Tag: Ron Rivera

Ron Rivera was ‘fired up’ for Commanders’ successful season

Former Washington coach praises Dan Quinn, Jayden Daniels: Happy for the Commanders’ success.

Former Washington GM/HC Ron Rivera spoke highly of Dan Quinn and Jayden Daniels.

Rivera was a guest on the NBC Pro Football Talk Wednesday edition, hosted by Mike Florio and Chris Simms.

“This is a quarterback-driven league”, said Rivera. “If you have a quarterback, you have a chance to be good.”

No question, Rivera is correct. However, he then stated, “…With great quarterbacks, you are here at the Super Bowl, and that’s what we’re seeing. We’re seeing the two best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. Although I will say, Jayden Daniels, what a phenomenal performance by a rookie.”

Jalen Hurts is one of the two best quarterbacks in the NFL right now? Not sure where Rivera came up with that evaluation. Has any other NFL coach or analyst stated this?

Rivera, in his last season with Washington, went 4-13. He said that during the season, he and Marty Hurney had discussions about Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, Bo Nix, and Drake Maye as draft possibilities.

However, owner Josh Harris fired Rivera after the season, replacing him with Adam Peters as GM and Dan Quinn as HC.

Unlike former owner Daniel Snyder, who reportedly hated seeing the Commanders’ successful season, Rivera said, “I was fired up.” He elaborated a bit, saying that Dan Quinn is a friend, and they talked. “I am happy where they are.”

Rivera also mentioned that Quinn, being a friend, had said, “We got to give Coach Rivera credit for doing what he did, putting us in this position.” Rivera said, “That was great; that really meant a lot to me. And it spoke of who Dan is as a man.”

It speaks quite highly of Quinn, who was taking the high road.

Isn’t it true that the team was so bad in 2023 that they earned the second overall draft selection?

Quinn was right; Rivera did put the Commanders in a position to select Jayden Daniels.

 

Former Commanders coach Ron Rivera heads back to college

Ron Rivera has a new job.

Former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera has a new job. No, Rivera will not be roaming an NFL sideline this fall. Instead, Rivera is heading back to college. Specifically, the former NFL player and coach will return to his alma mater in a general manager-like role for the University of California.

Rivera, who served as Washington’s head coach from 2020-23, spent nine years as head coach of the Carolina Panthers from 2011-19. Rivera was a two-time NFL Coach of the Year during his time in Carolina. Overall, Rivera’s career record is 102-103-2, and he had a 26-40-1 record in Washington.

In addition to being the Commanders’ head coach, Rivera was essentially the team’s general manager, too, making several controversial decisions for four years. None of Rivera’s four first-round picks are currently on Washington’s roster.

Rivera said the following on X:

Rivera has interviewed for multiple jobs since being fired from Washington in January 2024. Rivera spoke with the New York Jets and Chicago Bears this offseason for their vacant head coaching positions. He also spoke with the Jacksonville Jaguars regarding their defensive coordinator position.

Now, Rivera pivots and will head back to college.

Washington fans will undoubtedly have opinions on Rivera’s new title, considering how his stint over personnel went with the Commanders.

Former Panthers HC Ron Rivera going back to school in new role

The winningest head coach in Panthers history is going back to school.

Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is about to be the big man on campus, again.

As first reported by CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones on Wednesday afternoon, Rivera is set to take a “general manager-like” position at his alma mater of the University of California. Per Jones, the 63-year-old will undertake a role similar to that of Stanford University’s Andrew Luck—helping guide the program through the new landscape of college athletics.

Rivera played at UC Berkeley from 1980 to 1983. The ex-linebacker was named the Pac-10 Football Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in his final season for the Golden Bears.

The Seaside, Calif. native would then be selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears, for whom he’d spend his entire nine-year pro career with.

His first head-coaching gig came with the Panthers beginning in 2011. Rivera went on to lead Carolina to 76 regular-season wins, the most by a head coach in franchise history, along with three NFC South titles and the organization’s second-ever Super Bowl appearance.

He last coached for the Washington Commanders, whom he led from 2020 to 2023.

Before taking his new job at UC Berkeley, Rivera interviewed for three head-coaching vacancies (New York Jets, Chicago Bears, Las Vegas Raiders) and a senior defensive assistant role (Jacksonville Jaguars) this offseason.

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Latest ‘report’ further proves incompetence of Commanders’ previous regime

It gets even worse when looking back at Washington’s previous regime.

Could you imagine where the Washington Commanders would be if Christian Darrisaw was playing left tackle? What about if Christian Gonzalez was one of Washington’s starting cornerbacks? Or what if the Commanders had selected wide receiver Chris Olave, lined up opposite Terry McLaurin?

Talking about what could have been is a fruitless exercise. It didn’t happen, and the past is in the past. But it’s easy to look at the Commanders and wonder what their roster would look like if the former regime had made more sensible draft picks.

In 2021, former coach Ron Rivera took raw linebacker Jamin Davis over a potential franchise left tackle (Darrisaw). In 2022, Rivera and company wanted to show everyone how smart they were, so they moved back in the first round, passed on Olave, and added extra picks, but they used the first-round pick on wide receiver Jahan Dotson.

