In 5 1/4 seasons as the Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has a 48-36-1 record. The Panthers are 1-3 one quarter of the way through the 2016 season. He has led the Panthers to three straight NFCS titles and the SB last season.
As it turns out this season has started much like the 2013 season in which the Panthers finished 12-4 and won the 1st NFCS title of the current streak. In 2013 the Panthers fell to 1-3 after losing to the Cardinals on road 22-6. The Panthers played like crap and looked lost. Sound familiar. They then rallied to win eight in a row and 11 of the last 12.
So when Ron Rivera says we have been here before he is correct, on multiple occasions. In fact Rivera's first two teams started 1-3 as well though those seasons didn't result in a playoff berth.
Rivera ready for challenge that 1-3 creates
"Four games isn't going to make a season. We've been in this situation before," Rivera said Monday after a 48-33 loss to the Atlanta Falcons dropped Carolina to 1-3 for the fourth time in Rivera's five-plus seasons. "They got the message I gave today, that this is a challenge. We've put ourselves in a position where we have to accept this challenge, and the only way to correct it is to take it one game at a time. That's going to be the approach.
"I'm excited. I really am. I told the guys, 'This to me is a challenge, and we're going to find out just exactly what we're made of and exactly how good we can be.' And we're going to find out who's going to play. That's the way things have to be."
So the question is do you approve of his job performance?