riverboat ron nickname origin

Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera earns…

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Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera earns ‘Riverboat Ron’ nickname

The 1-3 Panthers were looking at a dismal season when Rivera took his gamble. In an October game against the Minnesota Vikings, twice on the same drive Rivera had the Panthers go for it on fourth-and-1 rather than kick a field goal.

Both plays succeeded — the second was a touchdown — leading to a 35-10 victory that helped turn their season around. The Panthers have won 11 of their past 12 games, and Sunday they host the 49ers in an NFC divisional game. A win, and Carolina will be a step closer to the second Super Bowl in the franchise’s 19-year history. The Panthers lost the Super Bowl to New England in the 2003 season.

As it turns out, the roots of Rivera’s gambling ways sprouted in Berkeley.

Rivera was at Cal in 1983, playing for coach Joe Kapp. The Bears had just kicked a field goal against Texas A&M in the final minute to break a 17-17 tie, but Kapp took the points off the board when the Aggies were penalized. On the next play, Cal fumbled the ball away inside the 5.

One play later, Rivera, then an All-America linebacker, tackled a Texas A&M runner in the end zone for a safety, and Cal won 19-17.

“Ron Rivera saved the day,” Kapp told this newspaper this week. “A coach’s goal is to prepare a player to succeed, and he’s really succeeded.”

Rivera, who played at Seaside High before coming to Cal, credits Kapp for much of his success. During a Wednesday conference call, Rivera said, “Joe Kapp has always been a huge influence in my life.”

“Ron was quiet,” Kapp said, “but his personality was always that of a leader. No one thought Carolina would do that much this year, but he’s got them right there.”

The Panthers are a young team, and Rivera, who interviewed nine times for NFL head-coaching jobs before landing in Carolina in 2011, has always been one to show the kids how it’s done.

Bill Cooper, who coached linebackers at Cal under Kapp, said he didn’t know Rivera would end up coaching. But Cooper did know that Rivera would work well with the younger set, no matter what he did.

“I know he had a real affinity for kids,” Cooper said. “I know because I saw how good he was baby-sitting my son. Kevin grew up idolizing everything Ron Rivera did, on the field and off. Ron was always fully aware of the whole team concept and how he was a part of it. I think he’s taken that into his role as the head coach.”

Another Rivera strength is his ability to separate what he can control from what he can’t.

A few hours after the Panthers fell to 0-2 on Sept. 15 with a one-point loss to the Buffalo Bills, the Charlotte Observer newspaper ran a poll asking fans if team owner Jerry Richardson should fire Rivera. At that point, the Panthers were 13-21 in Rivera’s two-plus seasons.

Eighty percent of the readers answering the poll supported getting rid of the former Cal star.

A month later, Riverboat Ron was born during that thrashing of the Vikings.

“We are doing the things we need to do to play winning football,” Rivera said. “We’ve been very consistent and relatively disciplined. We’ve had four fourth-quarter winning drives. That’s something we haven’t done in the past.”

They’re doing it now, getting their direction from Riverboat Ron, who’s become quite the gambler.

Follow John Hickey on Twitter at twitter.com/JHickey3 .

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The evolution of ”Riverboat Ron” Rivera:…

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The evolution of ”Riverboat Ron” Rivera: Friends say it wasn”t always that way

The change three years ago surprised family and friends on the Monterey Peninsula where Rivera grew up. They recall a man with a strong military upbringing who didn”t take unnecessary risks on the field.

” ”Riverboat Ron?” I just don”t see that,” said Dave Miller, one of Rivera”s coaches at Seaside High in the 1970s. “He”s old school. It”s so rare to see him get upset.”

It seemed playing it safe would spell Rivera”s doom in 2013 after consecutive losing years in Carolina. The unemployment line was beckoning in the season”s third week after the Panthers (0-2) kicked a field goal on a fourth-and-one play that allowed the Buffalo Bills to rally for a last-second victory.

“I was thinking conservatively and I”ll never do that again,” Rivera later told brother Steven Rivera. “I go by instinct now.”

The bleak outcome of the Bills” game still was on Rivera”s mind two nights later when commuting home from the team facility. He was so consumed with the defeat that Rivera drove through a red light and narrowly avoided getting sideswiped.

