Who is Ron Rivera?
Ronald Eugene Rivera nicknamed Riverboat Ron is a popular American professional football head coach. Presently, he is the head coach for the Washington Football Team of the National Football League (NFL).
Before becoming a coach, Ron studied at the University of California, Berkeley in the early 1980s, where he played college football for the Golden Bears and was known as an All-American linebacker. After graduating, he was drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He played for the team for his entire nine-year professional career, which include a part of the 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX.
Ron’s coaching profession started in 1997 when he worked as a quality control coach for the Bears. For two years he joined the Philadelphia Eagles as a linebackers coach prior to reuniting with the Bears as their defensive coordinator in 2004. In his time there, the Bears made an appearance in Super Bowl XLI. He then joined the San Diego Chargers in 2007, as a linebackers coach for one year and then worked as their defensive coordinator for three seasons.
Rivera became the head coach for the Carolina Panthers in 2011. In 2013 and 2015, he was referred to as the NFL Coach of the Year and led the Panthers to an appearance in Super Bowl 50. However, Ron was fired midway through the 2019 season in spite of being the Panthers’ all-time leader in coaching wins. This was because the new ownership wanted to change.
Rivera then became the head coach of the Washington Football Team in 2020. Ron was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma the same year, however, he underwent treatment and became cancer-free in early 2021. He is the only coach in NFL history to have led two teams with a losing record to the playoffs, with Carolina in 2014 and Washington in 2020.
How old is Ron Rivera?
Rivera is 61 years old as of 2023 having been born on January 7, 1962, in Fort Ord, California, U.S. He shares his birthday with famous people including Weston Koury, Blue Ivy Carter, Sofia Wylie, Jeremy Renner, Nicolas Cage, Ricky Schroder, Katie Couric, Kenny Loggins, Erin Gray, David Caruso, among others.
Ron Rivera Family
Who are Ron Rivera’s parents?
Ronald Eugene Rivera was born in Fort Ord, California to Eugenio Rivera and Dolores. His father was a Puerto Rican commissioned officer in the US Army stationed in California. In California, he met his future wife, who is of Mexican ancestry. Ronald is of Puerto Rican-American-Mexican ancestry, who grew up in numerous places due to his father’s military service. They finally settled in Marina, California.
Does Ron Rivera have siblings?
Rivera was born into a family of four children all being boys. He has three brothers, namely Steven Rivera, Michael Rivera, and John Rivera.
Ron Rivera Education
Rivera was educated on military bases in Germany, Washington, D.C., Panama, and Maryland. After settling in Marina, Ronald joined Seaside High School where he played football before graduating in 1980. From 1980 to 1983, he attended the University of California, Berkeley, where he also played football.
Ron Rivera Interest
Rivera’s interest in football began in high school where he played for the school team. Later he joined college and went on to play football, for the Golden Bears. He led the team in tackles as a linebacker for three years and won several awards and honors for his performance. Rivera was named a consensus All-American, Pac-10 Football Defensive Player of the Year, the Pop Warner Trophy, and was named MVP of the East-West Shrine Game.
He also loved baseball and idolized Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente, while growing up. Rivera is of the Catholic faith.
Ron Rivera Wife
Rivera is married to Stephanie Tamayo from 1984 to date. The two met at Cal in August 1983. Stephanie is a Filipino American, who was a point guard for the Golden Bears women’s basketball team in the early 1980s. She then served as a coach for basketball and mostly as an assistant for the Washington Mystics of the WNBA in 2000.
Ron Rivera Kids
Rivera and Stephanie have two children together from their happy marriage. They have two sons, Christopher and Courtney. In the early 2010s, Courtney played for the UCLA Bruins softball team. He has also served as a social media producer under his father in Carolina and Washington.
Ron Rivera Height
All-American football coach and former player, Ron have an incredibly well-built, muscular, and athletic body. He has an impressive height of 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) and a moderate weight of 107 kg (235 lbs).
Ron Rivera Net Worth
American football head coach and former player, Rivera is the head coach for the Washington Football Team. He has a big reputation in coaching from 1997 to the present and is one of the highly respected coaches throughout his career. Ron receives an annual salary of $7 million and has earned an accumulative net worth of $10 million as of 2021.
Ron Rivera Playing Career
Cal Golden Bears (NCAA)
Ron received a football scholarship at the University of California, Berkeley. There he led the Golden Bears in tackles as a linebacker in his three years. In 1983, in his last season, he received several awards and honors for his performance such as being named a consensus All-American, Pac-10 Football Defensive Player of the Year together with Arizona linebacker Ricky Hunley. He also received the Pop Warner Trophy and was named MVP of the East-West Shrine Game.
