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SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Head coach Ron Rivera reminded his players that Wednesday takes on significant importance in the Carolina Panthers' preparation for Super Bowl 50. "For us, especially for me as a head coach, it's to see where they are," Rivera said.
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Rivera told players to "be where your feet are," a reference to staying in the moment and focusing on the present task. He continues to stress Carolina is offended by the assertion that the Panthers are outliers because of the youthfulness and energy that funnels throughout the team behind energetic ringleader Cam Newton.
Rivera takes umbrage with the notion that the dancing, prancing and collective confidence in Carolina would be offensive.
"Yes I do," Rivera said. "We've kind of crashed the party. We've kind of crashed the scene. No one knows who we are. We have a saying 'Don't let it get in the way.' Embracing it and being who you are, I think that's part of keeping your personality. That's part of who you are. We don't want to change who we are now. ... Do what we've done."
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid, who hired Rivera as an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Eagles before Rivera was defensive coordinator in San Diego, sent Rivera a text message this week reminding him to embrace the week and take care of every detail. Before he was hired by the Panthers in 2011 and well before he worked for Reid, Rivera began to learn about building a championship defense from his first NFL defensive coordinator, Buddy Ryan. Ryan was defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears, who won the Super Bowl in 1985 with Rivera as a backup linebacker.
Hall of Fame coach John Madden also sent Rivera a note, which has become common this season. Madden sent Rivera a letter stating he was proud to see the Panthers win the "old-fashioned way, which really just is running the football."
Mentors are the people who earn the liberty to apply labels, and Rivera credits them with helping him return to the Super Bowl.
"Being around Jim Johnson, Buddy Ryan, playing defense is about an attitude," Rivera said of figuring out what it took to build a great defense. "With (late Eagles defensive coordinator) Jim Johnson, it was really about being aggressive, staying aggressive. He was a very demanding coach. He was a taskmaster. At the same time, he was someone you can grow and learn from."
The Panthers opened Wednesday with a power point presentation with Rivera at the clicker. The thesis of his message was "we are starting from scratch." Rivera, in his third Super Bowl, continues to harp on eliminating distractions this week. He asked former NFL safety Eugene Robinson to address the team before the charter flight left Charlotte on Sunday and again talked about behavior.
Carolina is one of 12 NFL teams not to win a Super Bowl. The Panthers lost to the Patriots in the 2003 Super Bowl in Houston on a last-second Adam Vinatieri field goal. That game won't be referenced this week by Rivera, but he is pointing to a recent playoff loss -- to the San Francisco 49ers in 2014. The team was flagged twice early in the game and Rivera said he blew a gasket, and the team followed his lead.
"I have to maintain my composure. It reflected in players' composure," Rivera said. "One of the things I told the players right off the bat, reflecting on that game, is that when (players) were looking for someone to lead, I was screaming and yelling at officials."
