Black and Blue Review
During his three seasons in Carolina, it’s hard to remember when Ron Rivera has appeared down.
Now I know why.
Even while some were preemptively filling his job, the Panthers’ head coach batted away negative thoughts like they were little bugs flying around a summer picnic.
But it makes complete sense.
Earlier this week, when he left the door open for what would be a miraculously quick recovery for quarterback Cam Newton, I 
chalked it up to Rivera’s uncommon optimism.
Which led to this question I never completely understood until Friday: When snark and pessimism tend to drown out anything else, how does he remain so upbeat?
These thoughts from one of Rivera’s greatest influences should help explain:
“If you have a good attitude about life, if you’re positive, you can achieve anything. If you’re negative, you’ll achieve nothing. And besides that, you’ll be a pain in the ass to be around.”
Those are the words of Mike Ditka, who in his unique way, shared a number of philosophies as the keynote speaker at the Charlotte Touchdown Club’s luncheon.
Before the former Bears coach went on stage, he was introduced by Rivera, the former Bears linebacker who had just one head coach in his nine-year playing career.
“He did impact me in a very special way. I get excited every time I see him,” Rivera said. “There’s not a lot of people I’m nervous around, but when you’re around him, you still never want to disappoint him.”
There’s something humanizing about seeing an NFL head coach look up to someone else. And while Rivera said he would likely have pursued a coaching career even if he hadn’t played under Ditka, he admitted his approach isn’t something he learned on his own.
Even though Ditka became a larger-than-life personality — in part because of his fiery sideline demeanor — Rivera remembers things differently.
“I don’t like to be demonstrative in front of a lot of people and he was never like that unless it was really that bad,” Rivera said. “He would pull you aside and he’d give you a word, a quiet word, a confident word. But he would do it away from everybody so nobody really saw him correcting or encouraging. I think that’s important because you don’t want to blow everybody up in front of a whole bunch of people.”
Frustrated Panthers fans, searching for reasons behind Rivera’s disappointing first two seasons, pinned some of the blame on his calm disposition. But that outward appearance helped him gain the backing of his players, an important support system in a knee-jerk world.
SLIDESHOW: Ron Rivera and Mike Ditka at Charlotte Touchdown Club Luncheon
In front of a number of current Panthers, including center Ryan Kalil, offensive tackle Nate Chandler and cornerback Bene Benwikere, Rivera kept his introduction speech short. But he recalled a story that foreshadowed his future career as a players’ coach.
During a particularly long training camp in the late 80s, Rivera and a handful of his teammates sneaked out after curfew. They had a few beers and played pool. When they asked for the tab, the waitress replied, “Coach already took care of it.”
Gulp.
Over walked Ditka, beer in hand. He played a few shots, not saying much.
The next day, Rivera expected Ditka’s wrath. It never came.
When asked why he let the players slide, Ditka replied, “Where the hell would coaches be without players?” He then added, “I did that when I was a player!”
Not surprisingly, Rivera claimed he would likely mirror Ditka’s tame reaction if he caught some of the Panthers trying to pull off something similar.
“I think him coming over kind of was telling us, ‘Hey, I know, I’ve been there,'” Rivera said.
Ditka and Rivera have both been where Carolina has never gone. But the mentor believes that could soon change.
“He’s going to bring you a championship,” Ditka proclaimed to the pro-Panthers audience.
As part of the Bears’ 1985 Super Bowl-winning team, one led by what many consider the greatest defense ever assembled, Rivera has always had a certain amount of NFL street cred. But since the end of the 2012 season, he’s leaned more heavily on others to provide words of wisdom to his players.
After the speeches and applause, a large crowd quickly descended on Ditka. The group included Rivera, who brought along a few of his guys. The Panthers’ coach wanted his Hall of Fame coach to tell them something.
Ditka, wearing a large ring on his left hand, locked eyes with Kalil and said, “Just remember what the goal is, that’s to win a championship.”
That may sound overly optimistic, especially after this chaotic offseason. But even if you have a hard time seeing it happening right now, there’s no question Rivera believes it will eventually.