Ron Rivera

Carolina Panthers
Head Coach
Personal information
Date of birth: (1962-01-07) January 7, 1962 (age 50)
Place of birth: Fort Ord, California
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Weight: 235 lb (107 kg)
Career information
College: California
NFL Draft: 1984 / Round: 2 / Pick: 44
Debuted in 1984 for the Chicago Bears
Last played in 1992 for the Chicago Bears
Made coaching debut in 1997 for the Chicago Bears
Career history
As player:
Chicago Bears (1984–1992)
As coach:
Chicago Bears (1997–1998) (Defensive Quality Control Coach) Philadelphia Eagles (1999–2003) (Linebackers Coach) Chicago Bears (2004–2006) (Defensive Coordinator) San Diego Chargers (2007) (Linebackers Coach) San Diego Chargers (2008–2010) (Defensive Coordinator) Carolina Panthers (2011–present) (Head Coach)
Career highlights and awards
Super Bowl XX winner
Career NFL statistics as of 1992
Sacks 7.5 Interceptions 9 Stats at NFL.com

Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962) is an American football coach and former player, and is currently the head coach of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL).^[1] Rivera played college football for the University of California, and was recognized as an All-American linebacker. He was selected in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the 1985 Chicago Bears, who won Super Bowl XX. As a coach, Rivera was the defensive coordinator for the 2006 Chicago Bears, who won the National Football Conference championship and competed in Super Bowl XLI.

Early years[link]

Rivera was born in Fort Ord, California. His father was a Puerto Rican commissioned officer in the United States Army stationed in California. There he met his future wife, Rivera's mother of Mexican heritage. As a result of his father's military service, Rivera had to travel and was educated in military bases in Germany, Panama, Washington, D.C., and Maryland. Finally his family moved to central California. There, he attended Seaside High School, where he first started playing football.

Playing career[link]

College career[link]

Rivera was granted a college scholarship and played for the Golden Bears at the University of California, Berkeley. He was an All-American linebacker who once held his school's all-time sack and career tackles records. Rivera still holds the Cal record for most tackles for loss in a season, which he set in 1983.

Pro career[link]

In the 1984 NFL Draft, Rivera was selected in the second round by the Chicago Bears, becoming the first Puerto Rican/Mexican to play in the NFL. During the 1985 season, Rivera played in Super Bowl XX, where the Bears beat the New England Patriots, 46-10. He thus became the first Puerto Rican to play on a Super Bowl Championship Team. Rivera played for the Bears for a total of nine seasons (1984–1992).

Coaching career[link]

In 1993, Rivera went to work for WGN-TV and SportsChannel Chicago as a TV analyst covering the Bears and college football. In 1996, he became a defense quality control coach for the Bears.

Philadelphia Eagles[link]

In 1999, Rivera was named linebackers coach for the Philadelphia Eagles. During his tenure the Eagles advanced to the NFC Championship for three consecutive seasons. He is credited with developing linebacker Jeremiah Trotter into a two-time Pro Bowl performer.

Back in Chicago[link]

On January 23, 2004, Rivera was named the Chicago Bears Defensive Coordinator. In 2005, the Chicago Bears defense was rated second-best in the NFL.^[2] The Bears qualified for the NFC playoffs losing in the 2nd Round to the Carolina Panthers 29-21. The 2005 performance of the Chicago Bears earned him consideration for Head Coach assignments from several NFL teams.

In 2006, the Bears’ defensive efforts failed to match the success of their 2005 season. Nevertheless, the team was still a notable presence in league, finishing with the league’s third ranked and conference’s top-ranked points allowed category.^[2] The defense’s success earned Rivera recognition among franchises looking for new head coaches. The Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers interviewed him in January 2007. He was a candidate for the vacant Dallas Cowboys head coaching position, a job that ultimately went to San Diego Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips. Rivera was named as a potential candidate to replace the fired Marty Schottenheimer in San Diego, but the job was filled by Norv Turner, the brother of fellow offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, Rivera's offensive counterpart in Chicago.^[3][4][5] After the announcement, ESPN reported that the Bears were considering letting Rivera go. This came after several other teams interviewed him, and the negotiations between his representatives and the Bears were making little progress.^[6] On February 19, 2007, it was announced that Ron Rivera's contract with the Bears would not be renewed.^[7]

San Diego Chargers[link]

The San Diego Chargers hired Rivera as team's inside linebackers coach after he left the Bears.^[8] On October 28, 2008, Rivera was promoted to defensive coordinator with the Chargers after the team released former defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell.^[9] Rivera had used the 4-3 defense for most of his coaching career, but adopted a 3-4 scheme with the Chargers.

