Fox: Bears won't renew Rivera

[Hostile]

Why answer a question with question?

What would he bring to the table in a 3-4 D?

After that, don't forget to take your Midol.

The toy chimp would be you.

I'd be real careful about getting that personal with someone other than me son. I'll ignore it.

Your question was ridiculous, but since you asked, let's play.

Are you aware that the 3-4 and the 4-3 run the same gap terminology for the D-line?

Are you aware that a zone blitz can be done from either scheme?

Are you aware that teams run the Nickel quite often on passing downs (and the Dime) and that they are the same in design whether you are a base 4-3 or a base 3-4.

What can he bring? Experience in several different schemes including the 4-6 under the tutelege of Buddy Ryan, the 4-3 under Jim Johnson, and Lovie Smith. Yeah he has horrible defensive credentials.

You're the one who is maintaining he can't coach in the 3-4. Back it up. Based on what? In early interviews with LFE he said he could coach in a 3-4. He's a liar right? Prove it.

Every team runs a little of both schemes.

 

[Skin]

I'd be real careful about getting that personal with someone other than me son. I'll ignore it.

Your question was ridiculous, but since you asked, let's play.

Are you aware that the 3-4 and the 4-3 run the same gap terminology for the D-line?

Are you aware that a zone blitz can be done from either scheme?

Are you aware that teams run the Nickel quite often on passing downs (and the Dime) and that they are the same in design whether you are a base 4-3 or a base 3-4.

What can he bring? Experience in several different schemes including the 4-6 under the tutelege of Buddy Ryan, the 4-3 under Jim Johnson, and Lovie Smith. Yeah he has horrible defensive credentials.

You're the one who is maintaining he can't coach in the 3-4. Back it up. Based on what? In early interviews with LFE he said he could coach in a 3-4. He's a liar right? Prove it.

Every team runs a little of both schemes.

I'm not going to take the insulting line that some are taking, but I have to say I don't understand the love affair with this guy. I realize he's a smart guy who has coached and played in some great defensive systems, but I find it strange that he keeps getting passed over. Maybe all these people in NFL front offices are wrong...

Good luck to him, but I don't want him.

 

[superpunk]

Are you aware that the 3-4 and the 4-3 run the same gap terminology for the D-line?

That is completely universal. I know you're not using that as a qualification, but the terminology for gap play is just like "helmet" and "jockstrap". They mean the same everywhere.

What can he bring? Experience in several different schemes including the 4-6 under the tutelege of Buddy Ryan, the 4-3 under Jim Johnson, and Lovie Smith. Yeah he has horrible defensive credentials.

But he's only shown any worth as a DC under Lovie, running that cover-2, that may or may not have been his baby. Can he coach a 3-4? Sure. He could come here, make Wade's calls, teach the team a few things about turnovers that Chicago has mastered - but that doesn't mean he should, IMO. The price you'd have to pay to get him isn't worth the potential return. He's not going to teach Phillips anything about the Phillips 3-4. He'd spend the offseason learning himself, and then be expected to teach someone else's system to a group of players?

I don't see tremendous upside potential to that plan. I don't see what he's bringing to the table - and it seems too great a cost to find out how versatile he is. I don't think it wold be a great situation from his standpoint, either, being viewed as a figurehead DC.

 

[The Realist]

I'd be real careful about getting that personal with someone other than me son. I'll ignore it.

Your question was ridiculous, but since you asked, let's play.

Are you aware that the 3-4 and the 4-3 run the same gap terminology for the D-line?

Are you aware that a zone blitz can be done from either scheme?

Are you aware that teams run the Nickel quite often on passing downs (and the Dime) and that they are the same in design whether you are a base 4-3 or a base 3-4.

What can he bring? Experience in several different schemes including the 4-6 under the tutelege of Buddy Ryan, the 4-3 under Jim Johnson, and Lovie Smith. Yeah he has horrible defensive credentials.

You're the one who is maintaining he can't coach in the 3-4. Back it up. Based on what? In early interviews with LFE he said he could coach in a 3-4. He's a liar right? Prove it.

Every team runs a little of both schemes.

Are you aware that I didn't get personal with anyone but you.

Thanks for the warning though boy.

Last I checked we don't run a 46 or 43.

How does that help us?

If we wanted a 46 coach wouldn't we hire a guy who has run it successfully in the NFL as a real DC?

Rivera has never coached a 3-4 before in his life.

That's me backing it up and that should be proof enough for anyone.

Now you back up that he can.

No doubt you'll duck that one.

