Ron picks up his 3rd Coach of the Year award for 2015

[KB_fan]

So, we all know Ron was named Coach of the Year at the AP awards on the eve of the Super Bowl.

Then in the last week or he received NFL Coach of the Year at the 101 awards:

 

Now, he's got another one:

 

We are so lucky / blessed to have him.  Great coach.  Great man.  Love to see him get this kind of recognition.

[Mr. Scot]

Gettleman introduced him at the 101 Awards.

[TheSpecialJuan]

YAY

[The NFL Shield At Midfield]

was ron ever actually on the razor's edge or was it all just media and fan speculation that he was about to get fired in 12/13?  i remember gettleman saying that those stories were making his and others in the building's blood boil.

[The Huddler]

I wanted this mother fuger fired in two different seasons

 

I learned a life lesson

[OldNorthPowell]

2 minutes ago, The Huddler said:

I wanted this mother fuger fired in two different seasons

 

I learned a life lesson

I think a good portion of Panthers Nation did as well.

[Mr. Scot]

12 minutes ago, The NFL Shield At Midfield said:

was ron ever actually on the razor's edge or was it all just media and fan speculation that he was about to get fired in 12/13?  i remember gettleman saying that those stories were making his and others in the building's blood boil.

There was a point where Zod had the impression he had lost the locker room.

Was he ever in real danger?  Doesn't sound like it, but who can say?

[Mr Mojo Risin]

I felt so bad for Ron during his first two seasons here. After every game he looked gutted and struggled to come up with answers as to why we lost. He knew we had something special brewing in that locker room, he knew how hard those guys were fighting to become a relevant playoff team. I'm glad everyone was able to believe in each other and didn't hit any panic buttons those first two years. That's why regimes like the Browns, Raiders, Jags, and others struggle to sustain exactly what we've built. They don't believe in each other like this organization believed in Ron, and I am very thankful we have him.

[CarolinaJami']

Props to the Big Cat for keeping Rivera when he could have easily went with the fans and media.

[RelaxImaPro]

Well to be fair, Ron was kind of an idiot his first 2 years (and first few games of his 3rd year).

I'll still never forget that one quote after the Bears game in 2012 where he squib kicked the entire game starting Chicago at midfield damn near every possession and let Cutler throw slant after slant after slant after slant to run out the clock and kick a gimme game-winning FG as time expired

"We were trying to make them systematically beat us"

Well... you succeeded, Ron.

[TheRumGone]

I wanted him fired after year two and the start of 13. 14 I knew we just didn't have the talent to start the year as we were rebuilding from cap catastrophe. After 13 I was good with Ron.

[iamhubby1]

11 hours ago, The NFL Shield At Midfield said:

was ron ever actually on the razor's edge or was it all just media and fan speculation that he was about to get fired in 12/13?  i remember gettleman saying that those stories were making his and others in the building's blood boil.

 

Kinda. JR told him to not worry about it. To go out and coach. It helped we finished the year strong. Or who knows what could have happened. JR gave him a vote of confindence, and John Maddens phone number. The rest as they say; Is History.

 

9 hours ago, CarolinaJami' said:

Props to the Big Cat for keeping Rivera when he could have easily went with the fans and media.

 

Yupperz. Whether it was greed on not wanting to pay a coach not to coach. Which I believe is a fallacy. Truth being more in the vein of him actually wanting RR to succeed.

[outlaw4]

People said we took a big chance by drafting Cam Newton in 2011. 

That same year, we also took a big chance by hiring Ron Rivera as a head coach. He had around 7-8 prior interviews for HC without success and back then, I wondered whether that meant he just wasn't meant to take on the role. Looking back at it now, I think he was afforded a luxury that many others don't get around the league, patience. Boy, did he struggle early on and like any other coach, he'll have his strengths and weaknesses that we'll have to live with in the long term. From what I can tell, the difference between Ron and many others like him that ultimately fail is the willingness to adapt, to learn from others and his own experiences rather than believing his way is the only way. If he continues to stay on track, then this won't be the last award he'll receive.

[KB_fan]

I'm reminded of the story re: how Ron took all the team captains out to dinner and asked them to tell him what he should differently.  (Not sure if this was in 2013?)  Out of that dinner came his decision to set up an 2nd small office right off the locker room so he could be available to the guys, so they wouldn't have to come upstairs, and that he'd have the pulse of the locker room.  Jared Allen said something about how it's a player's locker room, but that Ron's in there all the time and while the players really lead, Ron knows what's going down.  It's paid huge dividends to have Ron around the guys so much, having their trust, being a guy who they know understands because he's been in their shoes, and having their trust.... a true player's coach.

I love how Ron has grown and changed things up - like bye week practice schedules this past year. (Especially impressive since Ron is a guy who so loves his routines...)  He truly DOES want to excel and get better.  The players see it and it motivates them to excel as well. 

We've got it good friends.  Big Cat, DG, Ron, Cam & Luke..... can't think of a team with a brighter future.  I know I tend towards being optimistic, but really there is SO much to love as a Panthers fan these days.  

I feel for all of you who suffered through the really bad years like 2010.  I didn't quite hop on the winning bandwagon, having started following the Panthers in 2012 before we started our run of owning the South... but obviously success was close, you could taste it.  Cam & Luke made the team so exciting....  I appreciate all of you who have been faithful fans through the good times and the bad.  These are very good times for sure.  Trying to savor it knowing it's not a given.