Ron Rivera is 62 years old and has already accumulated a 102-103-2 record as a head coach, but if the recently fired head coach of the Washington Commanders had it his way, his coaching career would not yet be coming to an end.

“I have several opportunities right now,” Rivera told John Keim of ESPN. “I just want to make sure it's the right one.”

From the sounds of it, “the right one” that Rivera made reference to may not even be a head coaching opportunity.

Before Rivera's rocky four-year run as the head coach of the Commanders, and before he racked up a 76-63-1 record as the Carolina Panthers head coach — where he also led the Panthers to their second Super Bowl appearances in franchise history — Rivera was a very successful and well-respected assistant coach. His coaching career began in Chicago in 2004, when he was named defensive coordinator of the team he spent his entire nine-year playing career with. In just his second year with the Bears, Rivera was named the Assistant Coach of the Year by the Pro Football Writers Association after the Bears finished as the top scoring defense in the league. His third and final season with the Bears resulted in a Super Bowl XLI appearance, largely due to the fact that Chicago led the league in takeaways.

From Chicago, Rivera went to San Diego to lead the Chargers defense. In his third and final season in San Diego, the Chargers allowed the fewest yards in the NFL, and Rivera earned his first shot at a head coaching job.

Even though Rivera has spent the last decade and a half as a head coach, getting a taste of calling a defense once again seems to have intrigued him.

“I enjoyed the heck of it,” Rivera said, referencing the final five games of the Commanders season when he took over defensive play calling duties after firing defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio.

“Sometimes you do have to take a step back,” Rivera said. “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.”

Ron Rivera's reputation as a head coach certainly took a hit during his tenure with the Commanders, but nobody in their right mind can question the credentials of Ron Rivera, the man. Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in a lymph node of his neck shortly before he began his first season as the head coach in Washington. Mind you, Rivera's first year with Washington was the 2020 season, which was greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite undergoing a seven-week treatment that resulted in a 30 lb. weight loss and required Rivera to be treated with IV therapy at halftime of games, Riverboat Ron missed only three practices all season. And despite a 7-9 record, Washington made the Playoffs, one of only five postseason appearances for the franchise in the 21st century.