"Things move on," Rivera said on the McNeil & Parkins Show on Wednesday. "Like I told our players, the biggest thing we have when we step out the door is who we are as people. It's called character."
Rivera, 57, had a record of 76-63 over nine seasons as coach of the Panthers. That included three consecutive NFC South titles from 2013-'15, with Carolina going 15-1 in 2015 and reaching the Super Bowl.
Carolina reached the playoffs in four of Rivera's first eight seasons as coach but fell to 5-7 with a loss to Washington last Sunday.
Panthers owner David Tepper, who bought the franchise in 2018, cited a lack of sustained success as part of why Rivera was fired from his position. It's something Rivera disputed.
"If you win three divisions in a row, if you host three playoff games at home, wouldn't you consider it a win?" Rivera said. "I mean, I get it, we were 7-8-1, but guess what? We won the division. We won it three times in a row. We played home games. And that particular year, that home game we played, we won.
"That was my stance. That's the way I look at it. You can downplay it all you want where people say you didn't win a Super Bowl. Yeah, well I got to a Super Bowl. How many franchises haven't been to a Super Bowl and they've been in existence over 50 years?
"Don't downplay the success we had. Let's at least say, 'Hey, he had success this year; attrition got us.' It started with our quarterback, then it started with our offensive line, then it started with our defensive line. We lost an All-Pro defensive tackle, we lose All-Pro guys for certain games. That's something I just struggle with, because people look at it, like, 'Well, you should plug and play.'
"To be let go, to be put down gently or not, it's still a shot to your ego. Then to have come back and say what they did made me feel I did do it the right way. I really did. Honestly, my only regret is not having won a Super Bowl since my playing days."
Rivera intends to continue coaching but hasn't yet heard about new possibilities. He would consider coaching at the college level, pointing to his alma mater of California as the kind of "absolute right" opportunity that would appeal to him.
Where Rivera will land remains to be seen, but he's eager for the next chapter.
"It's funny, people think that you get to dictate everything in your life," Rivera said. "I'm going to react to what happens and what comes up. But at the end of the day, I do look forward to whatever the next challenge is going to be."