No Ultimatums
Rivera said Monday that it was a collaborative effort between he, owner David Tepper and general manager Marty Hurney to make the change in his staff – while a CBS Sports report yesterday indicated that Tepper may be looking to make changes should the Panthers continue their losing ways of the past month, Rivera reiterated that he’s not inclined to believe reports until he hears it from the owner himself.
He insists that he has not been given an ultimatum or an indication that his job is on the line.
“I’m not going to talk about what Mr. Tepper and I talk about – these type of things – quite honestly, if you know Mr. Tepper, that’s not his style; he’s very upfront, he’s very [straight]forward. Again, I’ve been very fortunate to have a good collaboration between him, myself and [Hurney],” said Rivera when asked about his conversations with Tepper, specifically over the past two days. “I’m not going to deal with conjecture – what i’m going to deal with is in fact; until I see a comment that has his name attached to it, has it being quoted, I’m not going to worry about it.”
“I’m going to worry about my job – and my job is worry about Cleveland.”
Where Washington Fits
And now first-year defensive coordinator Eric Washington, who excelled for so long as the defensive line coach, is back to doing what he does best – taking care of the defenders close to the ball.
“Eric’s expertise as a defensive line coach, as a front seven coach is very well-noted; he’s handled it for seven seasons,” said Rivera. “Eric’s a professional. He’s done this for a long time and he’s been very successful at it; his track record speaks for itself, especially dealing with the front seven, especially dealing with the front four – I have a bit of experience at doing this, at playcalling and putting defenses together and I think it’s an opportunity for me to work even closer with them as we go forward.”
It’s Washington’s first go-round as defensive coordinator after seven stellar years with the front four – no group of defensive linemen produced more sacks than Carolina’s 235 and Carolina’s run defense has ranked in the top six in the NFL in four of the past seven seasons; this year they rank sixth in the league, giving up only 96.3 yards/game. But Washington isn’t the only inexperienced coach – all three coordinators are brand new to their positions this season, in addition to every single position coach on the defensive side of the ball.
“It’s been trying, obviously, when you lose guys that have been in the system for a long time; as we go forward, again, it’s about learning and growing and getting back to where we’ve been in the past – especially as a defense,” said Rivera, who has had three defensive coordinators over the past three years. “There are some things that we’re getting better at, some things that we’re doing – we just need to continue to grow.”
“Y’all gotta remember your first time at doing something, you weren’t perfect. And that’s really what I’m here for is to help him as we go forward as a football team.”
At the end of the day, the NFL is a business – and in a business where you get paid a lot of money to perform, when you have a brand new boss whom you need to impress, or when you are having a bad month, nothing can keep you employed except for success.
“I play every day like my job [was] on the line, and I know he coached everyday like his job was on the line,” says Adams, who has played on five teams since 2004. “I’ve seen it all, I’ve seen Peyton Manning get cut [and] Champ Bailey get cut – so nothing surprises me anymore.”
“I believe that no one’s exempt.”