Finally, in 2023, Rivera chose Mississippi State cornerback Emmanuel Forbes over Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez. Literally, no one had Forbes ranked ahead of Gonzalez, and many worried that Forbes’ unusually slight frame would be a problem for him in the NFL.

No one will ever forget the video the team released AFTER the draft, showing Rivera driving to the team facility that day knowing Washington was selecting Forbes, regardless of what the rest of the draft board looked like.

It didn’t take long for everyone to realize Rivera missed badly on his first-round picks from 2021-23. We will give Rivera a break for 2020 because everyone thought Chase Young would be a superstar.

While we never know if Washington was close to selecting Darrisaw in 2021 or Olave in 2022, JP Finlay of 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., revealed on his radio show Tuesday that there was a “screaming match” on draft day when Gonzalez fell into the Commanders’ lap, but they chose Forbes.

Here’s the audio:

Finlay didn’t reveal who was for or against selecting Forbes, but we know Rivera had the final say — on everything.

While Gonzalez was injured during his rookie season, he quickly became one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in 2024. Meanwhile, new Washington general manager Adam Peters released Forbes. But Forbes wasn’t the first former Rivera first-round pick Peters moved on from.

In training camp, the coaching staff saw enough of Dotson to be OK with trading him to a division rival, knowing the Commanders needed help at wide receiver. While the Eagles are great and playing in the Super Bowl, Washington’s new regime correctly assessed Dotson.

And, in October, Washington released Davis after his transition to defensive end/edge rusher didn’t pan out. The Commanders released Forbes in November.

Washington is in good hands these days. Looking back at these three moves, particularly, makes what the Commanders accomplished in 2024 even more remarkable.

But we can’t help but wonder how Washington would approach this offseason if it had a franchise left tackle, a shutdown cornerback, and a legit No. 2 receiver.

 

Rick ‘Doc’ Walker has interesting nickname for former Commanders coach

The legendary former Washington tight end had some great analysis on the Commanders’ season.

Former Washington Redskins TE Rick “Doc” Walker was once again on a roll, Saturday.

Walker was a guest on the most recent episode of the Kevin Sheehan Podcast, and he was hilarious! Here is the link to the entire episode. 

Doc played for Joe Gibbs and Joe Bugel, and he is not afraid to speak his mind about winning in the NFL. He is also a very good listener, and he didn’t disappoint this time either.

Here are a few select quotes from Doc.

  • “The kid (Saquon Barkley) scored on their first play of the game! And yet, it wasn’t a kill shot. And I still believe if Ekeler doesn’t lose the ball, you can’t convince me we aren’t still in it to the very end.”
  • “I’m irritated as hell because I know this team will never be the same. Because you will never have the same circumstances, the hunger, and you will never catch people off guard.”
  • “I mean, people looked at this team, ‘This is Rivera’s team; this team is scum.’ Now they are going to dream about you, they are going to prepare for you. Anytime, anywhere, all that stuff, now they are all locked in. That’s the way it goes.”
  • “We won with a super-human individual and a spirit and that can carry you a long way. But in the end, I’d rather just be boring, methodical and just grind you to death. And I think our team will take on more of that personality for the upcoming season.”
  • “I’d rather be the bully, I’d rather be unimaginative. I’d rather you think I am boring. But like Philly, I am bigger and stronger. I can maul you. There’s nothing you can do about it, you’re defenseless because I don’t have to trick you.”
  • “I don’t want to be dependent on hocus pocus. I want 3rd & 1 to be automatic. For us you got to hold your breadth. You got to hope some guy (Jayden Daniels) pulls a rabbit out of a hat. That is too risky.”
  • “If you overpay someone (defensive lineman) and they don’t require a double team, the joke is on you. Anybody that wants a bag (of money) better be able to demand a double, or I am kicking his ass out of the office.”
  • “Our guy (Jayden Daniels) to be a puppy is going up to the Westminster Show, and he is winning all the ribbons. Usually, we never get that guy. We are always the one that overpays and gets a junker. We’re the guys that get fleeced. We’re the suckers.”
  • “Finally, you get Peters (Adam), DQ (Dan Quinn), and even more importantly to me, the strength of our organization is our assistant coaches. This is one of the best teaching group of individuals I have ever been around. Because they took Coach Dumb-Dumb’s people, dumped all of them d____ near, flipped the team, and they are going without two years of draft picks, and had one of the best seasons they have ever had.”

Another former Commanders OC lands a new job

Washington’s last two offensive coordinators land new jobs in back-to-back days.

Scott Turner spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders under Ron Rivera. After the 2022 season, Rivera fired Turner in an attempt to take the heat off himself and made the ill-fated decision to replace him with former Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy.

We know how that ended for all involved. As for Turner, he quickly landed the Las Vegas Raiders as their pass game coordinator, where he remained into the 2024 season before a promotion to interim offensive coordinator when Luke Getsy was fired.

