Known in Chicago as “Chico,” it has been been 15 years since Ron Rivera roamed the Bears sidelines as defensive coordinator. Now in his third season as head coach of the Washington Commanders, and better known as “Riverboat Ron,” Rivera is trying to take a long-suffering franchise to the next step — but after a 1-4 start, his tenure in the nation’s capital could be in jeopardy. Rivera and his Commanders return to Soldier Field Thursday night to face the Bears.
Rivera and his team play for owner Daniel Snyder, a controversial figure who is being investigated for sexual harassment by former employees. In this week’s “Tell Me A Story I Don’t Know” podcast with George Ofman, Rivera addresses the situation: “Get it. Some of these things happened. What I try to get people to understand is this was before me. What we’re trying to do is focus on where we are and where we’re headed as a football team.”
As Rivera steers the Commanders he is doing so cancer free. It was not long after he was hired in Washington the cancer was discovered. “I was mad! I felt a lump in my neck and we were just about to start training camp. We went into overdrive to do all that stuff and do it the right way and we were able to beat it. I had my second annual (last winter) and everything came up negative.”
Long before settling in the nation’s capital, Rivera was part of one of the greatest one-season teams in NFL history, the 1985 Bears who went on to win their only Super Bowl. It was Buddy Ryan, then the Bears defensive coordinator, who planted the nickname “Chico” on Rivera. Rivera on Ryan: “He was teaching and grilling me on what to expect on defense and whether or not I was paying attention and learning. Little did he know it would be my formal education as I was learning to become a defensive coordinator.” Rivera worked for the Philadelphia Eagles before landing back in Chicago as Lovie Smith’s defensive coordinator, a return that lasted only three years before he was named head coach of the Carolina Panthers — a job which saw him make a Super Bowl and twice win coach of the year.
