Ron Rivera Wants to Keep Coaching in NFL After Commanders Firing; Open to DC Role | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors

The Washington Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera after the 2023 season, but he doesn't want to be done coaching in the NFL.

Even if it means returning to a defensive coordinator role.

"Sometimes you do have to take a step back," Rivera said while revealing he would be open to such a role, per John Keim of ESPN.

"You take a step back you learn and grow from it. It's like I told other players, if you look at this year as a lost year, you're [hurting] yourself. You should look at it as a year to learn and understand why things happen. This was probably the greatest learning experience I've had in a while this year. I mean, a lot of things came to light at certain times this past season that I think going forward will really help me."

It seems like he won't have to wait for long.

"I have several opportunities right now," Rivera said. "I just want to make sure it's the right one."

While it has been some time since he was a defensive coordinator, it is a role he is familiar with from his past. He was the DC for the Chicago Bears from 2004 through 2006 and the San Diego Chargers from 2008 through 2010.

He helped lead the 2006 Bears to the Super Bowl behind a dominant defense that carried the team for extended stretches.

Rivera has been a head coach since, first with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 until he was fired during the 2019 season and then with Washington for the next four years. He led the Panthers to the playoffs four times, including when they reached the Super Bowl in the 2015 campaign.

His Washington teams made the playoffs once in his first year and lost in the Wild Card Round.

While the Commanders disappointed and went just 4-13 this past season, he at least experienced what it is like to be a defensive coordinator again when he took over play-calling duties for the last five games after the team fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

"I enjoyed the heck of it," Rivera said. "I got away from it for 3½ seasons and really felt like I was more of a manager."

Perhaps that experience will help him land his next job in a different role than the one he was in the past 13 seasons.