As the 2015 NFL season draws to a close, there are a number of different awards that are up for debate. While fans and pundits focus on the NFL MVP, in which Cam Newton is the apparent front-runner, there is another that the Carolina Panthers should expect to capture: Coach of the Year.
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“Riverboat” Ron deserves mounds of praise for what he and this Carolina Panthers unit were able to accomplish this year. Rivera led this team to the best performance in the organization’s history – all the while snubbing his nose at the experts who continued to bet against his players. If the Panthers’ 15-1 record is one of the main talking points that supporters use to argue for Newton’s claim to the MVP, it should be just as valuable in Rivera’s push for this valuable award.
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Rivera has tasted a similar level of success. He earned the honor back in 2013 when he led the Panthers to a 12-4 record. This team has outperformed that unit in nearly every fashion. What is even more impressive is that Rivera came into the season with a roster that wasn’t lined with marquee names like that of the 2013 team. Even though the powerful defense from last year was still in place, there were a number of questions on offense that needed to be answered.
The Panthers’ season started off on a horrible note as Kelvin Benjamin went down with a season-ending injury. From that point on, the stories coming out of the NFC South were whether or not the Atlanta Falcons or New Orleans Saints would lead the way for the division. Even after both the Falcons and Panthers remained undefeated, pundits picked the Falcons as the better team of the two, while denigrating nearly every success Carolina enjoyed.
Still, Rivera kept this team on track and away from crumbling under the pressure of staying undefeated. Even with their eventual loss to the Falcons, this Panthers team went a long way in shedding the nickname “Cardiac Cats” that followed this franchise for much of its history. Outside the likes of Newton, Greg Olsen and Jonathan Stewart, this Panthers’ offense outplayed all expectations to become one of the most-potent attacks in the game today.
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As the quest for the ultimate prize continues within the NFL postseason, it’s time to look back on the regular season to reward those individuals that stood out amongst their peers. Rivera deserves to walk away with the 2015 NFL Coach of the Year award.