Former MVP Cam Newton Blasts Ex Commanders Coach Ron Rivera

Let’s say that “Riverboat” Ron Rivera’s tenure as the coach of the Washington Commanders was below average at best. Bad personnel decisions still cripple the franchise today as they attempt to rebuild this team to its former glory.

Not drafting Justin Herbert or Tua Tagovailoa back in 2020. Trading for Carson Wentz. Starting Sam Howell.  Lets say, when it came to quarterback decisions, Rivera made the worst calls over and over, sinking his ship in the nation’s capital.

Another such quarterback decision draws Rivera back into the firing line as former MVP quarterback Cam Newton blasts his former coach with the Carolina Panthers for not even picking up the phone when he was released.

I don’t know. It hurt me, though,” Newton said . “I said at the bare minimum, ‘Washington would come f—k with me.’ And it wasn’t just Ron Rivera. It was Marty Hurney. It was Ryan Vermillion. Everybody. It was the Panthers reincarnated in Washington.

“So, to not get no call, like, I don’t know why. But I don’t know. Whether I was hurt or whatever, it f–ked with me, though.”

We can imagine that a coach you were drafted by and went to the Super Bowl with not calling when he clearly had no answer at quarterback probably stung a little bit. Conversely, in nine seasons with Newton as his starter, Rivera only had three winning seasons, so we can understand both sides of the coin.

Related: Commanders' Jayden Daniels Grades Himself vs. Dolphins

“You got this coach,” Newton continued, “a Coach of the Year, who got there not just on his own but with your help. We started the 2013 season 1-3 and finished 12-4. Coach of the Year? Of course. You’ve been through the struggle with him.

“And then, to not get a call? It was one of those situations where I was like, ‘Okay. I see what’s happening here.”

Newton played in the NFL for 11 seasons and aside from three seasons, struggled to win games. He went 7-8 with the Patriots in 2020 as the replacement for Tom Brady who had moved onto the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

He returned to Carolina midway through the 2021 season and went 0-5 as the starter before calling it a career.