NEWSLETTER
Ron Rivera getting fired in Carolina was a bit surprising when it went down, but as time has passed, it has become easier to make sense and move on.
Speaking of moving on, that is exactly what Rivera is angling to do. And since Panthers owner David Tepper cut ties with Rivera before the end of the season, the winningest coach in franchise history has a head-start on finding his next gig.
Unfortunately, the jobs Rivera is rumored to have the most interest in don’t have an opening right now.
“The two positions that would most closely appeal to Rivera on a personal level, according to several sources who know him well, would be the Chargers, with a chance to return to his Southern California roots, or the Bears, where he played and coached,” writes Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
Well, that’s pretty interesting, neat, and ultimately, pretty sensible. Rivera wanting to resume his coaching career by returning to his roots makes sense on a logical level. But here is the important thing to note about those jobs — they aren’t open right now. And that would seem to be a mighty tall hurdle to clear for his career. Even if Rivera was willing to take a coordinator job to re-establish himself for a future head-coaching market, the fit simply isn’t there.
The Bears are just one year into the Chuck Pagano experience as a defensive coordinator. And frankly, I find it difficult to imagine the team moving on from him after one year as a coordinator of a team that ranks in the top 10 in scoring, yardage, and Football Outsiders’ DVOA for a coach who could leave them after a year for a head-coaching job. As for the fit with the Chargers, that team is run by a defensive-leaning head coach (Anthony Lynn) and has Gus Bradley entrenched in his third season as a defensive coordinator. All things considered, it is highly unlikely that Rivera will land in either of his preferred destinations. But the good news is that Rivera’s options aren’t limited to places he has coached before.
La Canfora mentions Rivera’s ties to the Giants, a team that simply hasn’t taken off in the two years Pat Shurmur has been the head coach. He also points out the Falcons as a team that could choose to go with an experienced coach to guide an older core for a franchise that probably doesn’t want to go through a full-scale rebuild. Heck, La Canfora even hears from league executives who believe Rivera would be an ideal fit with the Cowboys once Jason Garrett is shown the door. Again, Rivera has options. Good ones, too.
Had the Panthers parted ways with Rivera last year, he would have made a perfect fit to replace Vic Fangio as defensive coordinator. Because even if Chicago was simply a place used by Rivera as a jumping-off point for a future head-coaching position, handing the keys to Rivera would have been met with a ton of praise. So while there is a ton of love for Rivera, a return to Chicago just doesn’t seem meant to be.
