I think the Bears had planned on him not returning next year all along and probably secretly hoped he would be hired for one of the open positions, so they didn't have to make this decision. Bob Babich was rumored to be the guy taking over for Rivera all along and he is definitely less expensive - and the Bears are notoriously cheap.
The bottom line is that Chico was running Lovie's defense and not his own, so I don't blame either side for letting this fall apart. The Bears are able to continue on and likely not miss too much with a cheaper option while Rivera can search out an opportunity to build a defense. I can't help but think that he was hurt in the interview process a bit because he didn't have full control.
I wish Rivera the best and I think the Bears will be just fine.
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman."
- Homer J. Simpson
Kilroy1872 wrote:So what's next for Rivera? San Diego? Dallas?
SD has a d-coordinator and i think So does Dallas
San Diego hired a new DC? I wasn't aware of that, since Wade Phillips is in Dallas right now and part of the brouhaha that got Marty axed was the fact that he wanted his brother Kurt to be the DC.
Wade's the new HC in Dallas, and I assume Garrett will be the OC, but I dunno if they've decided on a DC yet. (to my knowledge they have not)
I think Rivera would be an excellent fit in San Diego.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." -- Voltaire
Kilroy1872 wrote:So what's next for Rivera? San Diego? Dallas?
SD has a d-coordinator and i think So does Dallas
San Diego hired a new DC? I wasn't aware of that, since Wade Phillips is in Dallas right now and part of the brouhaha that got Marty axed was the fact that he wanted his brother Kurt to be the DC.
Wade's the new HC in Dallas, and I assume Garrett will be the OC, but I dunno if they've decided on a DC yet. (to my knowledge they have not)
I think Rivera would be an excellent fit in San Diego.
I thought i heard on the radio that they hired a DC today as well as Norv
Kilroy1872 wrote:So what's next for Rivera? San Diego? Dallas?
SD has a d-coordinator and i think So does Dallas
San Diego hired a new DC? I wasn't aware of that, since Wade Phillips is in Dallas right now and part of the brouhaha that got Marty axed was the fact that he wanted his brother Kurt to be the DC.
Wade's the new HC in Dallas, and I assume Garrett will be the OC, but I dunno if they've decided on a DC yet. (to my knowledge they have not)
I think Rivera would be an excellent fit in San Diego.
I thought i heard on the radio that they hired a DC today as well as Norv
No mention of them hiring a DC on NFL.com.
Like I said, considering that Turner's an offensive coach I think the Bolts could do a lot worse than Rivera. However, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see Rivera go for what could be a sizable payday in Big D.
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." -- Voltaire
Kilroy1872 wrote:So what's next for Rivera? San Diego? Dallas?
SD has a d-coordinator and i think So does Dallas
San Diego hired a new DC? I wasn't aware of that, since Wade Phillips is in Dallas right now and part of the brouhaha that got Marty axed was the fact that he wanted his brother Kurt to be the DC.
Wade's the new HC in Dallas, and I assume Garrett will be the OC, but I dunno if they've decided on a DC yet. (to my knowledge they have not)
I think Rivera would be an excellent fit in San Diego.
I thought i heard on the radio that they hired a DC today as well as Norv
They haven't hired anyone yet, but the rumor is Ted Cottrell had the inside track...that was before the Rivera news came out though
"I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman."
- Homer J. Simpson
Kilroy1872 wrote:So what's next for Rivera? San Diego? Dallas?
SD has a d-coordinator and i think So does Dallas
San Diego hired a new DC? I wasn't aware of that, since Wade Phillips is in Dallas right now and part of the brouhaha that got Marty axed was the fact that he wanted his brother Kurt to be the DC.
Wade's the new HC in Dallas, and I assume Garrett will be the OC, but I dunno if they've decided on a DC yet. (to my knowledge they have not)
I think Rivera would be an excellent fit in San Diego.
I thought i heard on the radio that they hired a DC today as well as Norv
They haven't hired anyone yet, but the rumor is Ted Cottrell had the inside track...that was before the Rivera news came out though
Thats what i must have heard, Cottrell was the name i was hearing
I don't really see how Rivera would be a good fit as a D-coord. in either SD or Dallas, personally. Both teams run the 3-4 and Rivera has never really worked with it, if my recollection is right.
Anyways, Rivera leaving Chicago is probably best for both the Bears and Chico. Lovie can now take full control of the defense (with Babich as his proxy) and Rivera can mold his own defense if he chooses to take a coordinator job somewhere. I'd say that Rivera's best chance for future success is to take a positional job somewhere that also carries the assistant HC title. And hopefully, he'll get a HC gig somewhere next year.
Local sports radio has speculated that Rivera not returning to the Bears is an indicator that Lovie will get his extension soon, though.
I'm guessing Lovie already had pretty much full control of the defense. I think they also assumed Riveria was going to get another job so they had no plans on giving him a raise.
I don't think this move hurts the Bears defense at all.
I heard Cotrell to San Diego is pretty much a done deal.
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by BeefSandwiches » Mon Feb 19, 2007 7:23 pm 
