Fitterer, Rivera sacked following NFL Week 18

Carolina Panthers general manager Scott Fiterer and Washington Commanders coach Ron Rivera were fired from their positions on Monday.

Fitterer

The Carolina Panthers now need a head coach and a general manager.

The Panthers announced Monday they have fired GM Scott Fitterer one day after the team finished with an NFL-worst 2-15 record.

“As we move forward with the new direction for our franchise, I have made the decision that Scott Fitterer will no longer serve as our general manager,” Panthers owner David Tepper said in statement. “I appreciate Scott’s efforts and wish the best for him and his family.” Fitterer joined the team in 2021 and the Panthers have gone 14-37 since. Tepper previously fired head coach Frank Reich just 11 games into his first season after the team started 1-10.

Fitterer did not immediately return text messages left by The Associated Press.

Fitterer orchestrated a trade with the Chicago Bears last year that allowed the Panthers to move to the No. 1 spot to get quarterback Bryce Young in exchange for wide receiver D.J. Moore and four draft picks — one of them that turned out to be the No. 1 overall pick in 2024.

That move hasn’t worked out well for the Panthers and has been widely criticized, particularly given the success of No. 2 overall pick and rookie of the year candidate C.J. Stroud, who has the Houston Texans headed to the playoffs in his first season.

Fitterer also swung a deal last year that sent the team’s best player, Christian McCaffrey, to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for draft picks, but none of them in the first round.

Two of Fitterer’s top free agent additions this past offseason — running back Miles Sanders and tight end Hayden Hurst — were major disappointments in 2023.

In addition, Fitterer turned down a trade offer from the Los Angeles Rams that would have brought two first-round draft picks in exchange for outside linebacker Brian Burns. The Panthers have been unable to sign Burns to a long-term contract extension and he will become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.

But the Young trade has a chance to go down as one of the worst in league history.

With Fitterer out, assistant general manager Dan Morgan will handle day-to-day operations until a new hire is made.

Rivera

Ron Rivera was fired Monday as coach of the Washington Commanders, a long-anticipated move new owners made as they put their stamp on the NFL franchise they bought last year.

It’s just the first of several changes coming to an organization that has won just two playoff games over the past three decades. The fourth and final season under Rivera finished with eight consecutive losses, a 4-13 record and a 38-10 home loss to division-rival Dallas with Washington’s home stadium full of Cowboys fans.

“Clearly, we weren’t good enough this year,” controlling owner Josh Harris said at a news conference at the team’s practice facility. “We didn’t get it done on the field, and so we’ve decided to go into a new direction.”

Rivera’s firing came as no surprise to anyone, including the veteran coach who went 26-40-1 with Washington, including one playoff appearance in 2020 for finishing atop an uncharacteristically weak NFC East at 7-9 and never having a winning season.

If Rivera does not get another head coaching job in the league, he’ll finish exactly one game under .500 at 102-103-2 in the regular season.

“We did win an NFC East title in 2020, but we fell short since then, and for that, I am truly disappointed,” Rivera said in a statement released by the team. “It wasn’t easy and there is a lot more to be done, but I believe we began to change the culture of this organization in meaningful ways.”

Co-owners Mitch Rales, Magic Johnson and David Blitzer and well as former NBA executive Bob Myers and ex-Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman will work with Harris in the searches for a head of football personnel and coach. After Dan Snyder hired Rivera four years ago to do both jobs, ownership is now expected to split those responsibilities, though Harris said he’d be flexible given the candidates available — a group that could include Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh. General manager Martin Mayhew and a majority of the front office and coaching staff are also expected to go, as Harris and his fellow owners begin shaping the organization less than six months after buying the team from Snyder.