Redskins should definitely consider Ron Rivera for head coaching opening

The Carolina Panthers elected to part ways with Ron Rivera after nine seasons. The Washington Redskins should have an interest in hiring him for their head coaching opening.

On Sunday, the Washington Redskins were able to go into to Charlotte and defeat the Carolina Panthers in what turned out to be the final game of the Ron Rivera era. The Panthers and owner David Tepper elected to part ways with Rivera following the loss.

The move to dismiss Rivera wasn’t a major surprise, as there had been rumblings that Tepper wanted to bring in his own coach. He gave Rivera a chance to coach after buying the team in 2018, but ultimately, he decided to go in a different direction.

Now, “Riverboat Ron” will be on the free-agent coaching market. And the aggressive, defensive-minded head coach will surely garner interest in an offseason that may see some big-name vacancies arise.

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The Redskins are obviously looking to hire a new head coach after they fired Jay Gruden following their Week 5 loss to the New England Patriots. They should certainly have an interest in adding Ron Rivera to the fold, or at least taking a look at him.

Rivera had a 76-63-1 record during his nine years with the Panthers and brought success to the franchise. He made four playoff appearances and took the 15-1 team to Super Bowl 50 during the 2015 season (and 2016 postseason). Unfortunately, the squad ran into the buzzsaw Broncos defense and wasn’t able to win. But still, Rivera’s coaching acumen can’t be questioned.

Take this year, for example. The Panthers may only be sitting at 5-7, but Rivera was able to get to that mark with Cam Newton injured to start the season and Kyle Allen eventually taking over. Given the up-and-down play of Allen, getting the team to a 5-5 mark in games that he played is certainly impressive. And notably, the team almost came back late to tie the Redskins last week, so he always had them playing hard.

That’s been a staple of Rivera’s teams. They play hard for him. The players genuinely seem to like him and are willing to give it their all as they look to win. That effort is something that the Redskins were lacking during the Jay Gruden era, so perhaps Rivera could instill some of that if he were to coach in Washington.

Additionally, Rivera’s play-calling is aggressive and he frequently will go for it on fourth down. It doesn’t always pan out, but having a coach that is willing to take risks could spark the Redskins. So, that may be worth exploring.

And Rivera’s presence would certainly help the Redskins defense, a unit that has fallen well short of their expectations under Greg Manusky. Rivera could bring in his own system and a coordinator familiar with his scheme to execute it in Washington. And given the personnel the Redskins have, they could transform quickly.

Rivera is sure to get a lot of interest on the open market. He’s still a very good head coach and if teams like the Cowboys or Giants — who notably employ Dave Gettleman, once the GM of the Panthers — end up with vacancies, they will surely include Rivera on those lists. The ‘Skins need to beat them to the punch and should take a look at Rivera now, just to gauge what his interest would be in coming to coach the team.

If the Redskins want a proven NFL head coach with a winning record, aggressive coaching style, and an ability to motivate his players, Rivera could be their man. Think of him as the experienced version of Robert Saleh. A man who could bring a much-needed culture change to the Redskins.

Next. Tight end options for the Redskins in 2020 and beyond. dark

We’ll soon see if the team does have any interest in bringing in Ron Rivera. But for now, the Washington coaching search will remain stagnant.

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