nice crowd of people out there. And all I could really think of was honestly, I felt like I let a lot of people down. The only thing that was bad about (that season) is we didn’t win it all.
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Returning to his alma mater
The biggest thing more than anything else, it was about the opportunity to go home. After 37 years in the NFL, the nice thing for me was the opportunity to go back and work from the football side and mentor a young group of coaches, and at the same time do something to give back to the university. And that’s be involved in the fundraising and stuff like that.
Former Panthers GM Marty Hurney moving into horse racing as an owner
Marty’s always understood the horses. He loves it and he’s in an area (northern Virginia) where it’s a pretty prominent thing. So it doesn’t surprise me. He’s got a good eye for that stuff. He gets to evaluate and scout athletes again, just different type of athletes.
(Top photo of Dave Canales and Bryce Young: Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
