The Bears are including a franchise icon to their checklist of head teaching candidates. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bears will interview Ron Rivera this weekend for his or her head teaching job.
Rivera has had a number of stints with the group, most famously between 1984 and 1992, when the linebacker helped anchor Chicago’s protection. He gained a Tremendous Bowl with the ’85 Bears and spent his complete nine-year taking part in profession with the group.
A couple of years after his retirement, Rivera received his first teaching gig in Chicago, the place he served as a defensive high quality management coach for 2 years. He then spent a half-decade in Philly because the Eagles’ linebackers coach earlier than returning to the Bears as their defensive coordinator. Following his second season on the helm, Rivera earned PFWA’s Assistant Coach of the Yr honors, and he helped information an NFC Championship-winning protection in 2006.
The connection between the 2 sides broke down following Rivera’s third season as DC. As a result of failed negotiations, Rivera’s contract wasn’t prolonged, and he left to grow to be the ILB coach in San Diego. He was shortly promoted to DC with the Chargers, and he parlayed that efficiency into the Panthers HC job.
Rivera noticed some ups and downs throughout his time in Carolina. His hiring coincided with the addition of first-overall decide Cam Newton, and the duo finally led the Panthers to 4 playoff appearances in 5 years (together with a run to the Tremendous Bowl in 2015). Rivera earned a pair of Coach of the Yr honors throughout that run. A late-season collapse noticed the Panthers miss the playoffs in 2018, and the staff bottomed out with Newton out of the lineup in 2019. Halfway by way of that latter marketing campaign, Rivera was let go by the Panthers.
He shortly landed on his toes in Washington, as he was named head coach forward of the 2020 season. The Commanders made the playoffs regardless of a 7-9 file throughout Rivera’s first season on the sideline, and so they flirted with a .500 file for the following couple of years. After the Commanders went 4-13 through the 2023 marketing campaign, Rivera was fired by the staff.
The long-time coach was out of soccer for the 2024 season, though he clearly intended to return to coaching. It didn’t take lengthy for him to reemerge throughout this 12 months’s hiring cycle, as he’s already met with the Jets about their job.
Rivera now represents the 18th coach to be linked to Chicago’s job. A few of these targets, like Invoice Belichick and Mike McCarthy, didn’t acquire any traction, however the staff has in any other case interviewed or requested interviews with 15 different candidates (excluding Rivera):
- Joe Brady, offensive coordinator (Payments): Interview requested
- Thomas Brown, interim head coach (Bears): Interview expected
- Matt Campbell, head coach (Iowa State): Interview expected
- Pete Carroll, former head coach (Seahawks): Interviewed 1/9
- Brian Flores, defensive coordinator (Vikings): Interview requested
- Aaron Glenn, defensive coordinator (Lions): To interview 1/11
- Ben Johnson, offensive coordinator (Lions): To interview 1/11
- Mike Kafka, offensive coordinator (Giants): Interviewed 1/9
- Kliff Kingsbury, offensive coordinator (Commanders): Interview requested
- Todd Monken, offensive coordinator (Ravens): Interview requested
- Drew Petzing, offensive coordinator (Cardinals): Interviewed 1/8
- David Shaw, senior personnel government (Broncos): Interview requested
- Arthur Smith, offensive coordinator (Steelers): Interview requested
- Mike Vrabel, former head coach (Titans): Interviewed 1/8
- Anthony Weaver, defensive coordinator (Dolphins): Interviewed 1/9