A new side of Rivera”s coaching personality appeared in the Panthers” game that weekend against the New York Giants.

In the first quarter of a scoreless tie, Carolina went for it on fourth down from the Giants” 2-yard line. The Panthers scored en route to a 38-0 victory.

Rivera”s team gambled 11 more times on fourth-down plays after that. Carolina converted eight times as Rivera ended the season as Associated Press” coach of the year. His go-for-it style earned the Riverboat nickname that Rivera initially protested. But now he”s game with a Twitter handle of @RiverboatRonHC.

The Seaside Spartans of the 1970s graced their linebacker/quarterback with other nicknames: “Double R” for his initials or “Rolls Royce.”

Why the car reference?

“Because he was so good and we were like Toyota Corollas,” high school teammate Pat Price said.

Follow Elliott Alond on Twitter at twitter.com/elliottalmond .

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‘Riverboat’ Ron Rivera has a great nickname, but he’s not the gambler you think

New Washington Redskins coach Ron Rivera has embraced the “Riverboat Ron” nickname he earned for his aggressive fourth-down decision-making with the Carolina Panthers, though he prefers to be known more as a calculated risk-taker than a gambler. “Analytical Ron” just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Early in his coaching career, Rivera was quite the opposite, and it led to calls for his job. In Week 2 of the 2013 season, Rivera’s third year at the helm of the Panthers, Carolina led Buffalo 20-17 with less than two minutes remaining. Facing fourth and one from the Buffalo 21-yard line, Rivera opted to kick a field goal to take a six-point lead. The decision was hardly surprising; since 2011, only one other NFL coach had gone for it fewer times on fourth down than Rivera. The Bills drove 65 yards for the game-winning touchdown in the final seconds, dropping Carolina to 0-2.

After the loss, the Charlotte Observer ran an online poll asking whether then-owner Jerry Richardson should fire Rivera immediately. Eighty-three percent of the respondents said yes.

Redskins to introduce Ron Rivera as head coach

Rivera’s transformation began the following week against the Giants. In the first quarter, on fourth and one from the New York 2-yard line, the Panthers went for it. Fullback Mike Tolbert scored a touchdown en route to a 38-0 Carolina win. Three weeks later, the Panthers converted a pair of fourth downs on an early touchdown drive in a 35-10 win at Minnesota.

ESPN’s David Newton, who helped coin the “Riverboat Ron” nickname after the win over the Vikings, asked Rivera a couple of days later whether, in hindsight, he would have gone for it on fourth down against Buffalo in Week 2.

“Which is the right call?” Rivera said with a smile . “The right call turns out to be one that you win with. If you win, it’s a great call.”

Good luck with that. pic.twitter.com/XUgR7Jdj8b — Josh (@GoldAndOrSmith) December 1, 2013

The Panthers won 11 of their last 12 games and converted 10 of their 13 fourth-down opportunities to close the season, resulting in an NFC South title.

“I needed to realize that playing conservative, playing close to the vest, playing by the book — sometimes you’ve just got to throw all that away,” Rivera told the Observer in 2014 .

But is Rivera truly a gambler on the gridiron? Not exactly.

The Panthers went for it on fourth down 123 times from 2011 to 2019, giving them just the 25th-most attempts in that span. The Redskins, by comparison, went for it 140 times in that same span. The average NFL team made nearly 137 fourth-down attempts.

The Panthers, though, were a winning team under Rivera, and so we can also look solely at fourth-down decisions in the first three quarters when the score was within eight points — eliminating obvious catch-up situations. In those situations, the Panthers went for it on fourth down 36 times from 2011 to 2019. Nine teams went for it more often in similar situations.

Brewer: Ron Rivera is traditional, hard-nosed and just what the Redskins need

Carolina was, however, one of the most successful teams when it gambled, converting 78 percent of its score-neutral fourth-down opportunities. Only the Kansas City Chiefs had more success moving the chains during that nine-year window, converting 81 percent of their score-neutral fourth-down chances. Like Rivera said, “If you win, it’s a great call.”

