CHARLOTTE – Ron Rivera believed what he said the night of Super Bowl 50 back in February, addressing the family and friends gathered for a Carolina Panthers after-party that ended up a wake: We’re going to be OK. Trust me. We’re going to come back as strong as ever.
Rivera also believes what he says on this June day, sitting in a quiet stadium corridor after a minicamp session that included a sufficiently sloppy moment for him to stop practice – again – and remind players how little time remains before their season-opening rematch with the Denver Broncos.
“If we think we can just show up and win football games,” Rivera told USA TODAY Sports, “we’re going to get smacked right in the head.”
Rivera is a trained optimist, the son of an Army officer who used to tell young Ronny that when things get tough, you’re the one everyone will look to, because you’re in charge. If players sense doubt in him, Rivera figures, they’ll start doubting themselves.
There’s a difference between belief and blind faith, though.
“First and foremost,” said Rivera, who got a lucrative one-year contract extension through 2018 in the offseason, “I have to hold myself accountable to the team and say, did I really prepare myself to be better this offseason? Or am I going to fall back on my laurels and pat myself on the back: ‘Oh, you’re the NFL coach of the year again, good job?’ No, that (expletive)’s over.”
He has watched the 24-10 loss to the Broncos in its entirety eight or nine times now, analyzed the failure to help in coverage, failure to press holes, missed run fits, dropped interceptions – so many missed details unlike the Panthers team that had won 17 of 18 games. “Without a doubt,” Rivera said, he can see a path they could’ve taken to win.
“We made mistakes like we had never been there before,” Rivera said. “Was the moment too big for us? I didn’t think it was. But yet Michael Tolbert fumbles. Who fumbles that never fumbles? Jerricho Cotchery dropped a pass. Jerricho never drops a ball! You just say, ‘Wow.’ And it wasn’t our young guys, it was our veteran guys – but they’ve never been in this position.”
When Rivera, 54, sought advice this offseason from William Harry McRaven, the retired U.S. Navy four-star admiral challenged him to figure out who wasn’t “all-in”. Dr. Kevin Elko, the motivation specialist, told Rivera something similar.
“As I looked back at it, it wasn’t really about not being all-in. It’s just not being all there and not having had that experience,” Rivera said. “I always think back to what Winston Churchill says about history: You can study history and learn from it, or you can be doomed to repeat it.”
Which is why Rivera stopped the team’s first OTA practice last month because he didn’t like the tempo and told players the time is now to prepare to win. He called them together again Wednesday after third-string quarterback Joe Webb spiked the ball on fourth down.
“He’s approached it pretty straightforward and upfront about where we are and the expectation that’s going to be placed on us and how things are going to be a little bit different outside this building,” Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen said. “But we can’t allow that to alter our approach.”
The emphasis can’t be squarely on the Sept. 8 opener – a lesson from Rivera’s mentor, hall of fame coach John Madden – no matter how much focus externally will be on how the Panthers and reigning NFL MVP Cam Newton respond initially after their Super struggles.
“Oh, believe me, he’s coming back. That’s just the way he is,” Rivera said of Newton, who completed 18 of 41 passes and had three turnovers in that game. “I have all the confidence that he’s coming back.
“And it’s funny because people say, ‘Oh, (the opener’s) revenge. This is your catalyst.’ No, it’s not. If you build everything up for one game, what happens if you lose that game? Now what?”
One of the lessons Rivera took from his first two seasons as coach in 2011 and ’12 was defining his message, but also letting it evolve.
In 2013, it was about earning opportunities, then becoming relevant. In 2014, it was about staying the course and, during their surge from 3-8-1 to win a second straight NFC South title, about being the better team for just one day. That message carried over into 2015, before the Panthers started 14-0 and it became about maintaining their focus and personality.
“Do I know that message right now? No,” Rivera said. “But I do know this: We’re starting from the beginning. When we come back for training camp July 27th, the first installation is going to be our basic installation.”
He says he likes depth and talent of the Panthers’ roster that will try to become the first Super Bowl loser in 23 years to get back to the title game, even after all-pro cornerback Josh Norman’s surprise departure in April. They still have Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis and Kawann Short leading the defense. They’ll get back young receiver Kelvin Benjamin – out last season with a knee injury – on an offense featuring Newton and Olsen.
“Everybody wants to whack our offensive line around and they want to pick on our right tackle (Mike Remmers) for what happened in the Super Bowl,” Rivera said. “People don’t know that we screwed our protection up. We didn’t do the job we were supposed to and left him out there by himself. It’s not his fault, but everybody wants to write about that.
“I take a step back and say, with that guy as our starting right tackle, we’re 22-4.”
Even the optimist knows past stats mean little on Sundays, though. Madden, McRaven and everyone else Rivera consulted gave some version of the same advice: Don’t think you can pick up where you left off. You must start over.
The Panthers had the NFL’s best record last season, but Rivera points out how close some games were, how many opponents came back. “And I think the thing that we all have to understand,” Rivera said, “is if we’re better, can we win even more?”
The level of success they achieved in 2015 was as new an experience for many Panthers as their failure on football’s biggest stage. Rivera still believes they’re going to be OK. He just wants everyone to understand each individual can control whether he’s right.
“I pointed to Denver right away and I said to our guys, ‘You see that group? Two years ago, they got the (expletive) kicked out of them against Seattle (in a 43-8 loss in Super Bowl XLVIII), and look at them now,’” Rivera said.
“And I said, ‘I promise you, a big part of the reason is they were a young football team, and guys, we are a young football team. This can be a great learning experience and we’re going to learn from it.’ That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero
