NFC Notes: Buccaneers, Panthers, Vikings

Buccaneers

• Should the Panthers move on from HC Ron Rivera, Mike Florio says some believe the Buccaneers would be “poised to pounce” and hire him.
• A report from earlier in the day mentioned that the Buccaneers haven’t ruled out bringing back HC Dirk Koetter next year. (NFLTR)

Panthers

• According to Mike Florio of PFT, Panthers HC Ron Rivera’s future in Carolina is “up in the air.”
• Sources have told Florio that they expect new Panthers owner David Tepper to make a change after the season while others think Rivera gets another shot.
• Florio mentions that even though Rivera has two years remaining on his contract, it likely wouldn’t be enough to prevent Tepper from moving on if he felt change was needed.
• The other issue for Carolina is whether they could find an upgrade to Rivera in a year where there aren’t many great head-coaching candidates.

Vikings

• Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports that Vikings HC Mike Zimmer privately told former OC John DeFilippo to run the ball more on multiple occasions, but he failed to comply.
• Florio mentions that it’s unclear whether DeFilippo did so deliberately or inadvertently as other factors may have led to the team’s decision to stick with their passing attack.
• Even so, Florio adds that DeFilippo will need to show that he can take orders and execute them faithfully where ever he lands next.