The Carolina Panthers have fired Ron Rivera as head coach.

Perry Fewell has been named interim head coach.

"I believe this is the best decision for the long-term success of our team," David Tepper said in a statement. "I have a great deal of respect for Ron and the contributions he has made to this franchise and to this community. I wish him the best. I will immediately begin the search for the next head coach of the Carolina Panthers."

Tepper added that he planned to add executives to "complement our current football staff," likely meaning that general manager Marty Hurney will remain in his position.

"We are going to take a comprehensive and thorough review of our football operation to make sure we are structured for long-term sustained success," Tepper said. "Our vision is to find the right mix of old-school discipline and toughness with modern and innovative processes. We will consider a wide range of football executives to complement our current football staff. One change that we will implement is hiring an assistant general manager and vice president of football operations. We all must recognize that this is the first step in a process, but we are committed to building and maintaining a championship culture for our team and our fans."