Panthers coach Ron Rivera saw finish of AFC Championship Game

The Panthers may be celebrating a huge win over the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC Championship, but they are by no means satisfied.

“That’s what got us to where we are, so that’s going to be my emphasis as I go through this in terms of the schedule for the next two weeks”.

While quarterback Cam Newton caught up with rappers like Jeezy and Future on the sidelines, head coach Ron Rivera celebrated his team’s victory as the second coach of Latino descent to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

Rivera saw New England miss the two-point conversion that would have tied the game with Denver after the NFC Championship Game kickoff was pushed back 5 minutes. Ditka was Rivera’s coach with the Bears, of course, and Rivera said Monday that Ditka’s advice to that team will be passed on to the Panthers.

Rivera is the also the only member of the trio with Super Bowl experience as he won Super Bowl XX as a player with the Chicago Bears following the 1985 season and later was the defensive coordinator for the Bears in a Super Bowl XLI appearance after the 2006 campaign.

“I think the game really epitomized what we’re capable of”, Rivera said. Some of my experiences in coaching, you get to certain situations like the playoffs, sometimes there’s a little bit of – I won’t say panic, but a little self doubt. “It’s really a matter of managing it more than anything else”. Should I do more? They’ve earned it. They deserve it. But the thing we’ve got to remember is what we’re playing for, and that’s to win it. Should I change this? “It’s not about being a part of it. It’s about winning it, and that will be our main focus”.

Both Rivera and Kubiak were considered longshots to land the Lions’ job when they interviewed, and they ended up in arguably better spots with their current teams. I’ve predicted all year long we’re going to win.