How many seasons does Rivera have?

[Davidson Deac II]

Management will probably give him 4 years to get to the playoffs, but will expect some improvement every year. The average fan will likely give him 3 years to get to the playoffs.

The average huddle member will give him 6 weeks. :)

[Jrock88]

Super Bowl or bust :lol:

:cam:

[blackcatgrowl]

Management will probably give him 4 years to get to the playoffs, but will expect some improvement every year. The average fan will likely give him 3 years to get to the playoffs.

The average Panther's fan will give him 6 weeks. :)

Fixed.

Rivera said it himself in a PC... he's married to the offense he's trying to build. And that offense is built around Cam.

I think he has as long as #1 is on our roster or either Rivera or Newton retires.

[Montsta]

Ultimately of course the goal for very franchise and owner is to have superbowl rings, but if rivera builds this team into a perennial playoff contender similar to Philly or Indy, that will keep him here for a really long time. I'm talking Fisher or Reid long.

[Clicheking]

Has to make it in his third year

[letha]

if we played in the NFC West

[Brooklyn Bully]

this team has a 5 year window to get back to the superbowl

LOL, good luck with that. A window to make the Playoffs? That's more like it. Rivera has three years easily here (even if we suck). Five years here if we are the team we've always been. And he could be here a long time if we become a top tier team.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NFL_franchise_post-season_droughts#Longest_active_Super_Bowl_appearance_drought

Our shot was in 2004. We may have a long, long, wait before we're back.

[bigdog10]

winning back to back to back....seasons keeps him here for awhile.

Yep, i'm expecting to see that in years 3 and 4.

however, he has them progressing nicely and it could be as early as 2 and 3.

I'm not ready to write this season off just yet, however the injuries to the LB's and the youth we have up front is going to show in some games.

[Kevin Greene]

Fox took a1-15 team to 7-9 and then 11-5.

Playoffs more than 2 years out would be a disappointment for me. Then I want to see some consistent winning as has been mentioned in this thread already.

3 years to the playoffs is too damned long. We have too good of a nucleus to settle for that.

[panthers55]

I don't think you can quantify a specific number of years without looking at the context. As long as we keep improving and become a contender I think fans will be happy which will make Richardson happy. Getting to the playoffs is the goal. From there, anything can happen and everyone has a shot at winning it all.

Last year Tampa went 10-6 and didn't make the playoffs. But everyone was positive and hopeful this year they would make the next step. I think his job is safe going into year three even though they haven't seen the playoffs. They are a contender and that is most important.

[Catalyst]

I think it depends on how things go early-on. If we go 7-9 or 8-8 this year then we'll head into 2012 with higher expectations, aiming for at least a wild card spot. On the other hand, if we go 4-12 or 5-11 then Jerry may be satisfied with the progress of 7-9 or 8-8 next season.

If, like Fox, the success comes quickly and we're deep into the playoffs by year 2 then that window becomes much smaller as far as JR's expectations go. I think a good model would be Jim Schwartz in Detroit. He hasn't had a ton of wins since his first year in 2009, but that team has obviously gotten better by leaps and bounds under him and now, 3 years later, they're finally coming to life.

[jks85]

Fox took a1-15 team to 7-9 and then 11-5.

Playoffs more than 2 years out would be a disappointment for me. Then I want to see some consistent winning as has been mentioned in this thread already.

3 years to the playoffs is too damned long. We have too good of a nucleus to settle for that.

circumstances are different in the current nfc south. at the point the teams were inconsistent year to year b/c the level of qb play was suspect. drew brees is not going anywhere and the falcons have a young core that will make them pretty good in the future even if ryan never blows up. of course how good we are by then will depend largely on newton's development and how beason recovers, but it will not be a small task to make the playoffs b/t now and then. this division has a lot of young talent (i didn't even mention the bucs)

[David Duke Is a Bad Person]

3 to 4 years

[Catalyst]

circumstances are different in the current nfc south. at the point the teams were inconsistent year to year b/c the level of qb play was suspect. drew brees is not going anywhere and the falcons have a young core that will make them pretty good in the future even if ryan never blows up. of course how good we are by then will depend largely on newton's development and how beason recovers, but it will not be a small task to make the playoffs b/t now and then. this division has a lot of young talent (i didn't even mention the bucs)

Our future is almost completely dependent on Cam becoming a star. If that happens, I legitimately think he can be at worst the 2nd best QB in the division behind Brees as a pure passer, but the best overall due to his running ability and size.

I actually think the Falcons are in for a bit of a downturn. They really mis-judged where they were as a team during the lockout. They failed to address their OL and gave up a TON to take Julio Jones. Matt Ryan is good, but I think people are starting to realize he may not be THAT good. I can certainly see Cam surpassing him sooner rather than later. You could argue that Josh Freeman has a higher ceiling as well.

In the long-term, the Saints are an aging team that probably has a good 5 years left as a top flight team. After that they'll have to re-load (see the Colts right now, and over the past few years). The Falcons, honestly, are probably in for a coaching change inside of 3 years, IMO. I see a lot of John Fox in Mike Smith and think owners are beginning to realize that having a coach that refuses to embrace change in the NFL does them no favors. I've browsed a few Falcons boards and they all seem to be VERY frustrated with their coaching staff, from Smith all the way down to his coordinators. It really would not surprise me to see Smith fired if they continue to fail to live up to expectations with all the hype they've received.

The Bucs... they're really tough to read. I like Josh Freeman a lot, and they're very similar to us as far as being a young team with an up & coming young QB. I like them better in the long-run as a result, but still feel like our coaching staff is much stronger than theirs - mostly due to the coordinators/position coaches. But once again, it could come down to Cam vs. Freeman. I do think the division is going to flip-flop within 3 years, though. It'll be us and the Bucs fighting it out like the Saints and Falcons are now.

But I think consistency will be as important as anything with Rivera. JR has openly said he wants a winning franchise, not just a winning team one year, and back to middle of the pack the next. If Rivera struggles to deliver that, then that could be something that gets him in hot water. That said, I don't expect it to happen. I really like the staff we've put together; only one I'm not sold on would be McDermott, but he's done well enough so far with a ton of injuries, 2 rookie DT's, and a brand new system with 5 weeks to install. But when you consider Mike Shula, Ron Meeks, Ricky Proehl, Washington, Graves, etc. we've got a damn solid coaching staff from top too bottom.