CHARLOTTE — The Carolina Panthers have fired head coach Ron Rivera, according to numerous sources.
Carolina is 5-7 in the NFC South Division after Sunday’s 29-21 loss to the Washington Redskins.
Secondary coach Perry Fewell was named interim coach of the Panthers.
Rivera, a former assistant coach on Andy Reid’s staff with the Philadelphia Eagles, leaves the Panthers with a 76-63 record in nine seasons. His team won three division titles and reached the playoffs four times, falling to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
But the Panthers struggled to a 7-9 season last year and have spent most of this season scuffling without starting quarterback Cam Newton, who was injured early in the year.
Rivera, a former second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears, was part of the historic 1985 Super Bowl title-winning defense under coordinator (and future Eagles coach) Buddy Ryan. After a nine-year playing career, he joined Chicago’s staff as an assistant in 1996 before moving on to Philadelphia in 1999, where he spent five years as the Eagles’ linebackers coach under Reid.
Rivera left Philly to take over as the Bears’ defensive coordinator in 2004. He moved to the same position with the San Diego Chargers four years later before being hired as the Panthers’ head coach in 2011.
Rivera, 57, is a two-time recipient of the NFL Coach of the Year Award, voted on by the Associated Press.