Ron finished his career as the school’s all-time leader at the time in sacks with 22 and tackles with 336. Rivera additionally held the school’s single-season record once for sacks with 13 and tackles for loss with 26.5.
Chicago Bears (NFL)
Ron was picked in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft by the Bears, playing for the team as a rotational linebacker and special teamer. He became the first American of Puerto Rican ancestry to win a Super Bowl in 1985, as the Bears beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XX. In 1988, Rivera was named the team’s Man of the Year, and their Ed Block Courage Award recipient the next year. He played for the team for nine seasons prior to retiring after the 1992 season. Ron had played in 137 games with 62 starts, 393 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles, 4 fumbles recoveries, and 9 interceptions.
Coaching career
Ron went on to serve for WGN-TV and SportsChannel Chicago in 1993, as a television analyst covering the Bears and college football. He joined the Bears as a defensive quality control coach in 1997.
Philadelphia Eagles
Ron was named linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, under newly hired head coach Andy Reid. In his time, the Eagles went on to the NFC championship for three consecutive seasons. He is also hailed for training linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into a two-time All-Pro.
Chicago Bears
On January 23, 2004, Ron was named defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears. The Bears defense was rated second in the league by total yardage in 2005, with the team winning the NFC North division with a record of 11-5. This was before they were defeated by the Carolina Panthers in the divisional round of the playoffs. He was then named Assistant Coach of the Years by the Pro Football Writers Association for his efforts that year.
The Bears got the league’s third-ranked defense in terms of points allowed in 2006, which assisted them to proceed to the Super Bowl XLI. However, the Bears lost to the Indianapolis Colts 29-17, their success won Ron’s recognition among franchises looking for new head coaches. It was revealed that his contract with the Bears would not be extended because of failed negotiations in February 2007. He also interviewed for various vacant head coaching positions around the league at the same time, such as the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys.
San Diego Chargers
In February 2007, San Diego Chargers hired Ron to become their inside linebackers coach. He was promoted to defensive coordinator after the team fired Ted Cottrell in October 2008.
Carolina Panthers
2011 to 2014
The Panthers hired Rivera as the fourth head coach on January 11, 2011. Ron became the third Latino in NFL history to become a head coach after Tom Fears and Tom Flores. The team completed the season with 11-1, which included a then-franchise record eight-game winning streak, to win the NFC South division and make the playoffs for the first time from 2008. He was honored as the 2013 AP NFL Coach of the Year for his efforts. In the early section of the 2013 season, he was nicknamed ”Riverboat Ron” by fans and the media after taking various risky decisions.
The team recovered from a 3-8-1 start to win its final four regular-season games in 2014. They also secured the NFC South for the second consecutive year. The team defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-16 in the NFC Wild Card playoff game for the team’s first playoff win since 2005. This was prior to losing to the final NFC champion Seattle Seahawks the next week.
2015 to 2017
The panthers’ strength went on in 2015, as the team produced their best season in franchise history. This was by completing 15-1, with one loss to the Falcons in Week 16. He was recognized as the 2015 AP NFL Coach of the Year, his second such honor. The Panthers attained the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, defeating the Seahawks in the divisional round. They also defeated the Cardinals in the NFC Championship Game, proceeding to Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos. They lost to the Broncos in the Super Bowl 24-10 in a game with both sides’ defense dominating.
In 2016, the Panthers struggled to finish 6-10 and out of the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. In 2017, they improved and finished with an 11-5 record proceeding to the playoffs and losing in their first game. Ron then signed a two-year contract extension in January 2018 worth US$15.5 million.
2018 to 2019
In the 2018 season, the team finished 7-9, missing out on the playoffs. On December 3, 2019, Ron was fired after a 5-7 start to the 2019 season after nine seasons as head coach. The owner, David Tepper, who purchased the team in 2018 made the change to move on from him wanting to build his own approach for the team. Ron finished his profession with the Panthers with four playoffs appearances and a total record of 79-67-1, both of which ranked first all-time in team history.
Washington Football Team
The Washington Football Team hired Rivera to be the 30th head coach on January 1, 2020, when they were known as the Redskins. He hired various former assistant coaches that served under him with the Panthers. They included assigning Scott Turner, the son of Norv Turner, as offensive coordinator and former Jacksonville Jaguars and Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio as defensive coordinator.
Ron was also given considerable power over roster personnel, acting as the team’s de facto general manager till the team hired Martin Mayhew for the position in 2021. There were various challenges in his first season with the team such as implementing a new culture, helping the process of changing the team’s name. As well as dealing with a vastly altered season because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment for it within the season.
Following on-field struggles and off-field controversies throughout the year, Ron released quarterback Dwayne Haskins in December. However, he led the Washington team to an NFC East title with a record of 7-9, reflecting his 2014 Panthers team that also won the division with a losing record.
