5 possible head coaching jobs for Ron Rivera in 2020

Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera clears his throat as he addresses the media during a press conference at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. Rivera was fired as coach on Tuesday. (David T. Foster III/Charlotte Observer/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) /

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4. Cleveland Browns

Barring winning out and getting to the playoffs (surely with some help), Freddie Kitchens will all but certainly be one-and-done as Browns head coach.

The Browns need help in two areas Kitchens has proven incapable of fostering or providing. The defense has been lackluster, and Rivera would reunite with defensive coordinator Steve Wilks in Cleveland. Prior to his own one-and-done seaspn as a head coach of the Arizona Cardinals in 2018, Wilks was an assistant under Rivera in Carolina from 2012-2017 (the last of those seasons as defensive coordinator). Perhaps the two can collaborate and get the most from a unit that appears to be capable of more.

Discipline has also been problem for the Browns this year, from disregard for the NFL’s uniform code and general penalty issues to Myles Garrett’s meltdown against the Steelers a few weeks ago. Kitchens clearly hasn’t set and enforced expectations on some important fronts, and it has shown often. Rivera would bring a resume with him Kitchens doesn’t have, and players would naturally heed his words.

In over 20 years back in the league, the Browns have never gotten a head coaching hire right. Rivera would change that narrative immediately.

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