New Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is still searching for a revamped team going into the 2011-12 season, wiping out several members of last year’s coaching staff under John Fox and replacing them with fresh names. The latest casualty in Carolina is running backs coach Jim Skipper, who Rivera dismissed over the weekend.

Skipper’s departure from the Panthers was allegedly a tough one, as NFL.com reported that the team’s running backs pleaded to keep him in Carolina. The Panthers’ corps of running backs including DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart, Mike Goodson and Tyrell Sutton lobbied to keep Skipper as their running backs coach, but alas he was relinquished from the position he’s held with the team since 2002.

Skipper spoke with NFL.com over the weekend, saying, “It’s disappointing, but I knew it when I went in for the interview. The only reason they did it was because the players spoke up for me. It’s a good group of guys, and I appreciate them trying.”

Skipper, who’s largely to credit for the double-headed monster of a running back tandem featuring Stewart and Williams, will now look to other teams for a job in 2011. Skipper said that John Fox tried to get him on board with his new staff in Denver, but it ultimately fell through. He plans on retiring if he doesn’t find a position with another team for next season.

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