Ron Rivera, coach of the Washington Football Team, has recently been diagnosed with Squamous cell cancer of the neck after a self-check. He received the diagnosis two weeks ago and broke the news to Adam Schefter.
Rivera broke the news to his team.
“Some were stunned. A bunch came up and wished me well. I said ‘I’m going to be a little more cranky so don’t piss me off.'”
Rivera became the Washington Football Team’s head coach in early January after coaching the Carolina Panthers for nine years. In his time in Carolina, he took them to a Super Bowl and won the NFL’s coach of the year twice (2013 and 2015).
Rivera told Schefter that he is “establishing a treatment plan with the team and an outside specialist.” He will remain as the Coach of the Washington Football Team unless things get worse. In that case, there will be a ‘Plan B’ in place. Ian Rapoport tweeted that Jack Del Rio, the Football Team’s defensive coordinator will take over if necessary. Del Rio was the head coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Oakland Raiders for a total of 12 seasons.
Immediately after learning the news, many NFL players and coaches wished him well.
The diagnosis is not keeping Rivera off the field as he looks forward to the start of the season.
