NFL Coach of the Year 2015-16: Award Winner, Voting Results and Reaction

The Carolina Panthers were the class of the NFC all season long, and head coach Ron Rivera was honored with 2015 NFL Coach of the Year honors Saturday after leading the Super Bowl 50 participants to a 15-1 regular-season record, the NFL announced on Twitter.  

"It validates everything that we’ve done," Rivera told Max Henson of the Panthers' official website. 

Beyond capturing a conference title, Rivera was plenty deserving based purely off of the raw gains Carolina posted in the win column. A year after going 7-8-1, Rivera led the Panthers to an eight-win improvement. 

According to NFL.com's Charlie Casserly, Todd Bowles' New York Jets ranked second in win-total improvement with a final tally of 10 wins a year after capturing just four.   

Coach	Votes
Ron Rivera, Carolina Panthers	36.5
Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs	6
Bill O'Brien, Houston Texans	2
Mike Zimmer, Minnesota Vikings	2
Gary Kubiak, Denver Broncos	1.5
Bruce Arians, Arizona Cardinals	1
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots	1

"Did anyone suspect entering the season that Carolina would be a 15-1 team?" the Washington Post's Mark Maske wrote. "How about after the Panthers lost wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin to a season-ending knee injury in training camp? Rivera pressed all the right buttons and properly balanced the failed push for an unbeaten regular season with being ready for the playoffs." 

In fact, Rivera was so good that he received an endorsement from fellow Coach of the Year candidate Bruce Arians of the Arizona Cardinals, according to ESPN.com's Josh Weinfuss. 

It certainly helped that Rivera had an athletic specimen like quarterback Cam Newton at his disposal to pave the way toward 15 wins, but to say the Panthers offense is replete with weapons beyond the superstar signal-caller would be bold. 

Despite those perceived personnel limitations, the Panthers went on to average a league-best 31.2 points per game. The Panthers also led the NFL in scoring differential (plus-12 points per game) thanks to a defense that allowed a sixth-ranked 19.2 points over the course of the tremendous 16-game stretch. 

ESPN's Britt McHenry provided some more insight regarding Rivera's big win: 

The Coach of the Year nod represents the second of Rivera's career after he captured 2013 honors following a 12-4 campaign. However, that season was merely a stepping stone toward greatness in 2015, when the Panthers emerged as the regular season's most dominant team. 

Rivera has some more hardware in his sights, though. 

With Super Bowl 50 just hours away, Rivera will attempt to make history and capture the first Vince Lombardi Trophy in franchise history. It certainly won't be easy going up against a Denver Broncos offense led by quarterback Peyton Manning and a defense orchestrated by coordinator Wade Phillips, but Rivera had the Panthers ready to play all season long.

Sunday shouldn't be any different.