Eagles Interviewing Ron Rivera For Potential Return to Philly

Ron Rivera, come on down, you are the first candidate to secure a job interview to be the Philadelphia Eagles’ next defensive coordinator.

There are plenty of names swirling around as candidates for the job, including Georiga DC Glenn Schumann, who makes some sense, along with former defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, previously with the New York Giants, and Ryan Nielsen, of the Atlanta Falcons.

Right now, though, the Eagles’ search has landed on Rivera, who was recently fired after four seasons as the head coach of the Washington Commanders.

Once upon a time, Rivera worked for the Eagles. He was one of then-coach Andy Reid’s first hires, becoming Philly’s linebackers coach. After five seasons in that job, Rivera became the defensive coordinator for the Chicago Bears and his career was off and running.

Jalen Hurts and Washington coach Ron Rivera after the Commanders’ win in Week 10 of the 2022 season USA Today

He became the head coach of the Carolina Panthers. During his first two years with the Panthers, Rivera was known for his conservative decision-making, and he was 2-14 in decided by less than a touchdown.

After getting off to a 1-3 start in his third season, he began to make more aggressive decisions, and the Panthers ripped off eight wins in a row and won the NFC South to make the playoffs for the first time since 2008.

Along the way that season, which ended with him being named the Associated Press Coach of the Year, he earned the nickname Riverboat Ron.

The assumption has to be at this point that the Eagles will bring back Nick Sirianni as their head coach if a search for a defensive coordinator has begun.

On Sunday, the Eagles fired lame-duck DC Sean Desai and news broke that Matt Patricia, who took over defensive play-calling duties from Desai late in the season, will seek opportunities elsewhere.

With Sirianni likely to return now, the question is: would a young coach with aspirations of becoming a head coach want to hitch his star to Sirianni, who would begin next season already on the hot seat?

That’s why coaches like Rivera might make more sense, since he has already had two head-coaching stints and, at 62, could be content riding out the remainder of his career as a coordinator.