The Arizona Cardinals may have officially hit the desperation phase of trying to find their next head coach.
According to multiple sources former Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera completed an interview with the Cardinals, who fired Jonathan Gannon after a 3-14 season in 2025.
Rivera hasn’t coached since 2023, when he led the Commanders to a 3-14 record.
“This flew under the radar!” The Athletic’s Diana Russini wrote on X on Tuesday. “The Arizona Cardinals interviewed former Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera in person for their head coaching vacancy, per source. Rivera currently serves as the general manager for Cal football.”
There wasn’t much gray area when it came to public reaction to Rivera possibly taking the Arizona job.
“Hope he gets the job,” Commanders reporter Jordan Asri wrote on X. “That’s one less team in the NFC to worry about.”
Rivera Last Scored HC interview With Jets
Rivera last interviewed for a head coaching job in December 2024, when he met with the New York Jets about the opening that eventually went to Aaron Glenn.
“The #Jets are scheduled to interview Ron Rivera for their head coaching job this week, per sources,” NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero wrote on his official X account. “In 13 seasons with Carolina and Washington, Rivera made the playoffs five times, including an appearance in Super Bowl 50. The first of many HC interviews to come in NYJ’s search.”
Rivera went 26-40-1 in 4 seasons as Washington’s head coach, including leading the team to a postseason berth in 2020, where they lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Wild Card Round.
Rivera’s Rocky Road With Commanders
While there’s no reason to make excuses for Rivera’s failure in Washington, it’s worth pointing out he spent almost a decade as one of the NFL’s elite head coaches with the Carolina Panthers from 2011 to 2019 and was one of the league’s best defensive assistants and defensive coordinators for a decade before that.
While he was in Carolina, Rivera led the Panthers to the playoffs 4 times and was named NFL Coach of the Year twice, in 2013 and again in 2015 after the Panthers went 15-1 during the regular season and lost to the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
Rivera went 76-63-1 in Carolina and was fired after a 5-7 start in 2019.
Rivera, 63 years old, has a 102-103-2 overall record in 13 seasons a a head coach. He also won a Super Bowl as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears in 1985.
Returned to Alma Mater as GM in 2025
Rivera took to his official X account almost 1 year ago that he was headed back to his alma mater, Cal, to be the team’s general manager.
He also took time to give a hat tip to former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, who recently became the head coach at the University of North Carolina.
“Coach Belichick has made going back to school, cool,” Rivera wrote on X. “Stay tuned I am coming home.”
Cal went 7-6 in 2025 and Rivera fired head coach Justin Wilcox after a loss to Stanford and hired Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi as its next head coach.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Former Commanders Head Coach Lands Surprise Interview With 3-14 Franchise appeared first on Heavy Sports.