Bears add franchise icon to list of HC candidates

The Bears are adding a franchise icon to their list of head coaching candidates. According to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports, the Bears will interview Ron Rivera this weekend for their head coaching job.

Rivera has had multiple stints with the organization, most famously between 1984 and 1992, when the linebacker helped anchor Chicago’s defense. He won a Super Bowl with the ’85 Bears and spent his entire nine-year playing career with the organization.

A few years after his retirement, Rivera got his first coaching gig in Chicago, where he served as a defensive quality control coach for two years. He then spent a half-decade in Philly as the Eagles’ linebackers coach before returning to the Bears as their defensive coordinator. Following his second season at the helm, Rivera earned PFWA’s Assistant Coach of the Year honors, and he helped guide an NFC Championship-winning defense in 2006.

The relationship between the two sides broke down following Rivera’s third season as DC. Due to failed negotiations, Rivera’s contract wasn’t extended, and he left to become the ILB coach in San Diego. He was quickly promoted to DC with the Chargers, and he parlayed that performance into the Panthers HC job.

Rivera saw some ups and downs during his time in Carolina. His hiring coincided with the addition of first-overall pick Cam Newton, and the duo eventually led the Panthers to four playoff appearances in five years (including a run to the Super Bowl in 2015). Rivera earned a pair of Coach of the Year honors during that run. A late-season collapse saw the Panthers miss the playoffs in 2018, and the team bottomed out with Newton out of the lineup in 2019. Midway through that latter campaign, Rivera was let go by the Panthers.

He quickly landed on his feet in Washington, as he was named head coach ahead of the 2020 season. The Commanders made the playoffs despite a 7-9 record during Rivera’s first season on the sideline, and they flirted with a .500 record for the next couple of years. After the Commanders went 4-13 during the 2023 campaign, Rivera was fired by the team.

The long-time coach was out of football for the 2024 season, although he clearly intended to return to coaching. It didn’t take long for him to reemerge during this year’s hiring cycle, as he’s already met with the Jets about their job.

Rivera now represents the 18th coach to be connected to Chicago’s job. Some of those targets, like Bill Belichick and Mike McCarthy, didn’t gain any traction, but the team has otherwise interviewed or requested interviews with 15 other candidates (excluding Rivera):