Former NFL head coach Ron Rivera is planning to return to college to work at his alma mater.
On Wednesday, Rivera shared on social media that he is following the example of Bill Belichick and will take a position at California.
“Coach Belichick has made going back to school, cool,” Rivera wrote. “Stay tuned I am coming home.”
Neither Rivera nor the school have revealed what role he will take at Cal. Coach Justin Wilcox is starting his ninth season as the head coach of the Golden Bears with a 42-50 career record.
“Our alum, Ron Rivera is an icon in football for good reason,” UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons said. “I’m thrilled to be in discussion with him about the details of joining the Cal team to support and advance our football program. We will release more information as soon as possible.”
Cal’s rival, Stanford, recently hired former star quarterback Andrew Luck as the general manager of their program.
Rivera was an All-American linebacker at Cal in 1983 before being drafted by the Chicago Bears in the second round of the 1984 NFL Draft.
Rivera was part of a Super Bowl-winning team in his second season and had a nine-year playing career.
Rivera began his coaching career in 1997 and served as head coach for the Carolina Panthers for nine seasons and the Washington football team for four years. He finished with a regular-season record of 102-103-2 and won AP NFL Coach of the Year awards in 2013 and 2015 with the Panthers.
Rivera led his teams to the playoffs five times, with his best season in 2015 when Carolina went 15-1 in the regular season but lost the Super Bowl to Denver.
