Joe Gibbs played a role in Ron Rivera coming to Redskins

A familiar face played a role in the Ron Rivera move.

It turns out Joe Gibbs played a part in the Washington Redskins landing Dan Snyder’s preferred head coach Ron Rivera.

Rivera, alongside a sweeping set of changes to the front office and coaching staff, is Snyder’s preferred solution as a culture change.

And Snyder’s former coach Gibbs played a part.

“Dan and I are real friends,” Gibbs said, according to the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga. “And he was so good to me in the four years I was there, so good to my family. I felt like I could tell Ron what it was like. I tried to do that because I felt like it was really important for him.”

Gibbs said while he didn’t have a say or was asked about changes to the front office, made a point to tell Rivera about how great Snyder is when it comes to free agency, agents and the draft.

Granted, Gibbs hasn’t been around the Redskins in an official capacity in a long time. But the fact Gibbs and Rivera linked up is notable and for seasoned Redskins fans, it’s an important bit of background detail that makes the Rivera hire even more appealing.

[vertical-gallery id=29044]