Ron Rivera's job is to do what he did Friday morning.

The Carolina Panthers' coach told Jared Allen he won't play in Sunday's NFC Championship, a decision that left the defensive end "100 percent" disappointed.

"Not happy, plain and simple. I’m ready to rock," said Allen, who broke a bone in his right foot five days ago against Seattle.

"It's coach's decision. I just do what I do to get ready to play and he has to worry about the well-being of the team. It is what it is."

Allen returned to practice as a limited participant Thursday, but he didn't have much of a chance to get back out there Friday on a snowy field.

When asked if he felt he could play against the Cardinals, the 12-year veteran said "absolutely," but ultimately, Allen was overruled.

"He's very disappointed, he took it very hard," Rivera said. "But we have to look at this going forward, what's best for us as far as the team's concerned Sunday night."

The biggest worry for Rivera is what would happen if he allowed Allen to play only to see him have to come out of the game early. That would leave the Panthers short-handed at defensive end. So Allen's out, Kony Ealy will start and Ryan Delaire will be active for just the second time since Week 14.

"The thing I have to look at it is the realism of it. The type of injury it is," Rivera said. "Again, there's a tremendous amount of desire. Let's be honest — that's who the young man is. ... He's such a competitor; he's such a warrior.

"I didn't do this lightly. I really thought about it from the time I found out about the injury after the game to the last couple days and tried to weight all the information I got and went from there."

The Panthers could add reinforcements at defensive end by promoting Wes Horton from the practice squad. Instead, they're going to keep Allen on the active roster. That way, if the Panthers win Sunday, he'd still have a chance to make it back to play in the first Super Bowl of his distinguished career.

"That's the thought process behind it," Rivera said. "If there's an opportunity, it'll be great, especially for him."