BERKELEY, Calif. — Ron Rivera spent more than three decades in the NFL and had opportunities to return to the sideline as an assistant when a more intriguing option came his way.
Rather than mentor a first-time NFL coach, Rivera leaped at the chance to return to his alma mater to help revive the football program at California. Rivera was officially hired as the first general manager for the Cal football team on Thursday after the move was officially approved by the UC Regents.
“This is an opportunity to come home and give back,” Rivera said. “The university has given me so much in my lifetime. It was kind of the launching pad that got me going into the direction that I did as far as playing professionally and ended up being an NFL coach and altogether 36 years involved in the NFL. … I’m looking for another challenge, another opportunity. But where better than to come home to the university and give back.”
Rivera will report directly to chancellor Rich Lyons in the newly created role. Head football coach Justin Wilcox will continue to report to athletic director Jim Knowlton, who also reports to Lyons.
Rivera said he will be involved in “every aspect” of the football team from going to practices, working closely with Wilcox and his assistants and relating with the players, many of whom aim to follow his trajectory to the NFL.
Rivera’s role will also focus on revenue generation, fundraising and engaging with alumni and donors to generate more interest and support for the program.
“Those folks have been by us some for so many years,” Rivera said. “I know they’ve been tough, lean years. But you know what? It’s time to change that. We have an opportunity to change that. But we have to do it together. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean anything. The thing that means is we’ve got work to do, and we got to do it together.”
Rivera is the latest high-profile person to fill a general manager role in college football. Cal’s rival, Stanford, recently hired former star quarterback Andrew Luck to be the general manager of the program. Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi has that role at North Carolina under Bill Belichick and former Senior Bowl director Jim Nagy was recently hired for that role at Oklahoma.
Lyons said he had been talking with Knowlton about the need for a general manager for months and reached out to Rivera last December. The move to hire Rivera is part of an increased commitment to football under Lyons at a school that hasn’t always been fully invested in the support.
That has changed since Lyons took over last summer and he hopes Rivera can help the program become more successful, leading to more engagement with alumni and donors.
“Alumni engagement is so important to how we drive our mission. It just is,” Lyons said. “They send us students, they hire our students, they teach in our classes, they give guest lectures. Oh, yeah and we just finished a $7.3 billion capital campaign. … It’s mission relevant. It’s a leveling up of football. At the same time, it’s an investment of Berkeley getting even stronger at delivering on its mission. That’s the bet here.”
Wilcox is entering his ninth season in charge of the Golden Bears and has a 42-50 career record. Cal went 6-7 last season in its first year in the ACC, losing to UNLV in the LA Bowl.
The Bears haven’t finished with a winning record since 2019, haven’t finished a season ranked in the AP poll since 2006 and haven’t played in a top-tier bowl game since the 1959 Rose Bowl.
“This is the No. 1 public institution in the world,” Rivera said. “We exude excellence academically. Why can’t we do it athletically? Do it the right way, though. That’s important.”
Rivera was an All-American linebacker at Cal in 1983 before heading to the NFL as a second-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears in 1984. Rivera was on a Super Bowl-winning team his second season and had a nine-year playing career.
Rivera began his coaching career in 1997 and was head coach for Carolina for nine seasons and Washington for four years. Rivera had a 102-103-2 record in the regular season, winning AP NFL Coach of the Year awards in 2013 and 2015 with the Panthers.
Rivera made the playoffs five times, with his best season coming in 2015 when Carolina went 15-1 in the regular season and lost the Super Bowl to Denver.
