BERKELEY, Calif. (WBTV) – A beloved former Carolina Panthers coach is moving to the college ranks after spending more than two decades in the NFL.
Ron Rivera posted on social media that he is returning to the University of California, Berkely, where he played from 1980-1983.
“Coach Belichick has made going back to school, cool,” Rivera’s post read. “Stay tuned I am coming home.”
ESPN reported that Rivera’s role will be primarily administrative, and said he would be involved in oversight of the football program and its “big-picture needs,” such as the budget, coaching staff and the “student-athlete experience.”
“Our alum Ron Rivera is an icon in football, for good reason,” Cal chancellor Rich Lyons said in a statement to ESPN. “I’m thrilled to be in discussion with him about the details of joining the Cal team to support and advance our football program.”
Rivera had 337 tackles during his years at Cal, and was named an All-American in 1983. He recorded a school record 26.5 tackles for loss during that stellar 1983 season, including 13 sacks. He was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 1994.
Following his collegiate and nine-year NFL career, the now 63-year-old coached professional football for 27 years. His most notable coaching stop was with the Panthers, where he was twice named the NFL’s coach of the year and took his team to Super Bowl 50.
Rivera spent nine years with Carolina and won a franchise-record 76 games as head coach. He took the Panthers to the playoffs four times, and won back-to-back-to-back NFC South division titles from 2013-2015.
The former Panthers coach reportedly interviewed for at least one NFL head coaching job this offseason but obviously was not hired.
In his move to the college ranks, Rivera will be tasked with bolstering a Golden Bears football team that has not had a winning record since 2019 and has not won 10 games since 2006.