Philadelphia Eagles to interview Ron Rivera for open defensive coordinator job

The Philadelphia Eagles are reportedly set to interview former Commanders head coach Ron Rivera after Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni relieved defensive coordinator Sean Desai of his duties over the weekend. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the news on Monday morning following the end of the Divisional Round of the playoffs.

The 4-13 Washington Commanders chose to part ways with Rivera this month after four seasons but Eagles team owner Jeffrey Lurie has a very high opinion of the coach and considers him like family.

“He’s a family member of ours,” Lurie said in 2020. “Stephanie (Rivera) and my wife play golf together, and Ron is somebody I really respect… He’s a high-quality person in every sense of the word…”

Rivera, 62, had been on the hot seat with Washington having dropped seven games in a row after a 4-5 start. The Dallas Cowboys made it eight straight in the season finale with a 38-10 win. Rivera has been at the helm in D.C. since the 2020 season, when he was hired to replace Jay Gruden. The Commanders captured an NFC East title in Rivera’s inaugural season, albeit with a 7-9 record. Since then, Washington has gone 19-31 with zero playoff appearances.

Prior to joining the Commanders, Rivera spent nine seasons (2011-19) as head coach of the Carolina Panthers. Carolina went 76-63 under Rivera, winning three NFC South titles and coming just short of winning Super Bowl 50 against the Denver Broncos.

The last time he was a defensive coordinator, Rivera’s Chargers defense led the league in total defense in 2010. He was the Eagles linebackers coach from 1999 to 2003 before taking over the Chicago Bears defense in 2004.

Eagles fire defensive coordinator

The Philadelphia Eagles were heavily disappointed in the outcome of the season after they stumbled down the stretch in the second half of the year. Sean Desai was hired by Philly in February to replace Jonathan Gannon, who became the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. However, Nick Sirianni demoted Desai in favor of Matt Patricia following blowout losses to the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys in early December. Now, neither Desai nor Patricia will return to the Eagles for 2024.

The Eagles defense gave up 30 points per game in their last four games, including 32 points in their Wild Card loss against Tampa Bay. The Philadelphia defense allowed the third-most points per game during the regular season (25.2). The unit also ranked 30th in both red zone and third-down defense. The Eagles allowed 35 passing touchdowns, ranking them second most in the league in that category.

On3’s Wade Peery contributed to this report.