Cal GM Ron Rivera Discusses His Interview With the Arizona Cardinals

Cal general manager Ron Rivera caught a lot of Golden Bears football fans off guard when it was reported that he interviewed for the head coaching vacancy with the Arizona Cardinals.

This week, in the days leading up to the Super Bowl in nearby Santa Clara, he talked to Jim Rome about that interview, which did not lead to him getting the Arizona job. Ultimately Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur was named the Cardinal head coach, so Rivera remains the Golden Bears' general manager.

Whether the 64-year-old Rivera will seek other head coaching jobs in the NFL remains to be seen, but as a two-time NFL coach of the year his resume could make him a candidate. In discussing the interview it seems as though Rivera wanted to know where he stood in the NFL job market., and it seems he might listen to other NFL opportunities.

Here is what Rivera said this week about his interview with the Cadinals:

"First of all the process was very thorough. I thought: they did a very good job. I was one of those guys they wanted to take a look at and get a little insight as to how things look. And I thought it was very well done. I thought the questioning, the direction, the conversations, what they were looking for, how they wanted to advance and go forward, I thought was all positive, I really did.

"As far as getting back into it, this was an opportunity to talk and see where I am. And I actually had a good time, I felt good about it, and the potential. But at the end of the day, they chose and went the direction they went, which is fine, because I'm at the University of California. We are working through . . . We just got done with the portal ; we just got done with signing day. A lot of good things going on there.

"So it's been exciting, but it's been a lot of fun, also from my perspective to watch what's going on in the NFL lately."

"This was an opportunity to talk and see where I am... at the end of the day, they chose and went direction they went, which is fine because I'm at the University of California."

Ron Rivera on his interview with the Arizona Cardinals and his appetite to return to the NFL. pic.twitter.com/Tk9XlZr7SW
— Jim Rome (@jimrome) February 5, 2026

In retrospect it's probably not a huge surprise that Rivera might want to get back in the NFL. Afterall as an NFL head coach he'd likely make five or six times the salary he makes as Cal's GM. And the NFL is the biggest stage in sports, as the publicity about the upcoming Super Bowl indicates.

We should not forget that Rivera was a head coach in the 2016 Super Bowl, when his Carolina Panthers lost to the Denver Broncos.

Rivera's work as Cal's general manager has been lauded by most observers, and the Bears would have a difficult time finding someone as qualified for the job as Rivera, whose resume to be a college general manager is superior to virtually any college football general manager in the country.

Rivera was the one who fired Jstin Wilcox after the loss to Stanford, and he was the one who hired Tosh Lupoi as the new Cal head coach.

Hired last March, Rivera has not completed his first full year as the Bears' general manager. And it remains to be seen how long he will continue in that role.