Ron Rivera Up for HC Job with Franchise Panthers Have Historically Dominated

It's been a couple of years since Ron Rivera manned the sideline of an NFL team, but that chapter of his life might not be over just yet. According to Dianna Russini of The Athletic, Rivera was recently interviewed by the Arizona Cardinals for the head coaching vacancy.

After taking a year away from the game and doing a little bit of TV, Rivera returned to his alma mater, Cal, to become the team's first-ever General Manager. It didn't take him long to make his first big move as Rivera fired ninth-year head coach Justin Wilcox following a 6-5 start to the 2025 season. He directed the head coaching search and ultimately landed on Tosh Lupoi, hiring him away from his defensive coordinator role at Oregon.

Rivera was dismissed from his post in Carolina after beginning the 2019 season with a 5-7 record. That move was just the tip of the iceberg. The Panthers underwent a huge rebuild with Greg Olsen going to Seattle, Luke Kuechly retiring, and Cam Newton eventually being released the next spring. Tepper wanted to make his mark and went with the out-of-the-box hire of Matt Rhule, which didn't last long. His successor, Frank Reich, had an even shorter tenure, lasting just eleven games.

On the front office side of things, the team moved on from Marty Hurney to bring in Scott Fitterer, who would eventually be replaced by Dan Morgan, who worked alongside him.

Panthers fans have always felt a certain kind of way about how that era of the franchise came to a close, and rightfully so. Ron Rivera is the winningest coach in franchise history and came oh so close to delivering the Carolinas their first-ever Lombardi Trophy. Rivera brought stability, held players accountable, and had developed a winning culture in that locker room. The moment he was let go, it crumbled, and it took several years to get the organization back on track, which Dave Canales has appeared to do with his work over the past two seasons.

If Rivera does end up landing the job in Arizona, he won't be all that eager to meet up with the Panthers. History is on the side of the Cardiac Cats, who have won 15 of the 21 meetings.

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