WASHINGTON – The Washington Redskins have hired Ron Rivera as coach in team owner Dan Snyder’s latest step to try to turn around the wayward NFL franchise.
They announced the move Wednesday, two days after Snyder fired president Bruce Allen after a decade of futility. Rivera, the former Carolina Panthers coach, quickly emerged as the Redskins’ top candidate and inherits a team that went 3-13 this season and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015.
“After several meetings with Coach Rivera, it was clear he is the right person to bring winning football back to Washington, D.C.,” Snyder said in a released statement. “He is widely respected around the league as a man of great integrity and has proven to be one of the finest coaches in the country.”
The 57-year-old Rivera is of Mexican and Puerto Rican descent and is the first minority to be named a full-time head coach in franchise history. Rivera is the seventh coach hired by Snyder in his two decades of ownership that have included just five playoff appearances.
Rivera spent the past nine seasons coaching the Panthers, taking them to the Super Bowl in the 2015 season, a loss to the Denver Broncos.
“He gets the best out of players,” said Redskins cornerback Josh Norman, who played for Rivera with Carolina. “And not just players, but men. He builds men and guys – and also builds character, and sets them up not just for football but sets (them up) in life. I think that’s the first and foremost thing you want to see in anybody, that they actually care about you instead of the game itself.”
Washington is the first NFL team that fired its coach this season to fill the position. Snyder zeroed in on Rivera, who flew to D.C. on Monday to meet with him about the job.
“While I love the storied history of the franchise, I am focused on the future and excited for the opportunity to win football games with this talented young team,” Rivera said in a released statement.
Rivera replaces interim coach Bill Callahan, a favorite of Allen, who was fired after the Redskins went 62-97-1 during his 10 years with the organization.
Snyder and Allen fired Jay Gruden in October after a 0-5 start to Gruden’s sixth season. Rivera was fired by the Panthers in December after starting the season 5-7.
Carolina made the playoffs four times during Rivera’s tenure, including a 15-1 regular season in 2015.
“Those Panther teams were tough and physical,” said Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, the team’s longest-tenured player. “Obviously they made the Super Bowl that one year. We played against them that year, and they really were a damn good team that year. He’s always had a physical, tough bunch. I know that.”
Rivera previously was a defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and the San Diego Chargers. He should boost a Redskins defense that underachieved and finished 27th out of 32 NFL teams during the recently completed regular season.
“Just not consistent enough is the big word of the year,” Redskins defensive lineman Jonathan Allen said. “We have a young group, young defense, and I mean (the) only place from here is up, honestly.”
Rivera could bring in Steve Wilks as defensive coordinator after time together in Carolina. Wilks spent the 2018 season as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals and most recently was defensive coordinator of the Cleveland Browns under Freddie Kitchens, who was fired Sunday.
Norman, who had his only All-Pro season under Wilks, called him “the best guy for the job.”
Rivera goes from coaching quarterback Cam Newton with Carolina to Dwayne Haskins with Washington. Haskins, the quarterback the Redskins selected 15th overall who goes into 2020 as the starter, met Rivera during the pre-draft process.
“He’s a good dude,” Haskins said. “I heard a lot of good things about him. We’ll see what happens.”