Redskins owner Daniel Snyder needs to find the right people at general manager and head coach to get their team back on track.
According to a report from J.P. Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera is a primary candidate for the Washington Redskins’ job.
The 57-year-old Rivera is a minority candidate, so a team can hire him now without having to satisfy the Rooney Rule elsewhere in the process.
But Rivera, who led Carolina to three NFC South titles and a Super Bowl appearance in nine seasons, is expected to have options with multiple teams. The Panthers fired Rivera in December after a four-game losing streak. He went 76-63-1 during his time in Carolina.
After his firing, Rivera said he absolutely planned to continue coaching.
“My intent is to coach again. I love coaching,” Rivera said, shortly after losing his job with the Panthers. “Not just coaching because it’s about winning football games, but coaching because you have an opportunity to impact young men and people. And that’s what I want to do.”
While neither the Redskins nor Rivera confirmed if he has formally interviewed with Washington, which fired head coach Jay Gruden in October after an 0-5 start, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder needs to find the right people at general manager and head coach to get their team back on track.
While there could be a few more coaches out of a job in the next 72 hours, the pool of in-demand coaches is smaller than in past years with as few as four or five openings by next week. That could help former successful head coaches such as Rivera, Marvin Lewis and former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy move to the top of teams’ wish lists.
