Jets interview Ron Rivera for head coaching job and ESPN analyst Louis Riddick for GM vacancy The New York Jets interviewed former Washington and Carolina coach Ron Rivera on Thursday, the first known head coaching candidate to meet with the team.
He led the Panthers to the postseason seven times during his tenure in Carolina from 2011 to 2019, including a Super Bowl appearance in the 2015 season when the team went 15-1 in the regular season and eventually lost to Seattle in the title game.
He played in 137 games, including 56 starts, during a nine-year playing career with Chicago where he was a linebacker on the Bears team that won the Super Bowl during the 1985 season behind its exceptional "46" defense under coach Mike Ditka and coordinator Buddy Ryan.
Rivera, who turns 63 next Tuesday, is the only coach in NFL history to have led teams with losing records to the playoffs more than once, having done so with Carolina (7-8-1) in 2014 and Washington (7-9) in 2020.
Rivera went 26-40-1 during a four-year stint with the Commanders, leading Washington to the playoffs during his first season with the team in 2020.