7-8 HC interviews now.

Maybe the whispers are true.

 

[Hostile]

I'm not going to take the insulting line that some are taking, but I have to say I don't understand the love affair with this guy. I realize he's a smart guy who has coached and played in some great defensive systems, but I find it strange that he keeps getting passed over. Maybe all these people in NFL front offices are wrong...

Good luck to him, but I don't want him.

Maybe they are. Should they be ignored? Based on what evidence and logic?

He's young, hungry and respected league wide.

What is the problem with giving someone like that a shot?

 

[Skin]

Maybe they are. Should they be ignored? Based on what evidence and logic?

He's young, hungry and respected league wide.

What is the problem with giving someone like that a shot?

I respect your opinion, but we will agree to disagree.

 

[Hostile]

Are you aware that I didn't get personal with anyone but you.

Thanks for the warning though boy.

Last I checked we don't run a 46 or 43.

How does that help us?

If we wanted a 46 coach wouldn't we hire a guy who has run it successfully in the NFL as a real DC?

Rivera has never coached a 3-4 before in his life.

That's me backing it up and that should be proof enough for anyone.

Now you back up that he can.

No doubt you'll duck that one.

7-8 HC interviews now.

Maybe the whispers are true.

It isn't enough proof for me. Call me hard headed.

Experience across many schemes can help a team. If you can't realize that I can't help you. Are you unaware of the fact that when Bill Parcells arrived at New England with Bill Belichick in tow that they were a 3-4 team and he switched to a 4-3 despite the fact Belichick was a 3-4 guy? Talented defensive minds can adapt.

I think he's a talented defensive mind and I'd love to take the chance on him as our DC over Bowles or Stewart who have limited experience in a 3-4 and no experience as DCs.

Yes, I am aware you only used this insulting tone with me. I'm telling you that using it with others on this site will be a mistake.

 

[Hostile]

I respect your opinion, but we will agree to disagree.

Sometimes that is where two people have to go. No issue.

 

[Hostile]

That is completely universal. I know you're not using that as a qualification, but the terminology for gap play is just like "helmet" and "jockstrap". They mean the same everywhere.

That's what I'm saying. Many of the basics of teaching defense are universal. I believe he could bring what he already knows, learn from Wade and provide our defense with some valuable training.

But he's only shown any worth as a DC under Lovie, running that cover-2, that may or may not have been his baby. Can he coach a 3-4? Sure. He could come here, make Wade's calls, teach the team a few things about turnovers that Chicago has mastered - but that doesn't mean he should, IMO. The price you'd have to pay to get him isn't worth the potential return. He's not going to teach Phillips anything about the Phillips 3-4. He'd spend the offseason learning himself, and then be expected to teach someone else's system to a group of players?

Not sure, are you disagreeing or agreeing with me?

LOL

j/k

I was under the impression Wade is going to be teaching the system. Is it impossible to teach coches and players? Isn't dat going to be learning new stuff? What about Pasqualoni? The rest? He's a successful DC. I like that about him. It's really just that simple.

I don't see tremendous upside potential to that plan. I don't see what he's bringing to the table - and it seems too great a cost to find out how versatile he is. I don't think it wold be a great situation from his standpoint, either, being viewed as a figurehead DC.

Fair enough. I'm coming from a different angle at the same target. That's all.

 

[The Realist]

It isn't enough proof for me. Call me hard headed.

Experience across many schemes can help a team. If you can't realize that I can't help you. Are you unaware of the fact that when Bill Parcells arrived at New England with Bill Belichick in tow that they were a 3-4 team and he switched to a 4-3 despite the fact Belichick was a 3-4 guy? Talented defensive minds can adapt.

I think he's a talented defensive mind and I'd love to take the chance on him as our DC over Bowles or Stewart who have limited experience in a 3-4 and no experience as DCs.

Yes, I am aware you only used this insulting tone with me. I'm telling you that using it with others on this site will be a mistake.

By that logic Hoyte has a good chance to contribute something at QB this year.

Experience across many schemes is great.

Thank God Wade is a master at the 3-4, coached the 46 under Buddy Ryan and also has experience in the 43.

You think Rivera is a talented defensive mind.

I'm not so sure.

Red flagged as a bad interview and seen by some as Lovie's puppet.

Hence, Bears see him as expendable.

Chance that Rivera is the Norv Turner on D.

Looks good when he has Briggs, Urlacher, Harris, Ogun, Brown/Brown, Vasher......

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Maybe Mr. Jones will give him a look see....

