January 22, 2024
The Philadelphia Eagles will be interviewing former Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera for their vacant defensive coordinator position, according to a report from Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.
Former #Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is interviewing with the #Eagles for their defensive coordinator position, per sources.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 22, 2024
The last time Rivera was a DC, his 2010 Chargers led the league in total defense. pic.twitter.com/oZCDKb6nTc
Rivera was a linebacker for the Chicago Bears from 1984 to 1992, and he has been coaching in the NFL since 1997:
• Chicago Bears (1997–1998): Defensive quality control coach
• Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2003): Linebackers coach
• Chicago Bears (2004–2006): Defensive coordinator
• San Diego Chargers (2007): Linebackers coach
• San Diego Chargers (2008–2010): Defensive coordinator
• Carolina Panthers (2011–2019): Head coach
• Washington Commanders (2020–2023): Head coach
Rivera has 13 NFL seasons under his belt as a head coach. He has a career record of 102-103-2. He was 76-63-1 with the Panthers, which included a Super Bowl appearance in 2015, and 26-40-1 with the Commanders. He has six additional years as a defensive coordinator with the Bears and Chargers. As you can see above, he was also a part of the Eagles' staff during the Andy Reid years as a linebackers coach.
The following is a snapshot of his team's defensive rankings as a coordinator:
| Team | Points | Yards | Takeaways |
| 2004 Bears | 13 | 21 | 16 |
| 2005 Bears | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| 2006 Bears | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2008 Chargers | 15 | 25 | 17 |
| 2009 Chargers | 11 | 16 | 19 |
| 2010 Chargers | 10 | 1 | 23 |
The 2006 Bears went to the Super Bowl, and lost to the Colts. The 2005 Bears had the No. 1 ranked defense in points allowed, and the 2010 Chargers had the No. 1 defense in yards allowed.
Rivera is thought of as a good person, and one of the selling points for him as a leader of the Commanders was that he would help strengthen the team's disastrous culture, which was basically an impossible task while Dan Snyder still owned the team. He probably should have been let go after the 2022 season, but he survived firings likely because of the transfer of ownership from Snyder to Josh Harris. Once the Commanders' 4-13 season ended, moving on from Rivera was an obvious choice.
Rivera doubled at times as the team's chief personnel decision maker, and he was never able field a quality roster, most notably failing to find a capable franchise quarterback. He also struggled with game management decisions, and often failed to take appropriate risks, despite being known to some as "Riverboat Ron." It could also be argued that some of his coaching staff hirings were questionable, most notably tabbing numbskull Jack Del Rio to run his defense.
However, a move back to his roots as a defensive coach — minus the added responsibilities of personnel decisions, game management, and hiring a coaching staff — could be an invigorating move for Rivera. From the Eagles' perspective, Rivera could provide competent leadership on the defensive side of the ball, which is something they lacked in 2023.
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