CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera often finds himself defending Cam Newton at the NFL owners meeting to the point it dominates his media time, whether it’s for the quarterback walking out of an interview following Super Bowl 50 or a previous season that didn’t live up to Newton’s MVP form of 2015.
This year was different, though.
Newton’s name barely came up Tuesday during the first half of nearly an hour of Rivera’s interview session at the annual coaches breakfast. The closest Rivera came to feeling the need to defend the first pick of the 2011 draft came when asked if this was a pivotal season under new offensive coordinator Norv Turner.