Ron Rivera Biography
Ron Rivera (Ronald Eugene “Ron” Rivera) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and San Diego Chargers.
He has also played college football at the University of California in Berkeley and was recognized as an All-American linebacker. He was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL draft by the Chicago Bears and was a backup on the 1985 team which won Super Bowl XX.
As a coach, Rivera was the defensive coordinator for the Bears in 2006, who were NFC champions and competed in Super Bowl XLI. In 2011, he was named head coach of the Panthers. Rivera was recognized as the NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2013 and in 2015.
Since taking over the Panthers, he has led the team to three straight divisional titles, and an appearance in Super Bowl 50.
Ron Rivera Age
Ron Rivera was born on January 7, 1962, in Fort Ord, California United States. He is 61 years old as of 2023.
Ron Rivera Height
Rivera stands at a height of 6 feet 3 inches tall.
Ron Rivera Family
Ron Rivera was born in Fort Ord National Monument, California, the United States to Eugenio Rivera and Dolores Rivera. His father, Eugenio Rivera, was a Puerto Rican commissioned officer in the U.S. Army stationed in California.
There he met his future wife, Dolores. Due to his father’s military service, the family moved often, and Rivera was educated in military bases in Germany, Panama, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. His father is Puerto Rican. His brother Mickey died after a two-year battle with cancer.
Ron Rivera Wife
Ron Rivera is married to Stephanie Rivera since 1984. They have two children, a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Courtney, with his wife, Stephanie, who is a former assistant coach for the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.
Ron Rivera Net worth
Ron Rivera earns his income from his businesses and from other related organizations. He also earns his income from his work as a football coach. He has an estimated net worth of $ 5 million dollars.
Ron Rivera Salary
Rivera earns a salary of $ 7 million annually due to his successful career.
Ron Rivera Contract
In 2020 Rivera signed a five-year contract of with the Commanders taking over Jay Gruden, the former head coach.
Ron Rivera Education
Ron Rivera attended Seaside High School and began playing football.
Ron Rivera Playing career
Ron Rivera was granted a football scholarship to California, where he was a consensus All-American linebacker, leading the Golden Bears in tackles for his last three years as a player. He once held Cal’s all-time sack and career tackles records, and still holds the record for most tackles for loss in a season, set in 1983. Rivera was the MVP of the 1984 East-West Shrine Game. On January 5, 2015, Ron Rivera’s home in Charlotte, North Carolina, caught on fire. Luckily everyone who was in there escaped the house without injuries.
Ron Rivera Professional career
In the 1984 NFL draft, Rivera was selected in the second round by the Chicago Bears. In 1985, he played in Super Bowl XX, where the Bears beat the New England Patriots 46–10. Rivera was the first Mexican/Puerto Rican to play on a Super Bowl championship team. He became a starter in 1988, serving for three seasons. Rivera played for the Bears for a total of nine seasons (1984–1992).
Ron Rivera Coaching career
In 1993, Rivera went to work for WGN-TV and SportsChannel Chicago as a TV analyst covering the Bears and college football. In 1996, he became a defense quality control coach for the Bears.
Ron Rivera Philadelphia Eagles
In 1999, Rivera was named linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. During his tenure, the Eagles advanced to the NFC championship for three consecutive seasons. He is credited with developing linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into a two-time Pro Bowl performer.
Ron Rivera Chicago Bears
On January 23, 2004, Rivera was named defensive coordinator of the Bears. In 2005, the Bears defense was rated second-best in the NFL. The Bears qualified for the NFC playoffs, losing in the second round to the Carolina Panthers, 29–21. The 2005 performance of the Chicago Bears earned him consideration for Head Coach assignments from several NFL teams.
In 2006, the Bears’ defensive efforts failed to match the success of their 2005 season. Nevertheless, the team was still a notable presence in the league, finishing with the league’s third-ranked and conference’s top-ranked points allowed category.
The defense’s success earned Rivera recognition among franchises looking for new head coaches. The Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers interviewed him in January 2007. He was a candidate for the vacant Dallas Cowboys head coaching position, a job that ultimately went to San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips.