 

[Hostile]

By that logic Hoyte has a good chance to contribute something at QB this year.

Experience across many schemes is great.

Thank God Wade is a master at the 3-4, coached the 46 under Buddy Ryan and also has experience in the 43.

You think Rivera is a talented defensive mind.

I'm not so sure.

Red flagged as a bad interview and seen by some as Lovie's puppet.

Hence, Bears see him as expendable.

Chance that Rivera is the Norv Turner on D.

Looks good when he has Briggs, Urlacher, Harris, Ogun, Brown/Brown, Vasher......

Thank you for the civil response.

Yeah he doesn't have those guys here. Just Carpenter, Ware, Burnett, Williams, Spears, Hatcher, Canty, Newman, Henry and Ferguson.

I guess that is absolutely nothing to work with.

What red flags? The Steelers felt they couldn't wait so they moved on. The Cowboys and Chargers both felt they were too close to roll the dice. Prior to this year teams felt he needed more time. Those are hardly red flags.

Oh, the Hoyte example....don't waste my time reaching like that.

 

[The Realist]

That's what I'm saying. Many of the basics of teaching defense are universal. I believe he could bring what he already knows, learn from Wade and provide our defense with some valuable training.

Not sure, are you disagreeing or agreeing with me?

LOL

j/k

I was under the impression Wade is going to be teaching the system. Is it impossible to teach coches and players? Isn't dat going to be learning new stuff? What about Pasqualoni? The rest? He's a successful DC. I like that about him. It's really just that simple.

Fair enough. I'm coming from a different angle at the same target. That's all.

Dat played in 3-4 on college and pro levels.

PP coached it on both levels (from what I hear).

Other D coaches have experience in it.

Seems like it would be a damn expensive experiment trying to teach it to Rivera.

And one that would in theory be short-term in nature because he's such a "hot commodity" and in such high demand.

Not sure I'm buying that.

He has the chance of becoming everyone's Rooney Rule interview.

Doesn't get a HC job next year, he could be waiting a lot longer.

 

[Cbz40]

Updated: Feb. 19, 2007, 4:24 PM ET
Chicago doesn't plan to retain D-coordinator Rivera
By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera, who has interviewed for nine head coach positions in the NFL over the past two years but landed none of them, is poised to become a man without a job.

Ron Rivera
Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images
It is believed that Ron Rivera earned $500,000 as the Bears' defensive coordinator in 2006.

Negotiations between Bears officials and Rivera's representatives, aimed at extending the coach's contract, have produced no progress toward a new deal and have broken off. Unless the discussions are suddenly revived, and a new contract is struck before Tuesday, Rivera will become a free agent.

Rivera's contract has technically lapsed. But according to league rules the Bears had an exclusivity period, for three Tuesdays following the Super Bowl, to negotiate a new deal with him. During that three-week window, Rivera could have been hired as a head coach by another franchise, but not as an assistant.

That window expires Tuesday, but sources said Bears officials have no intention now of renewing Rivera's contract. It is believed that Rivera, who played linebacker for the Bears for nine seasons before embarking on a coaching career, earned $500,000 for the 2006 season. If that is the case, it likely put him at about the middle of the NFL's salary range for defensive coordinators.

Given the popularity of Rivera during the NFL's past two firing-and-hiring cycles, when he interviewed for nine vacancies, his entry into the unemployment line would be fraught with irony. Still, team officials indicated to ESPN.com during the week preceding Super Bowl XLI that they would not overpay to retain Rivera.

The feeling then was that Chicago could survive Rivera's departure, since their defense is primarily the design of head coach Lovie Smith. The Bears also felt they had a replacement on staff already in assistant coach Bob Babich. The Bears' linebackers coach, Babich is highly regarded and, assuming Rivera departs, he will be elevated to the coordinator post.

A Chicago official noted before the Super Bowl that the Bears would be in worse shape if another club pursued offensive coordinator Ron Turner, since there was no heir apparent on the current staff.

The Bears have been negotiating new contracts for general manager Jerry Angelo and for Smith, but are not believed to be close to a deal for the latter. Smith was believed to be the NFL's lowest paid head coach in 2006, with a salary of $1.35 million, and has one season remaining on his original contract with the club.

Rivera, 45, played for the Bears 1984-92, then became an assistant coach on the Chicago staff in 1997. He moved to the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, then rejoined the Bears, on Smith's staff, in 2004. Of the seven head coach openings since the end of the 2006 season, the only one for which Rivera did not interview was the Oakland vacancy.

