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Panthers coach Ron Rivera is making his first trip to the Super Bowl as a head coach, but it’s not his first experience with the game.

Rivera was a linebacker on the Bears 30 years ago when they shuffled their way to victory in Super Bowl XX, which gives him a chance to join Tom Flores, Tony Dungy and Mike Ditka as the only men to play for and coach Super Bowl champions. Ditka was Rivera’s coach with the Bears, of course, and Rivera said Monday that Ditka’s advice to that team will be passed on to the Panthers.

“One of the things Coach Ditka emphasized to us was to enjoy the moment,” Rivera said, via ESPN.com. “The moment doesn’t come very often. It’s hard. It’s hard to get to where we are right now. … Do what you’ve done. Some of my experiences in coaching, you get to certain experiences like the playoffs, and sometimes you get a little bit of panic. Am I doing enough? Should I do more? Should I change this? I told our coordinators this morning, we’re going to stick to what got us to where we are. We’ll emphasize that to the players and make sure we keep our personality.”

Gary Kubiak didn’t win the Super Bowl as a player, but he did advance to three of them as John Elway’s backup and was on the winning side of three as an assistant with the 49ers and Broncos. The Broncos also went to the Super Bowl two years ago, so there shouldn’t be too much blinking at the bright lights on that side of the field once the teams get to Santa Clara.