The Carolina Panthers firing of Ron Rivera has been one of the most shocking events that occurred this week. Given the circumstances surrounding the firing, it was definitely something that took players and coaches aback.

One of the people who were particularly surprised by the decision was Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott. Given his professional relationship with Rivera, he had this thoughts on his former colleague's departure from Carolina.

“Unfortunate to see. I learned a lot from Coach Rivera; leadership wise, football-wise, off the field wise,” McDermott said, per Bills Wire's Kyle Sylagyi. “He did a lot of good things, I thought, in Carolina, some of which I was there for and had a front-row seat to experience. Went to a Super Bowl, [won] multiple division titles there in the NFC South, which was not an easy division by any means, a lot of good quarterbacks in that division.

“I thought Ron really did a fine job, and I mean that with the highest praise possible when I say ‘fine.’ He did a heck of a job, I thought.”

He also shared how Rivera led the team.

“I thought one of the best things that Coach Rivera did was, he was always out amongst the people,” McDermott said. “He did not lead as much from behind the desk as he did from out in front.

“He’s a people person, and when you talk about leadership, it really comes down to relationships and people. I thought Ron did a fantastic job with that.

Rivera led the Panthers for nine years, molding Cam Newton into the first-class quarterback that's been beloved by the league. He led the team to an appearance at Super Bowl 50 but fell short to the Denver Broncos.