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Panthers players feel like they lost more than a coach in Ron Rivera

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- As Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen texted Ron Rivera on Tuesday night, not long after owner David Tepper fired the team’s all-time winningest coach, the three-time Pro Bowl tight end began scrolling through their text history.

He went back to Rivera's messages from 2012, when Olsen was dealing with his son T.J.’s congenital heart disease that turned his world upside down.

“Not one thing to do [with football] other than asking how my family was doing, don’t rush back, be there for Kara [Olsen's wife], be there for your kids, no rush," Olsen said on Wednesday.