Rivera was named as a potential candidate to replace the fired Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, but the job was filled by Norv Turner, the brother of fellow offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, Rivera’s offensive counterpart in Chicago.
After the announcement, ESPN reported that the Bears were considering letting Rivera go. This came after several other teams interviewed him, and the negotiations between his representatives and the Bears were making little progress. On February 19, 2007, it was announced that Ron Rivera’s contract with the Bears would not be renewed.
Ron Rivera San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers hired Rivera as the team’s inside linebackers coach after he left the Bears. On October 28, 2008, Rivera was promoted to defensive coordinator with the Chargers after the team released former defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell. He had used the 4–3 defense for most of his coaching career but adopted a 3–4 scheme with the Chargers.
Ron Rivera Carolina Panthers
On January 11, 2011, he was named the fourth head coach of Carolina Panthers. He is the fifth Latino to be an NFL head coach, following former New Orleans Saints coach Tom Fears, former Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks coach Tom Flores, former New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts coach Jim E. Mora, and former Atlanta Falcons coach Jim L. Mora.
During his first year as head coach, the Panthers went 6–10 and finished third in the division. In 2012, the Panthers finished 7–9 and finished second in the division. Following the 2012 season, Rivera was expected to be fired. Over the first 34 games of his coaching career, Rivera was known for exceptionally conservative decision-making that led to a 2–14 record in games decided by less than a touchdown.
Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 2, Rivera decided to kick a field goal while up 3 points and facing a fourth and one deep inside the Bills territory late in the fourth quarter. The Bills proceeded to drive for a touchdown on their next drive, scoring on a touchdown pass with less than 20 seconds remaining in the game.
With Carolina opening the 2013 season 0–2, reports circled that the front office was already performing background checks on new potential head coach candidates. Rivera then changed his coaching philosophy and became a more aggressive coach. Facing a 4th and 1 from the two-yard line in the first quarter against the also 0–2 New York Giants in Week 3, Rivera went for the touchdown instead of a field goal.
A Mike Tolbert run found the end zone, and Carolina ended up winning the game 38–0. Over the next five games, the Panthers went for a first down five times in situations where conventional strategy called for a field goal attempt. They converted on four of them and ended each of those drives with touchdowns, all in wins. The lone failure was against the Cardinals when Brandon LaFell dropped a wide-open pass across the middle from Cam Newton that would have resulted in a sure touchdown as well.
This sudden aggression in his play-calling earned Rivera the nickname “Riverboat Ron”, after Riverboat Gamblers. He has expressed discontent with the nickname, however, explaining he is “a calculated risk taker” not a gambler. The Panthers went 11–1 to finish the season, including a then-franchise record eight-game winning streak, to win the NFC South title and make the playoffs for the first time since 2008. Rivera was honored as the 2013 AP NFL Coach of the Year.
In Rivera’s fourth season as the Panthers’ coach, Carolina recovered from a 3–8–1 start to win its final four regular-season games and clinch the NFC South championship for the second consecutive year. The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27–16 in the NFC Wild Card playoff game for the team’s first playoff win since 2005. The team’s momentum would continue in 2015.
The Panthers produced the best season in franchise history and one of the best regular seasons in NFL history. The Panthers started the season 14–0, the best regular-season start in franchise history. They ultimately finished 15–1 (their only loss was in week 16 in Atlanta, a 20–13 defeat by the Falcons), a franchise record for wins in a season, to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
They defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional Playoffs by a score of 31–24, and routed the Arizona Cardinals with a 49–15 victory in the NFC Championship Game, leading the Panthers to their second Super Bowl appearance. Rivera is the fifth man of color to lead a team to the Super Bowl. He was also recognized as the 2015 AP NFL Coach of the Year; the second such honor of his career.
On February 7, 2016, Rivera coached the Panthers in Super Bowl 50. The Panthers fell to the Denver Broncos by a score of 24–10. Despite reaching the playoffs three years in a row from 2013–2015, Rivera has been unable to produce back-to-back winning seasons as a head coach. Following a 22–19 playoff-clinching victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16 of the 2017 season, Rivera became the first head coach in Panthers history with four playoff appearances. On January 6, 2018, Rivera signed a two-year contract extension.