In fact, since that 2013 campaign, Rivera has gone for it on fourth down in score-neutral situations only 23 times, a below-average rate for the years 2014 to 2019 and just a few tries fewer than his new team attempted. (The Redskins went for it 20 times in those situations; the Ravens led the NFL with 53 score-neutral fourth-down attempts).

If you make one more adjustment and isolate only those score-neutral situations in which Rivera found himself in his own territory — true riverboat territory — he went for it on fourth down only four times in nine seasons. (The Ravens led the NFL with 11 attempts in those situations, and the Cowboys were next with 10.)

It was a similar story in the playoffs: Rivera went for it only seven times in seven postseason games, and just two of those were in the first three quarters with the score within eight points. None of them were with the Panthers bogged down in their own territory. Playoff teams as a whole went for it 206 times on fourth down (all situations) over 176 playoff games from 2011 to 2018, which averages to just over one attempt per game, slightly more often than Rivera.

But the nickname persisted, and Rivera occasionally did enough to justify it. In November, for example, Rivera’s Panthers had two fourth-down conversions in a 30-20 win over the Titans, including one on fourth and four from their own 36-yard line.

“I just felt we needed a little momentum,” Rivera told reporters of his decision to go for it in a situation when most NFL coaches would punt. “Sure, we had a 10-point lead, but they’d just gone down and scored on us, and that was disappointing to me. But I just felt, sometimes you just can’t measure those things with numbers. There’s a feel in the game, and it’s just one of those things I felt we had to do something.”

Read more on the Redskins :

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From ‘winning off the field’ to ‘damn good’ culture: Bruce Allen’s Redskins tenure in quotes

Svrluga: With Bruce Allen gone, Daniel Snyder has no more excuses

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'So why did I choose the Redskins?' Real talks with Dan Snyder reveal why Ron Rivera made this big gamble

Ron Rivera made it clear he didn’t need the money, nor did he need just any job.

After 34 years coaching, and four torturous weeks of unemployment, the veteran coach knew exactly what he wanted. Or better yet, who.

The Washington Redskins — an organization that has become synonymous with dysfunction and disarray — are now his personal reclamation project.

“There are only 32 of us at any given time, and these jobs are scarce,” Rivera said Thursday, at his introductory news conference. “The Washington Redskins, this one’s special.”

“Riverboat Ron” just made his biggest gamble. And for the sake of his reputation, one hopes he’s right.

The franchise ushered in a new day, unveiling Rivera as its new head coach in front of a jam-packed room featuring his newly hired defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio, current and past Redskins players as well as team executives. Team owner Dan Snyder proudly stepped behind the lectern to announce this new era in Ashburn will be run much differently. It will begin with only one voice: Rivera’s.

The longtime coach chose to bet on himself, as any self-assured and self-respecting person would. Where others have failed — gifted minds like Joe Gibbs, Marty Schottenheimer and Mike Shanahan — Rivera is confident he will succeed.

“I believe in me,” said the coach, who turns 58 next week.

Though he repeatedly used the word “collaborative” during his introduction,

Rivera will be the focal point of authority. Praised as the ultimate locker room leader, he’ll bring a player-centric approach, one that entails a commitment to teaching players how to be better performers on the field and better men off of it. Accountability will be key. Having high standards is non-negotiable.

With this new position comes plenty of responsibility: Finding the right men to groom Dwayne Haskins Jr . into the franchise quarterback he was drafted to be, retooling a roster comprised of “raw talent” and “solid veteran leadership,” and facilitating a reunion with disgruntled offensive tackle Trent Williams .

This role also comes with a heavy burden of bringing respectability back to the Redskins. And that entails keeping Snyder out of his way.

Rivera is enamored with the history of the organization, which was established in 1932. He respects its past greatness as well as the players and coaches who have worn burgundy and gold before him. But these are not the ’Skins of old.

Despite Snyder’s deep affection for his beloved team, his poor leadership over the past 20 years has paved the way for Washington’s sad descent toward irrelevancy. He enabled the decision-making of former team president Bruce Allen for a decade and stood silently by as Allen declared three months ago that the organization had a “damn good” culture.

Snyder’s fingerprints are all over the mess the Redskins have become . But his hope is that Rivera can salvage the wreckage and eventually build a championship-caliber team.

