The Bears need a coach who will hold players accountable. Look no further than Ron Rivera

In 1982, George Halas turned to Chicago Bears history to find a head coach and hired Mike Ditka.

In 2025, the team that founded Halas must rethink its history.

There are candidates with no ties to the Bears who deserve consideration.

Chief among them is Mike Vrabel, who should never have been fired by the Tennessee Titans and who can win Super Bowls – plural – in the right situation. If Ben Johnson of the Detroit Lions is as dazzling as a head coach as he is as an offensive coordinator, he will transform an organization. His defensive counterpart in Detroit, Aaron Glenn, appears to have leadership and coaching qualities that few have. Steve Spagnuolo’s long history of building defenses and relationships could be evidence that he could thrive with a second chance. The way Joe Brady has easily lifted the Buffalo Bills offense suggests he can handle more plates on the bar.

And there are others. Perhaps in the end one of them will be best suited to the task.

However, only one person has played a football role on both Bears Super Bowl teams. Ron Rivera was a linebacker for the 1985 champions. For the 2006 Bears who lost to the Indianapolis Colts, he was their defensive coordinator.

Now he should be first in line for an interview.

Rivera’s 2006 defense allowed the third-fewest points in the NFL. Without justification, he was fired after that season and the Bears took a dip in the cold. In the 19 seasons since then, they have made the playoffs three times and have a winning percentage of .439.

Drafted by Jim Finks, built by Ditka and mentored by Mike Singletary, Rivera understands what it means to be a Bear better than any potential prospect. He knows where the holes are in Chicago. He understands the strengths and weaknesses of the organization, the fan base and the local media.

There is no doubt that Halas would have approved Rivera’s interview. The same goes for Walter Payton, who sat across from Rivera on plane rides to and from games.

Ditka wasn’t the only former Bears player to become their coach. In their first 54 years, every one of their coaches except Ralph Jones was a former player on the team. Halas himself played for the Bears. The other Bears players to become franchise head coaches were Luke Johnsos, Hunk Anderson, Paddy Driscoll, Jim Dooley and Abe Gibron.

The Bears have been criticized – rightly – for not considering former Bear Jim Harbaugh as a head coaching candidate. Ignoring Rivera would make a similar mistake.

History isn’t the only reason Rivera should be considered. Like Harbaugh, Rivera is a proven coaching product. His coaching journey began humbly as a quality control coach for his Bears in 1997. Two years later, he went to work for Andy Reid in Philadelphia as a linebackers coach before returning to Chicago in 2004 to coordinate the defense.

Ron Rivera returned to the Bears as defensive coordinator from 2004 to 2006. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

When he was head coach of the Carolina Panthers, Rivera’s teams made the playoffs four times and the Super Bowl once. He was named coach of the year twice, making him one of thirteen players to be honored more than once. Seven of the thirteen are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including Halas and Ditka.

After new Panthers owner David Tepper fired him in 2019, Rivera was unemployed for less than a month when he agreed to manage Dan Snyder’s Washington Redskins, which became the football team and then the Commanders during Rivera’s tumultuous tenure as their coach. And he wasn’t just their coach. He was their de facto general manager. He then became Snyder’s frontman/shield when workplace culture violations and financial irregularities were exposed and Snyder went underground.

Rivera was perhaps the most sought-after coach in the 2020 cycle. The four regrettable years he spent with Snyder, arguably the worst owner in NFL history, changed perceptions. Rivera was not the first to have his reputation tarnished by the association.

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During his tenure at Washington before Snyder, the great Joe Gibbs won 67 percent of his games and three Super Bowls. After retiring and returning with Snyder as owner, he went 30-34. As a college coach, Steve Spurrier won 71 percent of his games and a national championship. With Snyder, he won 37 percent of his matches. Mike Shanahan, who should be on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, had a career .598 winning percentage and two Super Bowl rings as a head coach before working with Snyder. In Washington, his winning percentage was .375.

Rivera’s winning percentage before Snyder was .546, one percentage point better than Vrabel’s. In Washington it was .396.

Some may wonder if a defensive coach like Rivera is the right choice for the Bears due to the presence of quarterback Caleb Williams, as if a coach without an offensive background should be disqualified. Hiring a head coach with one player in mind when leadership needs to be given is absurd.

Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, John Madden, Don Shula, George Allen, Bill Parcells, Marv Levy, Dick Vermeil, Tony Dungy, Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson have inductions into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Almost certainly headed to Canton are Bill Belichick, John Harbaugh and Mike Tomlin. None of them had an offensive background before becoming head coaches.

In 2011, when Rivera was hired in Carolina, there were similar concerns about his ability to handle the offense. With the first pick in the draft, the team selected a quarterback, Cam Newton. Rivera sent offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski, quarterbacks coach Mike Shula and offensive quality control coach Scott Turner to Auburn to meet with the school’s offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and try to understand what Malzahn did with Newton in helping him win a national championship and the Heisman Trophy. .

Panthers coaches implemented concepts that helped Newton succeed at Auburn, including RPO plays that were not widely used at the time. Newton was named Offensive Rookie of the Year. Four years later, Newton was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player while playing for a defensive coach.

Rivera connects with players. He earns respect with authenticity, class and toughness. And apparently these Bears need a coach who will hold players accountable.

The year after Newton was the league MVP, Rivera benched him for refusing to follow a team rule requiring players to wear ties on planes. When Newton showed up without a tie, Rivera tried to give him a tie to wear. Newton said it didn’t match his outfit. Rivera told him there would be consequences, and Newton was subsequently postponed for the first series of a game. Newton later apologized to the team.

Rivera, who learned about aggressive strategies from Buddy Ryan and his Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, has never been afraid to take a risk. Before they called Lions head coach Dan “Gamble,” they called Rivera “Riverboat Ron.”

During his first training camp in Washington, Rivera was diagnosed with squamous cell cancer in a lymph node. That season he underwent 35 proton therapy treatments and three chemotherapy treatments. Rivera lost 25 pounds and became so weak that he had to be taken to the office with one arm around his wife’s shoulder and one around the team trainer’s. However, he never stopped coaching and leading, and his team rallied, winning five of its final seven games to make the playoffs.

Rivera eventually rang the doorbell and is cancer-free. For his perseverance, the Pro Football Writers of America named him a recipient of the George Halas Award, given for overcoming adversity.

The significance of Rivera winning the award named after the Bears’ founder should not be lost on those charged with preserving the Halas legacy.

(Top photo: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)