After the season, Las Vegas fired head coach Antonio Pierce, meaning Turner was looking for work again. On Saturday, the man who replaced Turner in Washington, Bieniemy, landed back in the NFL with the Chicago Bears as their new running backs coach.

On Sunday, it was Turner’s turn. The New York Jets hired Turner as their new pass game coordinator under new head coach Aaron Glenn. Turner gives the Jets an experienced voice for first-time coordinator Tanner Engstrand.

During his three seasons in Washington, Turner’s offenses were ranked 30th, 21st and 20th in total offense. The Commanders were even worse in Bieniemy’s lone year.

 

Report: Former Panthers HC Ron Rivera interviews for position on Jaguars’ staff

Could former Panthers HC Ron Rivera still find an avenue back onto the NFL sidelines?

His return might not come as a head coach, but Ron Rivera could soon be back in the NFL.

According to John Shipley of Sports Illustrated, Rivera met with the Jacksonville Jaguars over the weekend to discuss a potential role on first-year head coach Liam Coen’s staff.

Shipley writes:

The specifics of the role and title Rivera met with the team for are unknown at the time of this writing, but it would make logical sense for Rivera to join the staff as a senior assistant. As it stands today, the Jaguars have a first-year head coach and a first-year defensive coordinator in Anthony Campanile at the top of their staff, so Rivera’s experience could pay off in a big way.

Rivera, of course, spent almost a decade as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He still stands as the organization’s winningest coach in its 30-year history—having led the Panthers to three NFC South titles and their second-ever Super Bowl appearance between 2011 and 2019.

The 63-year-old also interviewed for the New York Jets’ previously-vacant head-coaching position earlier this offseason. That opening was filled by former Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn.

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Jets hiring yet another former Panthers coach

The Jets’ new defensive coaching staff has added another familiar face.

The New York Jets and first-year head coach Aaron Glenn now have two former Carolina Panthers defensive coordinators on their growing staff.

According to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, the Jets are hiring Eric Washington as their new defensive line coach. He will come in under former Panthers interim head coach Steve Wilks, who was added as the team’s defensive coordinator earlier this week.

Washington began his coaching career with the Panthers in 2011, when he was brought on as the defensive line coach by then-first-year head coach Ron Rivera. He’d spend seven seasons in that position before being promoted to defensive coordinator for the 2018 and 2019 campaigns.

After his stint in Carolina was up, Washington landed with the Buffalo Bills as their defensive line coach in 2020. He also served as Buffalo’s senior defensive assistant (2022) and assistant head coach (2023).

This past season saw Washington return to the Chicago Bears, where he got his start as an NFL coach in 2008, in their defensive coordinator role.

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Panthers great Ryan Kalil forms all-star ownership group to acquire majority stake in pro football team

Former Panthers C Ryan Kalil, with some help from a handful of very familiar names, is now a controlling owner of a pro football team.

Carolina Panthers great Ryan Kalil is back in the game.

As announced on Monday, the former All-Pro center and six-time NBA All-Star Blake Griffin have acquired a majority stake in Fundidores, an American football team based in Monterrey, Mexico.

Kalil and Griffin, also partners in their production company Mortal Media, formed an ownership group comprised of quite a few more all-stars to complete the acquisition—including Julius Peppers, Jonathan Stewart, Greg Olsen, Luke Kuechly, Ron Rivera, Christian McCaffrey, Sam Darnold and George Kittle.

The duo will seek to elevate the league (Liga de Fútbol Americano) and the team, starting with its rebranding as Osos Monterrey.

“Football isn’t just a game—for many of us, it’s defined who we are,” Kalil stated, via an official press release. “This won’t be a passive investment; it’s an opportunity to help grow the game internationally alongside lifelong friends who bring unmatched experience and perspective from playing at the highest level of professional sports.”

In addition, Mortal Media will produce a documentary chronicling the exciting venture.

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Former Commanders DC Jack Del Rio is a head coach again

Former Commanders DC Jack Del Rio has a new job. He’s a head coach again.

It’s been an eventful 14 months for former Washington Commanders defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. On Friday, the 61-year-old Del Rio found a new job as the head coach of the Paris Musketeers of the European League of Football.

Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated first reported the news, which included a statement from the Eskimos.

Del Rio spent four seasons as Washington’s defensive coordinator under Ron Rivera but was fired after a Thanksgiving Day blowout loss to the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. Last August, the University of Wisconsin hired Del Rio as a senior adviser to head coach Luke Fickell. However, Del Rio resigned in November after being arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. 

After an 11-year playing career, Del Rio jumped into coaching. He spent six seasons as an assistant coach before being named head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2003. Del Rio was Jacksonville’s head coach for nine seasons. After being fired, he served as the Denver Broncos’ defensive coordinator for three seasons.

In 2015, he landed with the then-Oakland Raiders as head coach. He coached the Raiders for three seasons before he was fired. Del Rio finished his NFL head coaching career with a 93-94 record and a 1-3 playoff record.

The European League of Football was formed in 2021, with 16 teams slated to play in 2025. The league’s headquarters are in Hamburg, Germany.