You would think being one of the few coaches to reinvent himself and have it work would carry a little more weight than 17th:
The NFL's Best Coaches - Goal Line Stand - Rotoworld.com
17. Ron Rivera Career Record: 25-23 (.521) With The Panthers Since: 2011 Rivera would be on the street and off this list had he not embraced something so few coaches do: Reinvention. Sitting at 1-3 after the Panthers’ 22-6 loss to the Cardinals in Week 5, Rivera decided he wasn’t going to take it anymore. Fighting the hot seat fire with fire, Savings Bond Ron morphed into Riverboat Ron, deciding there were punts you could pass up. Winning the game took precedence over winning the field-position game. Buoyed by Rivera’s gut — and defense — the Panthers ended the year on an 11-1 tear, downing the 49ers, Patriots and Saints in the process. Rivera’s hot finish can’t be questioned. What can be questioned is if “Riverboat Ron” is here to stay. If Rivera’s truly found religion, winning will remain his church. If not, he’ll go back to being just another John Fox without a Peyton Manning.
He has some pretty good quotes here, from 'Savings Bond Ron' to being 'another John Fox without Peyton Manning'. But I do think it's a legitimate question as to whether Rivera really has gotten religion on how to go for the win instead of trying to avoid a loss. Will he revert to his old ways with the start of a new season? How about if the 4th and 1 gambles start resulting 'craps'? Will he stick to it? Time will only tell but I'm hoping the answer is a resounding 'Yes'!
Looking at coaches ranked above Rivera there are a few head scratchers. First off what has Marc Trestman done to deserve #13? Yes his offense was much improved but the defense took a nose dive resulting in a 8-8 rookie season. I also don't see all the love for Rex Ryan. He's a solid and interesting personality but what else?
Also confusing is the high ranking for both Bruce Arians and Chip Kelly. Both inherited talented rosters while also being given the benefit of the doubt regarding 'future potential' after posting nice rookie seasons. I mean, I'm not upset about the rankings, just more curious I guess. This guy can rank the coaches however he chooses so if he wants to extrapolate for one or two coaches he likes and not for others I guess that is his prerogative. Rivera built the Panthers #2 defense from the ground up, he didn't inherit hardly any of it. If I were to take the time to re-rank this list myself I would see him landing around #9 or 10. I think Rivera deserves more credit for squeezing what he did out of the secondary and for getting as far as we did with a patchwork offensive line. But that's just me opinion. So what are your thoughts?
Cheers!