The Washington Redskins named Ron Rivera their new head coach Wednesday, and he promptly hired a defensive coordinator.
“After several meetings with Coach Rivera, it was clear he is the right person to bring winning football back to Washington, D.C.,” Redskins owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. “He is widely respected around the league as a man of great integrity and has proven to be one of the finest coaches in the country.”
The Redskins will introduce Rivera, who coached the Carolina Panthers for nine years, at a news conference scheduled for Thursday at 2 p.m. ET.
Washington also reached agreement on a deal with former NFL head coach Jack Del Rio to be the defensive coordinator, a source told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Del Rio, 56, has been an ESPN analyst. He was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers in 2002 and the Denver Broncos from 2012 to 2014, when John Fox was the head coach of those teams.
Del Rio’s defenses finished No. 2 overall in 2002 and 2012, and third in 2014. Del Rio was head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2003 to 2011 and the Oakland Raiders from 2015 to 2017.
Rivera, 57, becomes the seventh head coach hired by Snyder. The Redskins fired Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start in his sixth season.
“While I love the storied history of the franchise, I am focused on the future and excited for the opportunity to win football games with this talented young team,” Rivera said in the statement. “After meeting Dan Snyder, it was clear we are aligned in our passion for the game and he supports my vision to turn the team around. I look forward to surrounding myself with great people and getting to work.”
Rivera, who was fired by the Panthers on Dec. 3 with a 5-7 record, was viewed as a strong candidate for any opening.
He quickly turned around the Panthers, who went 2-14 in 2010, which was the season before he took over. Three seasons later, they went 12-4. In 2015, they were 15-1 and reached the Super Bowl. Rivera compiled a 76-63-1 record with Carolina, although the Panthers had only three winning seasons in his eight full years. They reached the playoffs four times, including in 2014 with a 7-8-1 record, and won the NFC South three seasons in a row.
Rivera also was Chicago’s defensive coordinator in 2006 when the Bears reached the Super Bowl. He served in the same role from 2008 to 2010 with the San Diego Chargers. Carolina hired him as its head coach in January 2011.
In Washington, he’ll inherit a team with plenty of young players, including quarterback Dwayne Haskins. By season’s end, partly because of injuries, the Redskins used 12 players ages 25 or younger as consistent starters. Washington also owns the No. 2 pick in the draft after finishing 3-13 this season.
ESPN’s John Keim contributed to this report.
