Ron Rivera gains respect for setting tone during crisis
CHARLOTTE – One year ago, Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera faced a metaphorical crossroads after his team's 0-2 start with some fans calling for his job.
Rivera was so consumed by his decision not to go for it on fourth-and-1 late in a Week 2 loss to the Buffalo Bills, he never saw the traffic light change on his commute from the Panthers complex. He ran a red light and almost got blindsided by another car.
That go-for-it epiphany led to his moniker, "Riverboat Ron'' honoring the aggressive gambler who went for it on fourth-and-short thereafter. Carolina went 12-2 before losing in the postseason to the San Francisco 49ers.
This week Rivera faced a far more disturbing crisis with the league embroiled in scandals involving domestic violence and child abuse allegations. The husband and father of a daughter and son made the decision to deactivate defensive end Greg Hardy on Sunday against Detroit. Then, after consultation with owner Jerry Richardson, general manager Dave Gettleman and the league, the Panthers placed Hardy on the exempt list Wednesday.
Hardy faces a Nov. 17 jury trial following his appeal of a district judge's July conviction on two counts of domestic abuse and threatening to kill his ex-girlfriend.
Throughout the week, his players watched as Rivera set the zero-tolerance tone as the Panthers atoned for playing Hardy in the season opener.
Pro Bowl center Ryan Kalil listened Wednesday as Rivera, a former Chicago Bears linebacker, said, "It's a tough situation. He (Hardy) knows he put himself in it…The biggest thing we all have to understand is we have to get this right.''
Rivera compelled his players to rally around each other and move on because no one player defines the team.
"Coach handled the week really well, struck the right cord,'' Kalil told Paste BN Sports. "The thing about coach is he's a very sincere guy. He's for real. I've met and played for guys who aren't.
"It's not a show. He wears his heart on his sleeve, tells it how it is. You respect a guy like that."
Rivera, who initially said last Sunday that Hardy would return to practice as the Panthers mulled how to proceed, conceded that the "climate changed'' after the release of video showing former Baltimore Ravens tailback Ray Rice punching his then-fiancée and the indictment of Minnesota Vikings back Adrian Peterson for negligent or reckless injury of a child.
"It's not a black-and-white answer in that kind of situation. People in media and the national discussion are so matter of fact about what is the right thing to do,'' Kalil said. "Starting with coach Rivera, the people upstairs are all good people trying to do the right thing.''
For the Panthers to start 3-0 for the first time since reaching the Super Bowl in 2003, they will have to control the football against two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the 1-1 Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.
The Steelers' 29th-ranked run defense has struggled breaking in four new starters, including rookie linebacker Ryan Shazier and former Panthers safety Mike Mitchell.
Kalil is the rock of an offensive line breaking in two new starters.
"Even though there are a lot of different faces on that defense, it's still a really good, tough football team,'' Kalil said. "We have to do a good job of communicating, making sure everyone's on the same page. And finishing. It starts with me. Because those guys do a good job of pursuing the ball. Even when they get out of their gaps, they do a good job of finding the ball.''
It is imperative the Panthers have a run-first attack despite DeAngelo Williams' questionable hamstring since quarterback Cam Newton is playing with a surgically-repaired ankle and cracked ribs.
"Running the ball is very important for our offense and we have a nice stable of backs,'' Kalil said. "We also have some new guys up front.
"The more games we play together, the better we'll be.''