fter the Eagles fired defensive coordinator Sean Desai on Sunday, January 21, fans and analysts waited anxiously for the first news of an interview.
They didn’t have to wait very long.
On Monday, January 22, ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler reported that “Former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is interviewing with the Eagles for their defensive coordinator position, per sources. The last time Rivera was a DC, his 2010 Chargers led the league in total defense.”
Former #Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is interviewing with the #Eagles for their defensive coordinator position, per sources.
The last time Rivera was a DC, his 2010 Chargers led the league in total defense. pic.twitter.com/oZCDKb6nTc
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) January 22, 2024
News of Rivera’s Interview Is Receiving Mixed Reviews Early On
Sports Radio 94 WIP’s hosts Joe Giglio and Hugh Douglas both spoke positively about Rivera coming in for an interview. Giglio said, “I think he’s ready now to transition back to coordinator, I’m with that.”
While Douglas said, “Yeah, I’d think he’d be a great one.”
The @WIPMiddayShow is in on Ron Rivera as the potential new Eagles’ DC. https://t.co/sMLeKLWHLK pic.twitter.com/HI29w6vsLJ
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) January 22, 2024
Fans on Twitter don’t seem so sure, though. One fan wrote, “Rivera is Turrible,” while another posted Ron Rivera’s name, an equal sign, and two thumbs down. These are just a taste, but there’s more where that came from.
Ex-Eagles running back Markus Thomas of Pro Fan Talk posted this in response to the news: “Ron Rivera – NO, Wink Martindale – YES, Mike Caldwell – YES, ‼️Schumann or Minter – I don’t want a coach that needs a learning curve on being an NFL coach. We have a limited window and it’s already half closed.”
Despite the Reactions, Rivera Has a Track Record of Coaching Consistently Great Defensive Teams
As a part of the chatter, Outside DiBirds, an Eagles fan account pointed out that “In Ron Rivera’s four seasons in Washington, the Commanders had the 7th overall scoring defense in 2022 and the 4th overall scoring defense in 2020. The last time the Eagles were top seven in scoring defense was 2017. Before that? 2008.”
According to Pro Football Reference, it’s true. The Commanders were good defensively during those years. Rivera’s Commanders team in 2020 was 4th in total points allowed and 2nd in points allowed.
He ranked in the bottom third in 2021, but went right back to being elite in 2022, ranking 7th in points and 4th in yards.
Rivera’s Career Has Been a Bit of a Roller Coaster Ride
Rivera has had some big ups and downs as head coach, though. In the 13 years he was a head coach, he had an objectively good defense relative to the average team in the NFL about half the time. Pro Football Reference has a simple rating system that aggregates the most important defensive statistics to measure this precisely.
Rivera, of course, took the Panthers to the Super Bowl and even won Coach of the Year in 2014. With some of the critique of head coach Nick Sirianni being too much of a “buddy” to the players or being immature for his position, it isn’t hard to see how Rivera’s years in the NFL could add some buoyancy to this Eagles locker room.
But which Rivera would the Eagles be getting – the Rivera that crashed and burned in Washington or the Rivera that builds elite defenses even good enough to get the likes of Rex Grossman to a Super Bowl? Yes.
Somehow the Bears, with a Rivera top-five defense, went 13-3 and lost to Peyton Manning in the Super Bowl. The Eagles could certainly use that kind of magic in 2024.
