Panthers HC Ron Rivera Could Be An Option For Rams’ HC Job?

December 24, 2016

Update:

Frank Bauer, the agent for Panthers HC Ron Rivera, tells Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer that his client hasn’t had any contact with the Rams regarding their head-coaching vacancy, despite the report from earlier this morning that he could be an intriguing option for L.A.

“There hasn’t been any contact,” Bauer said. “Ron’s super happy where he’s at.”

Regarding the report, Bauer said: “It’s news to me.”

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Interestingly enough, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported Saturday that one name to watch for the Rams’ head-coaching vacancy is Panthers head coach Ron Rivera.

Rapoport says that with a large Hispanic population in Los Angeles and a young Rams’ team, he would be a fit when it comes to the type of candidate they could targeting in their search. Beyond that, Rapoport says that adding someone like Rivera would also qualify as a “splash” hiring, even though that may not be a priority for them.

While the idea seems interesting, Rapoport says that there are still “several hurdles” in the way of Rivera landing with the Rams.

The first of which is that there’s no guarantee Rivera would want to leave Carolina. Secondly, trading coaches is much more complicated than trading players is. One other consideration is that Rivera is a defensive-minded head coach and it’s the offense that needs to be improved for the Rams moving forward, so there could be some questions about what Rivera could do for that unit and QB Jared Goff.

One interesting solution for their offense under Rivera, according to Rapoport, could be to bring in veteran OC Norv Turner to run the unit. Turner lives in California and has a close relationship with Rivera, so that would be worth monitoring if Rivera ends up being a serious candidate for the job.

Rivera, 54, has spent the past six years as the Panthers head coach and has led them to a record of 53-40-1, which includes three playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl last year.

We’ll have more regarding the Rams and Rivera as the news is available.