Ron Rivera agrees to a five-year deal to coach the Redskins

The Washington Redskins have agreed to a five-year deal with Ron Rivera to make him the team’s next head coach.

It’s official. The Washington Redskins have found their newest head coach.

According to multiple reports, Ron Rivera agreed to a deal to coach the Redskins. And according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the deal will span five years.

This is great news for the Redskins and in particular, it’s great news for the fan base. The five-year deal represents a big-time commitment being made to Rivera, a proven leader and a well-liked head coach who knows how to get the most out of his players.

Rivera had a 76-63-1 record as the head coach of the Carolina Panthers over the course of the past nine years and got the Panthers to the playoffs four times. He also made it to the Super Bowl but couldn’t quite lift the Panthers over the elite defense of the Denver Broncos. Rivera’s a proven coach with a lot of experience and he will surely have a shot to fix what ails the Redskins.

More from Riggo's Rag

The ‘Skins have had an underachieving defense for the past few years under the watch of Greg Manusky. Rivera has a great defensive background and should help to improve that. The team could switch to a 4-3 alignment under Rivera and that may end up better suiting their personnel. But either way, he’ll be able to get the most out of the defense.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see how Rivera fills out his staff. There have been rumblings that he could bring Steve Wilks on board as his defensive coordinator. Wilks spent a decade coaching under Rivera and led the Panthers to a top-10 defense before getting a shot at being a head coach with the Arizona Cardinals. He would represent an upgrade at the coordinator position and could help to develop talent in the secondary.

As for the offensive coordinator role, Kevin O’Connell may stick around under Rivera. That would be big for the development of Dwayne Haskins, so it will be interesting to see if Rivera ultimately chooses that path.

Rivera’s hiring seems like a good choice for the Redskins. He was arguably the best candidate available on the free-agent coaching market — or at least the most proven — and he should bring some respectability to Washington. And again, the fact that he’s signing a five-year deal means that the ‘Skins are going to give him time to build things the right way.

Next. Five reasons Ron Rivera should choose Redskins. dark

We’ll soon see how things shake out for the team. But as of New Year’s Eve 2019, the Ron Rivera era has begun.

Home/Commanders News