EXCELLENT MMQB article on Rivera, Mike Ditka, and Panthers' team culture

[KB_fan]

(Apologies if this has already been posted.  I didn't see it, but since this came out yesterday, perhaps I missed it as i wasn't online much yesterday.)

MUST READING FOR PANTHERS FANS... Peter King's excellent feature on Ditka's influence on Ron, and how Ron has shaped the culture of the Panthers.  Such a great read.

http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/01/21/nfl-ron-rivera-carolina-panthers-mike-ditka-chicago-bears

Here's an excerpt.

Quote

 

“I think it’s important to have a sense of team, of unselfishness, that exists through the team,” Rivera says. “The one thing I’ve taken from Coach Ditka is taking ownership. Be responsible for yourself. Be the best player and person you can be. I will never be Mike Ditka. He had such a high standard and it took me awhile to get it as a player. I always wondered, Why is he always so hard on us? Why? His standard was a Hall of Fame standard. I was never a Hall of Famer as a player, but I always try to carry that high standard. If you carry that standard, and you try to emulate that, you’re going to be the best player you can, and the best teammate you can be.”

Ditka is pleased to hear that he’s remembered. But he doesn’t take much credit for Rivera being Rivera.

“I’m an old man now,” Ditka, 76, said this week. “My time is past. There was a time when my way was OK. I’m glad Ron took something from his time with me, but here’s what he’s added—the cerebral touch, the great relationship with his players. What I always preached was that talent is a part of football. But talent without character is nothing. You’ll lose without character.”

Speaking of losing…

Fourteen months ago, the Panthers played at Minnesota and lost, 31-13. It was a debacle. Two Panther punts were blocked and returned for touchdowns. Carolina was 3-8-1. Rivera, in nearly four seasons as coach, was 28-32-1, with no playoff wins. The clock was ticking on his Carolina career.

The next day, with the 2014 season all but lost, Rivera said to the team, in effect: The plan we have works. I know it does. We’re sticking to the plan.

“It was one of the most wonderful things I’ve witnessed since I’ve been in the league,” recalls veteran receiver Jerricho Cotchery. “The atmosphere around the team was so good, even with our record. I mean, you have to be an incredible leader, with great faith in what you do, to say something like in the position we were in.”

 

 

[Mr. Scot]

It is a great article, with good insight.

Like this from Kalil...

Quote

“A lot of people look for immediate success,” says center Ryan Kalil. “They don’t get it, and they move on and fire people and they reset. This is an organization that believes in its process and stays with its process and allowed Coach to stay the course and keep building on his foundation. Building a solid team takes time. It’s unfortunate what you see around the league, after a couple seasons, teams reset when they have some tough games and even if they love the coach they fire him anyway. That’s terrible. Our team doesn’t easily get influenced by the outside, which is tough in this day and age. I am proud of that fact that we’re stoic in that regard and do a good job in that and trust in their process.”

 

[fitty76]

I thought the defensive players on that '85 Bears team hated Ditka.  They all loved Buddy Ryan.  

[Mr. Scot]

Not that I know of.

[t96]

3 hours ago, fitty76 said:

I thought the defensive players on that '85 Bears team hated Ditka.  They all loved Buddy Ryan.  

Ditka and Ryan hated each other but I don't think the players hated either.