It didn't take long for former Panthers coach Ron Rivera to find a new job.
Rivera will be named the new head coach in Washington, barring any unexpected developments, The Observer has confirmed with a source familiar with the team's decision who isn't authorized to speak publicly about it. Rivera's imminent hiring was first reported by ESPN.
Washington fired former coach Jay Gruden midway through the 2019 season after an 0-5 start. Bill Callahan was the interim coach for the rest of the year and led Washington to a 3-13 record. One of Washington's wins included beating the Panthers 29-21 in Charlotte on Dec. 1. Rivera was fired two days later.
Rivera coached in Carolina for almost nine seasons, leading the team to one Super Bowl appearance and a 76-63-1 record. The Panthers made the playoffs in four of his nine seasons and won three NFC South titles. Panthers owner David Tepper fired him with four games left in the year and Carolina sitting at 5-7. The Panthers then lost their final four games under interim head coach Perry Fewell.
Washington hasn't made the playoffs since 2015. However, the franchise does have a lot of salary-cap space and boasts the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 draft. Rivera also will inherit a young quarterback in Dwayne Haskins, who was a first-round pick in 2018. Also Monday, Washington parted ways with longtime team president Bruce Allen.
In the meantime, the Panthers are embarking on their own coaching search after finishing 2019 with eight straight losses Sunday in a 42-10 defeat to New Orleans. ESPN has reported the team has already interviewed former Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy, and several current NFL offensive coordinators should be in play as well. Fewell will also be interviewed for the job.
Panthers players were clearing out their lockers Monday in preparation for the offseason. Upon hearing the news of Rivera's imminent hiring by Washington, they were lavish in their praise of their former coach.
Panthers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy said he would tell Washington players that "one of the best things that ever happened to your career is about to happen. He (Rivera) is one of the greatest men I've ever been around, one of the greatest coaches I've ever been around ... he's going to turn that place around. Guaranteed."
Panthers tight end Greg Olsen said: "I don't think it would be a surprise to anyone who's been around here that it wasn't going to take very long for another team to snatch Ron up." Olsen compared Washington's team now with the way the Panthers were in 2011 when Rivera was hired originally in Charlotte.
"Young quarterback, super talented," Olsen said of Haskins. "We'll see if that kid can be Cam (Newton). But he's got a young quarterback that they're looking to develop similar to how we were in 2011, have some pieces in place, need to get a little structure, need to get a little organization _ and Ron's the guy for that type of job."
Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen said Rivera will do a "fantastic job."
"Obviously the situation here was tough with him," Allen said, referring to Rivera's firing. "A lot of people miss him. A lot. We all knew he was going to land on his feet right away. I'm extremely happy for him."
Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson said Washington was getting "a better disciplinarian for a team that probably lacked discipline, I guess. They're getting a great coach, a guy that I truly miss."
The wild card, as far as the Washington head-coaching job goes, has long been owner Dan Snyder, who has cycled through nine head coaches since he bought the team in 1999 _ with big names like Joe Gibbs, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Mike Shanahan and former Panthers offensive coordinator Norv Turner among them. Despite numerous splashy hires in coaching and the free-agency markets during Snyder's tenure, Washington has never found the success it had in the pre-Snyder era and hasn't won a playoff game since the 2005 season.
