"I think they're as comparable as they get," Rivera said. "The one thing they both had first and foremost was that character. Strong character. And they didn't waver off of who they are. They were the right kind of people, and if you meet their families, you see why they are who they are. And I think that's really important because what you see is what you got with both those guys.
"Then when it came to being students of the game, they both were tremendous students. They both studied, they both prepared, they worked with their teammates. I've seen guys that studied, but they studied on their own. They shared, but they didn't share the way that they should have."
Having seen them both, Rivera is asked which one is better.
"Oh wow," Rivera replied. "Luke was the better athlete. This is one thing I will tell you, and I really do mean this: I don't compare eras. They were both built for their eras. And you know Mike was a whole different kind of character. It was a different game too. But I think Luke could play that game, and I think Mike could play the game that Luke played.
"I really do, because they're both very similar and I think this is a great comparison."
It's worth mentioning that Luke Kuechly's only 35 years old. He was born in 1991, and even though he started watching film at a young age, he might not have fully grasped the impact of Singletary's final season because he was 1.
But he also loved football and studied its history. And as he grew and went to Boston College, those ties grew deeper. His roommate was a linebacker named Mike Morrissey, whose father Jim played for the Bears of Singletary's era. [Jim Morrissey also gave his old teammate Rivera, who they always called "Chico," one of the first scouting reports of Kuechly prior to the 2012 draft.](https://www.panthers.com/news/how-the-panthers-landed-hall-of-famer-luke-kuechly-in-the-2012-nfl-draft)