SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- Ron Rivera admits he is nervous. He's 49 years old. A career football assistant, he has just begun running his first NFL training camp for the Carolina Panthers. Rivera wants to get every detail right. He wants everyone at camp to like him but, even more importantly, to respect him. He wants to tell the truth and engage the fans. He wants to put a no-nonsense, play-hard stamp on his first NFL team.
But I think he also is nervous because he has a little secret in his back pocket:
Rivera thinks the Panthers can be good. I ask Rivera about linebacker Jon Beason's stated goal of this team winning nine games only a year after Carolina went 2-14. He doesn't blink. "I'm not going to put a number on it, but I think we can win," he says. "Yes, I do."
CARRY ON
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