Without a win since the first week of November and on the heels of a 29-21 defeat to the dreadful Redskins on Sunday, Panthers coach Ron Rivera isn’t concerned about the future of his status as Carolina coach, but simply the immediate future of next week.
“I’m not worried about my future,” Rivera said after the game, via The Athletic’s Jourdan Rodrigue, “I’m worried about the future of this football team and we have a game coming up on Sunday.”
The aforementioned upcoming game will see the Panthers travel to face a Falcons team that’s also reeling, but defeated Carolina, 29-3, in Week 11.
The Redskins won just their third game of the season to drop the Panthers‘ record to 5-7.
Sitting at a healthy 5-3 following a Week 9 win over the Titans, the Panthers have squandered their postseason hopes with four-game losing streak.
Losing to the Redskins in what was likely a must-win affair in terms of postseason hopes has furthered talk that Rivera’s ninth season in Carolina might be his last. Panthers owner David Tepper told reporters two weeks ago that he is not interested in long-term mediocrity.
Rivera, who piloted Carolina to the Super Bowl in 2015, is 76-63-1 in his Carolina tenure. But as uncertainty surrounds franchise face Cam Newton, it’s also swirling in regards to Rivera.