Ron Rivera To Join Cal Program

Ron Rivera resurfaced on the coaching carousel this offseason, after spending a year out of football. The HC-turned-analyst is returning to the game, but the reemergence will not come in the NFL.

The former Panthers and Commanders HC is taking a job at Cal, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. The Pac-12 program is on track to hire Rivera for a GM-like role. Rivera is a Cal alum, playing at the Berkeley-based school before a lengthy career as an NFL linebacker.

This move comes not long after Stanford hired one of its most famous football alums, Andrew Luck, to head up its program as GM. Rivera confirmed (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) he is heading to his alma mater. Like Bill Belichick, Rivera has never worked at the college level. The ex-Bears LB had been an NFL coach from 1997-2023, but upon being fired after four years in Washington, the 63-year-old NFL lifer will give the college game a shot.

While Luck will be a former player transitioning to a front office-type role, Rivera has considerable experience in personnel. Being hired to help stabilize the Washington franchise in 2020, Rivera secured final say in personnel matters. Rivera led Washington in 2020, his only playoff berth with the team, without a GM in place. He hired Martin Mayhew for the role in 2021 but retained status as the top football staffer throughout his tenure with the NFC East club.

Even though Rivera did gain personnel seasoning in Washington, he is obviously best known as a sideline presence. After a successful run as a defensive coordinator, Rivera turned around the Panthers after they had cratered to 2-14 in John Fox‘s 2010 finale. Overseeing the likes of Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis, Rivera guided the Cam Newton-piloted Panthers to four playoff berths during his nine-season tenure. This effort peaked with a 15-1 2015 season, one that produced a dominant NFC championship game performance before a Super Bowl 50 loss to the Broncos. The Panthers have not made the playoffs since their Rivera-guided 2017 cameo.

Although Rivera’s final three Commanders seasons fell short of the postseason, as the team struggled to identify a quarterback, the wheels did not fall off until the 2023 season. With help from ownership effectively mandating the team trade Montez Sweat and Chase Young, the Commanders lost their final eight games and finished 4-13. Rivera’s ouster was widely expected, but he garnered several interviews over the past two offseasons. The Bears, Jets and Raiders met with Rivera during this year’s HC hiring cycle. A Jaguars meeting for an assistant role also transpired. The Eagles and Cowboys met with him about a DC role last year.

Rivera played for the Golden Bears from 1980-83, vaulting to the NFL as a Bears second-round pick in 1984. An All-American in 1983, Rivera was a backup for Chicago’s famed 1985 Super Bowl-winning team. More than four decades after leaving Berkeley, he will attempt to elevate a mid-pack program — one that has produced two winning seasons over the past nine years — during a chaotic time at the college level. Like Belichick and Luck, Rivera will be navigating the college game during choppy waters caused by the transfer portal and changing compensation landscape.