In nine seasons with the Panthers , Rivera compiled a 76-63-1 record and twice was named NFL Coach of the Year. Most impressive of all: He has reached the Super Bowl.

With all of those accolades and with all of his experience, Rivera knew he had one pressing question to answer first.

“So why did I choose the Redskins?” he asked with a smile. “I can tell you right now it's not the money. If I wanted the money, I’d still be out there right now trying to pit a couple teams against each other.”

He said he took the job for “one simple reason.” Over “30-35 hours” of honest, self-reflective dialogue with Snyder, the owner expressed a desire to do things differently and he expressed an understanding of what sustains winning franchises like the Patriots , the Seahawks and the Chiefs. “Not an owner-centered approach or a team president or a GM, but a coach-centered approach,” Rivera explained.

In turn, the coach requested one condition from his soon-to-be boss.

“It would have to be a player-centered culture, something I truly do believe in,” Rivera said. “My response is to get the most out of the players, to work with them, to teach them, mentor them. If I have to do it one-by-one, I will most certainly will do it. … I was fortunate to have that in Carolina and I’ll work to have it here in Washington.”

He’s an old-school guy who preaches hard work and accountability, and also demands the most out of those around him. But during his time with the Panthers, he showed that he will defend his players like kin. Case in point: Quarterback Cam Newton .

That bodes well for Haskins, the inexperienced but raw-talented quarterback the Redskins drafted in the first round despite the wishes of Gruden. “I think he can become a franchise-style quarterback,” Rivera said. “… He’s going to have to step up and become a leader. All the great ones have become leaders and they’ve become leaders whether they’re rookies or they’re 10-, 12-year vets.”

Rivera believes there are foundational pieces already here. That’s why, instead of taking a year-long sabbatical or waiting to see how how the Giants’ and Browns’ coaching situations played out, he instead became intrigued by the prospect of coaching in Washington. His interest was piqued when Snyder reached out to his agent shortly after his dismissal from Carolina and over the course of their “in depth” conversations, the veteran coach knew for certain that this is where he belongs.

Now, all he has to do is cleanse the culture Snyder helped taint.

“This is the beginning of a great new year for the Redskins’ organization and its fans,” the owner said, after curiously wishing his audience, “Happy Thanksgiving.”

“… What the Redskins have needed is a culture change. Someone that can bring a winning culture to our organization. And it starts and ends with our head coach. When looking for that man, I look for a class act. And that’s how you describe Coach Rivera.”

In many ways, Rivera is everything Snyder isn’t. And that fact may very well save this franchise.

Hopefully, for Rivera’s sake, this gamble will be worth it in the end.

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‘Riverboat Ron' nickname going viral

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera has a new nickname that is catching on quickly. Rivera got the nickname "Riverboat Ron" when he went for it on fourth-and-1 twice on the first series in a 35-10 victory over the Vikings on Oct. 13. ESPN.com reported that Jim Kennedy, a graphic artist from Raleigh, posted a picture online showing Rivera dressed up as a riverboat gambler wearing dark sunglasses with the "Riverboat Ron" slogan on it with Bank of America Stadium in the background. The image quickly went viral Monday after the Panthers beat the 49ers 10-9 Sunday afternoon. Rivera's daughter, Courtney, posted the photo on her Instagram page and put it out on Twitter also. The Panthers win over the 49ers extended the team's win streak to five games. Rivera has been criticized in the past for not going for it on fourth down.  Only one NFL coach has gone for it less than Rivera since 2011, ESPN.com reported . That coach was former Panthers and current Broncos coach John Fox.

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Why is Ron Rivera called Riverboat Ron? Explaining the origin of Commanders coach’s nickname

The Sporting News looks back at the origins of Rivera’s “Riverboat Ron” nickname. 

Source: Sporting News RSS – Read More

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Why is Ron Rivera called Riverboat Ron? Explaining the origin of Commanders coach’s nickname

After spending more than 25 years on an NFL sideline, Ron Rivera has made a name for himself in the coaching ranks. Over the course of his 13 years as a head coach, Rivera’s earned a nickname for himself, too.

