Running Back Christian McCaffrey: All I can say is I’m so appreciative. Coach Rivera drafted me top ten, he really believed in me, he gave me a shot and it’s been nothing but a role model and a mentor to all of us. I’m very fortunate to have played three years for him – I know he’ll land on his feet somewhere. I think I speak for not just this team but the entire Charlotte community, North Carolina, South Carolina….I’m very thankful for everything that he did. I think he pushed me to not just be a good player, but to be a vocal leader, to understand your position and what it takes to win – sometimes it takes more than making plays, you have to bring a lot of people along with you. He pushed me in ways like that – he really cared about who you were as a person. He asked about my family all the time; that’s more than you can say about a lot of people. He genuinely cared. He was such a genuine human being – he meant what he said and he said what he meant.
From a player’s perspective, coming in here, he drafted me at 20 years old – I didn’t know what I was getting into. He met me and my family at the doors when I walked in, he shook my hand and gave my mom a hug; from there on, I knew what kind of person he was and I knew what kind of team he had; if you look at the guys who have stuck around for his coaching career, guys like Greg, guys like Cam, guys like Luke, guys like Thomas Davis and Julius Peppers, those are the kind of players that he wanted to coach. I think that’s a testament to who he is as well.
Defensive Tackle Gerald McCoy: One of the things I loved about him is how much he cared about us; he just gave us everything he had.
Linebacker Luke Kuechly: It’s just unfortunate because of what he’s meant to this team and the opportunities he’s provided to people. Obviously, he’s a great coach – he’s given a lot of people a chance in this league. The best part about Coach Rivera is who he is as a person. He genuinely cares about everybody in this locker room – whether you’ve been here for a year, whether you’re an undrafted guy.
I’ve dealt with some situations over the years, especially with my head stuff and he told me, ‘We need you healthy as a person before you get back out there.’ He values and understands that the most important thing about the game of football is the relationships. He doesn’t just talk about it – he means it. He embodies that. He wanted to create a family culture and that’s perfectly evident the more you’re around.
Interim Head Coach Perry Fewell: He’s such a good man. He’s amazing. He coached me through several things that would happen, as far as practice [today], these are the travel schedules – he walked me through some of the things that I needed to be walked through, because this was totally unexpected. A first-class man as Ron Rivera is, he stayed and helped every minute of the day that he could.
It’s easy for you to slam the door, pack up your things and walk out or just walk out – but he took care of Panther business, which you know he would do – he’s a first-class guy.
Defensive End Brian Burns: It’s more of a deeper level than football. A lot of the guys that I hear say something, it doesn’t have anything to do with football, it has to do with family or a life lesson that he taught them, so it just shows you good of a guy he was.
Safety Eric Reid: I obviously was out of football for an extended period of time and when I came here, Ron told me very openly that he was against what I was doing and I’m not sure if [he] watched that opening press conference, but he came to me later and told me that I had changed his mind and that he understood what I was doing and why I was doing it. It really speaks to his character to be who he says he is as a leader and to not be closed-minded, to do the research, to listen to other folks and to really see what other people are going through and that’s really what I think his legacy will be here – obviously, he’s a great leader, he took this team to the Super Bowl.
But he’s an ever better person.
