Carolina Panthers: 5 Dream replacements for Ron Rivera as head coach

With Ron Rivera out as head coach of the Carolina Panthers, who would be the dream candidates for the Cats to bring in as their next head coach?

The Carolina Panthers got tired of gambling on the Riverboat after a Week 13 loss to Washington. On Tuesday afternoon, the team announced that they’d parted ways with head coach Ron Rivera. While he took the team to Super Bowl 50 behind an MVP performance from Cam Newton, Rivera never developed consistency in terms of his success and, with a 5-7 record, new owner David Tepper elected to cut bait before the end of the season.

While the timing of the move is a bit surprising, the Panthers had some reasoning behind letting Rivera go right now. They want to get a leg up on a head coaching search for the 2020 season and beyond as they have crucial decisions to make moving forward.

Carolina has some core pieces in place with running back Christian McCaffrey and linebacker Luke Kuechly. However, there has been talk all season of potentially moving on from Newton at quarterback. Whether that means giving the keys to Kyle Allen, who’s filled in with Cam on the sidelines this season, or looking to the draft or free agency for an answer remains to be seen.

Whatever their plan though, the Carolina Panthers are wise to get a jump on their head coaching search. And while there are no shortage of quality, viable candidates, it’s always great to dream big. With that, these are the dream head coaching targets for the Panthers to replace Ron Rivera.

5. Kevin Stefanski

Current Role: Vikings offensive coordinator

For several years, you’d have associated Mike Zimmer’s Minnesota Vikings with a strong defense and fine offense. The roles have flipped in 2019 though as the defense has been playing below expectations while the offense has taken a massive leap forward.

Much of the credit for that goes to Vikings offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski. The job that Stefanski has done with not just talented players like Dalvin Cook, Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen but also with a much-maligned quarterback like Kirk Cousins deserves to be lauded. And after getting some buzz last offseason, it’s hard not to see him getting a head coaching job in 2020.

The demand for Stefanski’s services may well be the very thing that makes him a dream candidate for the Panthers. But while that may be so, the offensive coordinator could do wonders working with McCaffrey and this offense, no matter who the front office pegs as the quarterback to lead Carolina into the future.