Rivera, a two-time AP NFL Coach of the Year who recently surpassed the 100-win plateau, has become a household name in coaching thanks to his time as the lead man in Carolina and Washington. As evidenced by his resume, Rivera has done his fair share of winning during his career, but the manner in which he’s done his winning is what became the stuff of legends.

Since the 2013 NFL season, Rivera has been known as “Riverboat Ron,” a nickname that he once decried before eventually embracing it. The nickname and the philosophy that inspired it have turned around seasons, resulted in hilarious memes and very well may have saved RIvera’s coaching career.

The Sporting News looks back at the origins of Rivera’s “Riverboat Ron” nickname. 

Why is Ron Rivera called Riverboat Ron?

Rivera’s nickname is related to riverboat gambling. The gambles, or risks, Rivera has taken in fourth-down situations as a head coach are similar to that of a gambler, earning him the moniker of “Riverboat Ron.”

The nickname is situational as it is almost exclusively employed when Rivera has his team go for it on fourth down or take another calculated in-game risk. It can also work against his favor when he elects not to take a risk, like Washington’s decision to opt for overtime and not go for a two-point conversion to defeat defending NFC champion Philadelphia in Week 4 of the 2023 season.

MORE:  Ron Rivera explains why Commanders played for OT in loss vs. Eagles

How Ron Rivera got his Riverboat Ron nickname

Rivera earned the nickname during his third season as head coach of the Panthers. The nickname itself actually stems from the way Rivera responded to something he didn’t do.

After two losing seasons, Rivera was on the hot seat early in the 2013 campaign. In the second game of the season, one sequence seemingly changed everything about Rivera’s approach.

The Panthers, who had already lost their season opener, had the ball and a 20-17 lead over the Bills late in the fourth quarter of Week 2. As Carolina faced a fourth-and-1 from Buffalo’s 21-yard line, Rivera elected to play it safe by kicking a field goal to give his team a 23-17 lead with 1:38 remaining. The Bills responded with an 80-yard drive, scoring the game-winning touchdown with two seconds remaining to knock Carolina to 0-2 on the season.

Playing conservatively led to the loss and an epiphany in traffic let Rivera know that something had to change.

Fast forward to Week 6, when the Panthers visited the Vikings. Carolina was 1-3 and Rivera’s seat was hotter than it had ever been. In the first quarter, Rivera’s team went for — and converted — two fourth downs on its first scoring drive of the game. Carolina would earn a 35-10 win over Minnesota.

And thus, “Riverboat Ron” was born.

Rivera was reluctant to accept the nickname at first but as the risks continued to pay off and the wins continued to stack, he warmed up to the moniker, which took a life of its own when Rivera was hilariously photoshopped  as a riverboat gambler.

Carolina’s Week 6 win over Minnesota was the first of eight consecutive wins in a season where the team finished 12-4 and earned its first NFC South championship in five years. The team finished the season going 10 of 13 on fourth downs, including a near-perfect 8 of 9 mark on fourth-and-1.

Ten years later, it’s clear that the nickname has stuck.

Ron Rivera’s fourth down success

Since taking over as Washington’s head coach in 2020, Rivera has had his team go for it on fourth down a total of 80 times (through Week 5 of the 2023 season.) In the time span, Washington has converted on 42 fourth downs, a 52.5 percent rate.

This season , the Commanders are 3 of 4 (75.0 percent) on fourth down.

Ron Rivera’s other nicknames

Long before he was known as “Riverboat Ron,” Rivera was affectionately referred to as “Chico” while playing with the Bears.

As the story goes, Rivera, a serviceable linebacker, earned the nickname from defensive coordinator Buddy Ryan, who likened Rivera to actor Freddie Prinze’s character in “Chico and the Man.”

'Riverboat Ron' name catching on

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Carolina Panthers ' second-ranked defense can't get a nickname to stick, but coach Ron Rivera has one that won't go away no matter how much he'd like it to: Riverboat Ron.

Rivera was given the nickname after showing the instincts of a riverboat gambler when he successfully went for it on fourth-and-1 twice on the first series of a 35-10 victory at Minnesota on Oct. 13.

