Former Commanders Head Coach Makes Surprising Career Move

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Former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to go back to your roots. That’s where former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is headed.

Rivera took to his official X account to announce on February 5 that he was headed back to his alma mater, Cal, in an unspecified role with the football team. He also took time to give a hat tip to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who recently became the head coach at the University of North Carolina.

“Coach Belichick has made going back to school, cool,” Rivera wrote. “Stay tuned I am coming home.”

Rivera’s role was yet to be determined. Like Belichick, Rivera has no previous experience on the college level.

“Rivera interviewed for NFL coaching jobs this winter but will instead join Cal, where he was an All-America linebacker in the early 1980s,” ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg posted on his official X account. “He has not worked with a college program previously.”

Cal hasn’t had a winning season since going 8-5 in 2019. It’s also the best season for head coach Justin Wilcox since he was hired before the 2017 season.

“Our alum Ron Rivera is an icon in football, for good reason,” Cal chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to be in discussion with him about the details of joining the Cal team to support and advance our football program.”

Rivera One of Cal’s Most Legendary Players

Rivera starred at Seaside High School in Oceanside, California, before making hi sway to Cal, where he was a 3-time All-Pac-10 selection and a unanimous All-American and the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year in 1983.

From ESPN: “Rivera, 63, is a member of the Cal Athletics Hall of Fame and had 337 tackles for the school as a linebacker. He was an All-American in 1983 when he set a school record with 26.5 tackles for loss, including 13 sacks.”

Rivera was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round (No. 44 overall) of the 1984 NFL draft and played 9 seasons for them, including as part of the Super Bowl-winning team in 1985.

Named NFL Coach of the Year For 2 Teams

Rivera spent almost a decade as one of the NFL’s elite head coaches with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2019 and was one of the league’s best defensive assistants and defensive coordinators for a decade before that.

While he was in Carolina, Rivera led the Panthers to the playoffs 4 times and was named NFL Coach of the Year twice. He won the award in 2013 and again in 2015 after the Panthers went 15-1 and lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50. Rivera went 76-63-1 in Carolina and was fired after a 5-7 start in 2019.

Rivera has a 102-103-2 overall record in 13 seasons a a head coach, including a 26-40-1 in 4 seasons as Washington’s head coach before he was fired following a 4-13 season in 2023.

The move to the college ranks comes after Rivera interviewed for several head coach openings in the NFL this cycle; with the New York Jets, who hired Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, and the Bears, who hired Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.