National Post (National Edition)
Panthers’ Rivera in survival mode
4-game losing skid, staff shakeup puts coach on notice
It didn’t take long for David Tepper to reveal what kind of owner he’ll be for the Carolina Panthers.
Hands on and impatient, apparently.
This is Tepper’s first season in charge of an NFL franchise, after purchasing the Panthers from the discredited Jerry Richardson in May. At the time Tepper implied he would not immediately insert his influence on the team’s operation, on or off the field.
Tepper had to have been happy just four weeks ago. His Panthers were off to a 6-2 start and all was looking up. Quarterback Cam Newton was performing better than he had since his 2015 league MVP season and the defence looked stout again.
But starting with that ugly 5221 loss at Pittsburgh on Nov. 8, the Panthers have now lost four straight and are in danger of slipping out of post-season contention.
All it took was 25 days of suspect play. Hours after the Panthers fell out of a playoff position, what did Mr. New Owner do?
He met with head coach Ron Rivera on Monday, along with GM Marty Hurney. Shortly afterward, the team announced Rivera had more-or-less demoted defensive coordinator Eric Washington to defensive front-seven coach, and fired defensive line coach Brady Hoke and assistant secondary coach Jeff Imamura.
At a followup news conference, Rivera said the staff shakeup was all his decision. Rivera confirmed he will now call defensive plays, even if Washington retains his title and helps in that regard.
Rivera’s contention that it was all his idea might not ring so hollow if Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports hadn’t reported a day earlier he’d been “hearing for weeks about Tepper’s discontent with the direction of the franchise.” He said the owner had been “discussing potential changes with confidants,” and that nothing that occurred in Carolina’s disappointing 24-17 loss to lowly Tampa Bay “could possibly change that for the better.”
Presuming, then, that Tepper indeed applied pressure on Rivera, the question must be asked: Is Rivera himself in danger of losing his job should the Panthers keep losing?
You better believe it.
In fact, if you look at Carolina’s remaining schedule, it doesn’t look good for the man who has been the Panthers’ head coach since 2011. Carolina’s last four games are this Sunday at Cleveland; Dec. 17 at home against New Orleans; Dec. 23 at home vs. Atlanta and Dec. 30 at New Orleans.
Three wins there would be tough and even then, that would give the Panthers a 9-7 record. It’s more likely the Panthers split the last four to finish 8-8, which probably won’t be good enough to garner an NFC wild-card berth.
At his introductory news conference as owner, Tepper revealed a competitive side. He tried to cloak it in humour, but it should have served as a real warning to the entire Panthers football operation, especially given Rivera’s actions Monday.
“The first thing I care about is winning,” Tepper said. “The second thing I care about is winning. And the third thing I care about is?”
Right. Winning.
Rivera surely knows what’s in store if the Panthers don’t make the playoffs.
Much has been made of Green Bay’s firing of longtime head coach Mike Mccarthy, effective immediately. Specifically, the timing of it.
Some called it cruel and unfair not to let Mccarthy coach out the season.
Others say it was necessary to do it now, for both the club and Mccarthy.
For the club because it can conduct its replacement search in the open immediately. For Mccarthy, because it allows him to get a foot in the door of any NFL vacancies that should emerge in the coming weeks.
Don’t expect Mccarthy to be out of work long.
No other NFL team claimed Kareem Hunt off waivers Monday. He’s now a free agent, free to sign a new contract with any team.
The Kansas City Chiefs waived the second-year running back on Friday, hours after a security video from his Cleveland hotel home went viral, showing him plowing a man into a woman, which sent her flying into a wall, then kicking the same woman.
Hunt remains on the commissioner’s exempt list, meaning he cannot practise, play or attend games until either cleared by the league or serves a suspension.