On Tuesday in Charlotte, Carolina Panthers owner David Tepper announced that the team has fired nine-year head coach Ron Rivera. Perry Fewell has been named the club’s interim head coach.
“I believe this is the best decision for the long-term success of our team,” Tepper said in a statement. “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.”
In the two seasons since Tepper paid an NFL-record $2.275 to buy the franchise from disgraced former owner Jerry Richardson, Rivera had a 12-16 record.
After starting 0-2 with Cam Newton at QB, Carolina went 5-1 in Kyle Allen’s first six career starts in place of the injured Newton. However, the Panthers have dropped four consecutive games since then, including an embarrassing 29-21 home loss to the Washington Redskins this past Sunday.
Rivera has more wins than any other coach in franchise history, compiling a 76-63-1 regular-season record and a 3-4 mark in the postseason. He garnered NFL Coach of the Year honors twice, including the 2015 campaign when he led the Panthers to their second Super Bowl appearance. They lost to the Denver Broncos, though.
Rivera, a long-time NFL defensive coordinator before getting his first head-coaching gig with Carolina, won’t have any trouble finding work as a DC in 2020.
Carolina goes into Week 14 with a 5-7 straight-up record and a 6-6 against-the-spread ledger. With four games to play, the Panthers are three games back of Minnesota for the NFC’s final wild-card berth.
Carolina is a three-point underdog Sunday at Atlanta. The Falcons trashed the Panthers 29-3 as four-point road underdogs on Nov. 17.