Panthers' patience with Rivera should be example to rest of league

Ron Rivera's Carolina Panthers are just one win away from their first Super Bowl title in franchise history.

That is a sentence that few would have believed possible just two seasons ago when Rivera was closer to the unemployment line than a Lombardi Trophy.

In 2013, Rivera's third season in charge of the Panthers, the team started the year 1-3. That was after two seasons without a winning record, with Carolina going 6-10 record in 2011 and 7-9 in 2012.

The fan base was restless, eager for a change in leadership that would ignite Carolina's faltering rebuilding effort. The Charlotte Observer ran a poll asking fans if they would fire Rivera and 80 percent of the 11,000 polled said they would.

That type of reactionary thinking and outcry from fans is one of the main reasons teams decide to blow up their regimes after two or three seasons, and sometimes after just one for the really impatient franchises.

Luckily for Carolina, owner Jerry Richardson stuck by his man and now three straight division titles later, his team is reaping the rewards.

The NFL's addiction to change

Seven organizations decided to part ways with their head coaches this season. Some waited until the end of the regular season to change the course of their respective franchises, while others didn't even have the patience to do that.

The turnover for head coaches in the NFL has always been high because not every head coach has an owner with the patience of Richardson.

Of the eight head coaches hired in the same year Rivera was, only he and Dallas Cowboys' coach Jason Garrett remain with their teams.

Since Rivera was hired, 13 teams have changed their head coach at least twice, four of those teams have made three coaching changes.

Rivera revealed that Richardson told him he'd never fire him mid-season, which sounds logical, but is presumably a rare promise in the NFL given the amount of times head coaches are shoved out the door during the season.

Most organizations bow to the pressure from outside forces and appease the whims of their fans if success isn't instant.

However, some situations simply make that impossible, and Carolina recognized that Rivera needed time to turn the team around. By giving him the confidence he'd always have a full season to fix mistakes, the Panthers gave their head coach the comfort to build the team he wanted.

Long-term projects require time

The Panthers won just two games in 2010. Their roster was utterly devoid of talent, and to make matters worse, they were in all kinds of cap hell.

Former general manager Marty Hurney's mistakes tied the hands of the Panthers for years, and they are still not fully recovered. It was a team that required a careful rebuild, one that would likely take years because of their inability to attract or afford free-agent talent.

A change in head coach in 2013 might have seemed like the best course of action for the Panthers, but it's been their continuity that has led them to success.

By giving Rivera time, they also allowed him to evaluate what he was doing wrong and be able to properly implement changes.

The best example of this is the birth of "Riverboat Ron," the nickname given to Rivera after he became one the most aggressive head coaches in the NFL.

Rivera realized his unwillingness to go for it on fourth down was hurting his team and he altered his philosophy, which has been a major part of the team's change in fortune.

For some reason, the belief in the NFL is the only options available are to blow everything up or to keep on the exact same track. Too often, teams don't allow their head coaches the time to learn from their mistakes.

Rivera's ability to change and the Panthers' willingness to allow him the time to do so are qualities not often found in the NFL.

While maintaining the same regime isn't always the best option - every case is different - teams are too reluctant to give the men they've chosen to lead their franchises the time to implement their vision.

The "win now or we'll find someone who will" mentality dominates the NFL landscape, but Rivera's success should stand as an example to the rest of the league that change does not always equal success.