Ron Rivera

Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962) is an American former football linebacker and coach.

He currently is a football analyst with ESPN.

Rivera was born in Fort Ord, California on January 7, 1962.

His father, Eugenio Rivera, was a Puerto Rican commissioned officer in the US Army stationed in California.

There, Eugenio met his future wife, Dolores, who is of Mexican and Filipino descent.

He attended the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980s, where he was recognized as an All-American linebacker for the Golden Bears.

The family moved often due to Eugenio's military service, with Rivera being educated in bases in Germany, Panama, and Washington, D.C. The family eventually settled in Marina, California, where he played football at Seaside High School before graduating in 1980.

Rivera was granted a football scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley, where he led the Golden Bears in tackles as a linebacker during his three years there.

For his final season in 1983, Rivera received several awards and honors for his performance, including being named a consensus All-American, Pac-10 Football Defensive Player of the Year along with Arizona linebacker Ricky Hunley, the Pop Warner Trophy, and being named MVP of the East–West Shrine Game.

Following graduation, Rivera was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft and played nine seasons with them, including as a member of the 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX.

Rivera was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears, playing for them as a rotational linebacker and special teamer.

In 1985, Rivera became the first American of Puerto Rican descent to win a Super Bowl, as the Bears defeated the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX.

He was named the team's Man of the Year in 1988 and was named their Ed Block Courage Award recipient the following year.

Rivera played nine seasons before retiring after the 1992 season, playing in 137 games with 62 starts, 392 tackles, 7.5 sacks, five forced fumbles, six fumble recoveries, and nine interceptions.

In 1993, Rivera went to work for WGN-TV and SportsChannel Chicago as a television analyst covering the Bears and college football.

Rivera's coaching career began in 1997 when he served as a quality control coach for the Bears.

In 1997, he joined the Bears as a defensive quality control coach.

In 1999, Rivera was named linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles under newly hired head coach Andy Reid.

During his tenure, the Eagles advanced to the NFC championship for three consecutive seasons.

Rivera also was credited with developing linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into a two-time All-Pro.

Rivera joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a linebackers coach two years later before rejoining the Bears as their defensive coordinator in 2004.

The following year, he was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the PFWA and helped coach linebacker Brian Urlacher into being named Defensive Player of the Year.

Rivera was named defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears on January 23, 2004.

In 2005, the Bears defense was rated second in the league by total yardage, with the team winning the NFC North division with a record of 11–5 before losing in the divisional round of the playoffs to the Carolina Panthers.

For his efforts that year, Rivera was named Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association.

In 2006, the team made an appearance in Super Bowl XLI.

Rivera also interviewed for a few head coaching vacancies around this time.

In 2006, the Bears had the league's third-ranked defense in terms of points allowed, which helped them advance to Super Bowl XLI.

Although the Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29–17, the defense's success earned Rivera recognition among franchises looking for new head coaches.

In 2007, he joined the San Diego Chargers coaching linebackers before being promoted to defensive coordinator a year later.

After three years with the Chargers, Rivera was hired as head coach for the Carolina Panthers and would become their all-time leader in wins.

In February 2007, it was announced that Rivera's contract with the Bears would not be extended due to failed negotiations.

Around the same time, he interviewed for several vacant head coaching positions around the league, including with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys.

Rivera was hired by the San Diego Chargers to become their inside linebackers coach in February 2007 and was promoted to defensive coordinator after the team fired Ted Cottrell in October 2008.

On January 11, 2011, Rivera was hired to become the fourth head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

He was also recognized as the NFL Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2015 and led the team to an appearance in Super Bowl 50.

Rivera is the only coach in NFL history to have led a team with a losing record to the playoffs more than once, doing so with Carolina in 2014 and Washington in 2020.

He was fired from Washington after the 2023 NFL season.

Rivera was fired midway through the 2019 season due to new owner David Tepper wanting change and became Washington's head coach in 2020.

He was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma that same year but was considered cancer free by early 2021.