Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera battles Arians again

With the Washington Football Team set to face off against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card Game, coach Ron Rivera will be across the field from a familiar face, Bruce Arians.

Both coaches have faced off multiple times and share a high-level of respect for one another.

Arians got an opportunity to get better acquainted with the Washington Football Team’s head coach when he and his wife were out in Arizona for a golf tournament for Arians’ foundation. He has kept in touch with Rivera throughout the season as he went through his cancer diagnosis.

Arians said of Rivera at one point: “[I] try to catch him, call him a few times when I heard about his diagnosis and you know I think the world of him. I think he’s a great, great coach but he’s a better human being.”

That respect runs both ways, as Rivera talked about how much admiration he has for Arians, who is also a fellow cancer survivor, and how he respects the coach’s “hilariously honest” style of saying what he’s thinking.

Rivera says of Arians: “I got a tremendous amount of admiration for who he is as a coach, I really do. I’ve got a lot of respect for him both personally and professionally. And he too has overcome a lot in terms of health as well. I know a lot of people don’t know about that but Bruce is a warrior as well. And I do love matching up against him.”