Listen to the full interview via the podcast.
The NFL is entering the business end of the season as the playoffs continue this weekend.
One of the eye-catching fixtures this weekend sees Carolina Panthers welcome last year's Superbowl runners-up San Francisco 49ers to the Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
The Panthers have been an interesting proposition this campaign as they prepare for their first playoff game in five years but it is their head coach who has been under most scrutiny.
At the start of the season, Ron Rivera was castigated as an ultra-conservative coach as the team recorded 1 - 3. Allegedly a minor traffic accident involving the man now known as 'Riverboat Ron' then proved a catalyst for change as the shackles were thrown off and Carolina reached the playoffs.
Tonight we spoke to Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer to find out why everything has changed.
"They started 1 in 3 and the head coach was definitely on a hot seat. They have since won 11 of 12. What has happened is their head coach started playing to win rather than not to lose. He began to gamble so much that they've nicknamed him 'Riverboat Ron' and also they've got a quarter-back (Cam Newton) who's grown up. He was a rookie two years ago and a little bit of a bad team-mate - somewhat pouty. Now he has become a much more mature, somewhat dazzling 24-year-old young man. And most of all, their defence is very good and in any team sport, defence often wins the championships."
But it's Rivera's change in tack which gained the most attention.
"The best way to measure that is how often a coach goes for it on fourth down. That is the key down," said Fowler. "It makes or breaks NFL coaches. For the first two years, he was almost the least gambling coach in the NFL in that respect. That backfired badly on him in an early season game at Buffalo where he kicked a field goal when he should have gone for it. He ended up losing the game. But he really thought about it and has become much more of a gambler. They've gone for it on fourth down innumerable times this year, mostly making it. Because of that the confidence has just grown dramatically and he's all in as you say in poker. But he's not taking gambles all the time."
But was the car crash an epiphany? That is not the story that Rivera has told Fowler who describes it as an apocryphal story.
But in the long-term, could the Panthers be in a position to capitalize on their recent improvements and win a first Superbowl over the next two years?
Fowler gave his take on that and also talked about ex-WWE wrestler Ric Flair's decision to give a pep-talk to the 49ers despite being a long-term resident of Charlotte in the past.