Len Pasquarelli is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

 

[sjordan6]

Hostile I think you have more than made your point and some people simply will never get it! Why cant a guy, whose been coaching cornerbacks, switch to coaching linebackers simply because he played safety in college and coached the secondary in the pros?

Just because you are an Italian chef doesnt mean you cant bake French bread or cook Chinese food. If you are a good chef who has experience in the kitchen then you will be able to adapt and eventually add your own flavor to any recipe that at one point you didnt know much about.

I think Rivera would be beyond an excellent hire. Just because he hasnt coach in the 34 does not mean he would be a bad hire to coach our players. Zimmer had never coached the 34 but Parcells switch to it anyway and the coaches had to adjust. And before you guys jump on the outcome of that move, remember it was BP who ran that defense and Zimmer was the puppet! I still believe if BP would have let Zimmer do his thing then it would have been different.

I dont see Rivera coming here because it would be the same song on a different station. Any success would be accredited to Phillips more than Rivera and he would become frustrated for a lack recognition. Plus I strongly believe that the Cowboys WANT to promote Bowles as the DC. It seems they like him alot and almost feel obligated to give him the title.

Again Hostile I think your point is valid and it seems funny to think that an outstanding defensive mind and coach could not be a great addition to the cowboys.

I will say this. I would value a coach like Rivera to be our coordinator, who may not have the experience in the 3-4 but has been a coordinator for a Super Bowl team known for its defense and worked and played with some of the best defensive teams and coaches while being supervised by a 3-4 specialist and head coach, more than a Jason Garrett, who has no coordinator experience, two years of coaching and no playing calling duties, to run my offense and be supervised by a coach with some success but limited experience and both will be implementing a brand new system.

I will take both. But given a choice, Rivera is the no-brainer!

 

[ZeroClub]

I like the idea of Rivera joining the staff.

The Bears have a real knack for generating turnovers. It is a clear focus of their defense. Ideally, Rivera could bring that kind of emphasis to the Cowboys.

If Wade is laidback, maybe a more hypercharged DC makes some sense.

Yeah, Rivera doesn't have much experience with the 3-4. But given that Wade is going to spend a good bit of time with the defense, I wouldn't think that Rivera's need for on-the-job-training is a deal breaker.

 

[tomson75]

I like the idea of Rivera joining the staff.

The Bears have a real knack for generating turnovers. It is a clear focus of their defense. Ideally, Rivera could bring that kind of emphasis to the Cowboys.

If Wade is laidback, maybe a more hypercharged DC makes some sense.

Yeah, Rivera doesn't have much experience with the 3-4. But given that Wade is going to spend a good bit of time with the defense, I wouldn't think that Rivera's need for on-the-job-training is a deal breaker.

I agree with this, but the question I have is...is Rivera the one responsible for all of those turnovers? Or was it something else..

I'll be safe and take Stewart. IMO.

 

[5Stars]

I like the idea of Rivera joining the staff.

The Bears have a real knack for generating turnovers. It is a clear focus of their defense. Ideally, Rivera could bring that kind of emphasis to the Cowboys.

If Wade is laidback, maybe a more hypercharged DC makes some sense.

Yeah, Rivera doesn't have much experience with the 3-4. But given that Wade is going to spend a good bit of time with the defense, I wouldn't think that Rivera's need for on-the-job-training is a deal breaker.

Would you rather have Zimmer back or have Rivera?

Me, I would absoutely love to have Rivera join the Cowboys...! I think he could bring some intensity and also relate to the younger players because they will respect him as a player...

Also, it would not be a bad move by JJ just because of the Mexican Nationality behind his name, because we already know that there are lots of Mexican fans that absoutely love the Boyz just because of the proximity of the team to Mexico. Now, I know this is a stupid paragraph...but, it would be a factor in the marketing of the team for JJ.

It never hurts to try different things with younger coaches...regardless of what some percieve about him not being named a head coach as of yet...

If Rivera is willing to come to Dallas...come on down!

 

[cowboyed]

Seems crazy.

This guy must really be bad in interviews or something else people are missing.

Surely someone will pick him up as a DC.

When you fart chili releno and Chicago deep dish pizza non-stop you aren't going to make many friends.

 

[slick325]

Since most staffs are complete I feel sorry for Rivera. I don't see him getting a DC position this late in the game. He may end up having to join a friends staff as a position coach. Possibly with Jim Johnson in Philly. He won't be without a job for long but he may have to accept a demotion. The league needs to change the stiff rules regarding the assistants on playoff squads in order to avoid a situation like what may occur with Rivera.