Ron Rivera meeting with Washington Redskins on Monday
By Allison Cary
Former Carolina Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera is meeting with the Washington Redskins on Monday to discuss their head coach vacancy.
The regular season is officially over for the Washington Redskins and the search for the team’s next head coach has begun.
In the days leading up to the regular season finale, Ron Rivera emerged as a leading candidate for the Washington vacancy. The Redskins have had an opening for some time after firing Jay Gruden five games into the campaign. Bill Callahan finished out the year as the interim coach, going 3-8.
On Sunday evening, Rivera’s agent announced that he will be meeting with the team on Monday. NFL Network’s Michael Silver said a source familiar with the organization believes Rivera is the Redskins top choice.
Rivera was fired earlier this year after nine seasons with the Carolina Panthers. During his tenure, the Panthers won the NFC South three times and made four postseason appearances. In 2015, they reached Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos after going 15-1 in the regular season.
Other candidates rumored to be in consideration for the job at Washington include former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis and Ohio State legend Urban Meyer. Although, if Meyer joins the organization, it appears that he will more likely be considered for a front office role.
While it is clear that the problems in the Washington organization extend far beyond the head coach, Rivera would be a good first step at rebuilding the process. With other shake-ups at the top, including team president Bruce Allen being removed from football operations, Redskins fans might be starting to see a dim light at the end of a very, very dark tunnel.