Carolina Panthers[link]

On January 11, 2011, Rivera was named the fourth head coach of the Carolina Panthers. He is the third Latino to be an NFL head coach, the first being New Orleans Saints coach Tom Fears and former Oakland Raiders and Seattle Seahawks coach Tom Flores the second. At his press conference, Rivera announced the Panthers would use a 4-3.^[1]

Head Coaching Record[link]

Personal life[link]

Rivera is married and has two children, Christopher and Courtney with his wife Stephanie, a former assistant coach for the WNBA's Washington Mystics. In 2003 Rivera was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the California Sports Hall of Fame.

See also[link]

Puerto Rico portal

• List of famous Puerto Ricans

References[link]

External links[link]

• Carolina Panthers bio

Rivera
—  Capital city  —
Obelisk of the Plaza Internacional, at the "Frontera de la Paz", cities of Rivera (Uruguay) and Santana do Livramento (Brasil).
Rivera Location in Uruguay
Coordinates: 30°54′9″S 55°33′2″W / 30.9025°S 55.55056°W / -30.9025; -55.55056Coordinates: 30°54′9″S 55°33′2″W / 30.9025°S 55.55056°W / -30.9025; -55.55056
Country	Uruguay
Department	Rivera Department
Population (2004)
• Total	64,426
• Demonym	riverense
Time zone	UTC -3
Postal code	40000
Area code(s)	+598 462

Rivera is the capital of Rivera Department of Uruguay. It is located at the north end of Route 5, on the border with Brazil. The Brazilian city of Santana do Livramento is right across the border, only a street away of it. Together they form an international city of around 200,000 inhabitants.

History[link]

On 7 May 1862 the town Pueblo de Ceballos was created in honour of the Spanish viceroy Pedro de Cevallos,. In July 1867 it took on the official name Rivera and was recognized as a city. The Brazilian town Santana do Livramento already existed just across the border.

In 1943, the Plaza Internacional Rivera-Livramento (see photo) was built to celebrate the Fifth Conference of the Commission Mixta for Mixed Limits and as a hope for the future integration of the two towns, claimed to be the only international square in the world. From 1851 to this day, inhabitants of both communities are free to move in both sides. Customs and checkpoints are located outside the cities.^[1] Today, duty free shops are one of the main economic resources of Rivera.^[2]

Population[link]

In 2004, Rivera had a population of 64,426^[3]

Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística de Uruguay^[4] La población riverense se compondría de españoles, italianos, portugueses y principalmente de uruguayos y brasileños que provenían de otros sectores del país.

Consular representation[link]

Brazil keeps an official resident of someone who looks after their events in a different country in Rivera.^{[citation needed]}

Notable local person[link]

• Aparicio Méndez, from Rivera, was President of Uruguay from 1976 to 1981. He was never elected democratically and was chosen by the Military dictatorship.

Transportation[link]

There are regular bus services to Montevideo. A rail service to Tacuarembó has been run intermittently. There is an airport which receives light aircraft and an irregular service by a Brazilian airline to Porto Alegre.

Rivera is served by Pres. Gral. Óscar D. Gestido International Airport.

Sports[link]

Inside the city of Rivera, we can find the multi used stadium Estadio Atilio Paiva Olivera which holds 28,000 people. It was used in the 1995 Copa America.

In Rivera we can find the Skatepark of Rivera, in Presidente Viera Street

See also[link]

• Rivera Department
• List of diplomatic missions in Uruguay#Consulate in Rivera

References[link]

External links[link]

• INE map of Rivera

v t e Rivera Department of Uruguay Capital: Rivera Towns and villages La Pedrera Lagunón Lapuente Mandubí Masoller Minas de Corrales Paso Hospital Rivera Santa Teresa Tranqueras Vichadero Sights