The nickname took on a new life Monday when Jim Kennedy, a graphic artist from Raleigh, N.C., posted online a picture of Rivera as a riverboat gambler.

Rivera is portrayed wearing dark sunglasses, a black Panthers cowboy hat and a Panthers blue jacket with a black vest and a tie. In one hand he is holding a cigar and the other poker cards. In the background is a picture of Bank of America Stadium and the words Riverboat Ron.

Kennedy initially posted the picture to a Panthers' fan page. It exploded Monday night when Rivera's daughter, Courtney, posted it on Instagram and it later turned into a Twitter post.

Kennedy said he designed the picture after hearing friends refer to Rivera as "Riverboat" during Sunday's 10-9 victory at San Francisco that extended Carolina's winning streak to five.

"It's really nice, exciting how something like this I did for fun real quick got spread all over the Internet," Kennedy said. "It's cool Rivera's daughter saw it. That means he may see it."

Rivera had no idea his daughter posted the picture until told during his Wednesday news conference.

"Oh, that's not fair now," Rivera said as he looked at his cellphone to reread a text message from his daughter that made more sense. "I'm going to talk to her."

Rivera wasn't a gambler before this season. Only one NFL coach had gambled less on fourth down than him since 2011, and that was former Carolina coach John Fox.

Rivera changed his philosophy after being criticized for not gambling in a 24-23 loss to Buffalo in Week 2. With a three-point lead and just under two minutes left, Rivera elected to go for a short field goal to give the Panthers a six-point lead.

That put the Bills in position of having to score a touchdown to win, which they did with two seconds left.

Rivera said he decided on the bus ride to the airport afterward that he needed to be more aggressive and show more faith in his offense in those situations.

Since then, the Panthers (6-3) have converted 5 of 7 fourth-and-1 plays.

"The thing I really like is the guys have said to me they appreciate me showing faith in who we are as a football team," Rivera said.

But Rivera doesn't particularly like the nickname, saying the calls are well thought out and calculated risks. Asked how many of his players call him "Riverboat," Rivera smiled and said, "Unfortunately, too many of them."

Left tackle Jordan Gross is as guilty as anybody. He used the nickname on his coach in the weight room Wednesday, making him blush.

Not all players are so daring.

"I don't think you want to tease our head coach," quarterback Cam Newton said. "That's not a good method of flattery."

Newton paused to admit he wasn't familiar with the nickname. When it was explained to him, he said, "Oh. I heard a couple of people call him Chico. That has been something that has followed him since Chicago."

Rivera, a former linebacker for the Chicago Bears , was given that nickname when he became the first American of Puerto Rican descent to play in the NFL.

"I don't think any player would say, 'Hey, Coach Riverboat,'" Newton said. "No, I don't think even you. You would be getting a letter, a memo, by Mr. [general manager] Dave Gettleman with that."

Defensive end Greg Hardy agreed.

"You call your boss a name," he said. "I want to keep my job, so no. Ron. Riveting Ron."

'Riverboat Ron' Rivera embracing nickname at Kentucky Derby

Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera hasn't always been fond of his nickname, "Riverboat Ron," but for one of the biggest gambling events known to sports, he's ready to have some fun.

Rivera got the nickname for his reputation as a riverboat gambler after displaying a risky style of play-calling early in his career.

All in @KentuckyDerby w/ @CoachRiv2 pic.twitter.com/kNENq28o7H — Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) May 7, 2016

Wanted to give a S/o to @camhatsNYC for the custom #riverboat hat! 👍🏼 pic.twitter.com/X2267qNP12 — Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) May 7, 2016

Lots of #PantherNation fans @KentuckyDerby today so this wave is 4 all y'all👋🏼 pic.twitter.com/0PGAQuK3JA — Ron Rivera (@RiverboatRonHC) May 7, 2016

Ron Rivera doing his best @cameronnewton impression #DerbyDay #kyderby pic.twitter.com/kQY3HF14YW — NBC Sports (@NBCSports) May 7, 2016

• Report: Chiefs make Humphrey top-paid center with 4-year, $72M deal
• Commanders trade Dotson to Eagles
• Fields: 'I've shown what I can do' to be Steelers' QB1
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• Panthers' Canales: Young, starters to play in preseason finale

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