Bill Belichick Offers Message To Ron Rivera Amid Jack Del Rio Rumors
Bill Belichick offered a special message to Ron Rivera on Friday: hang in there.
Earlier this week, the Washington Football team announced that Rivera had been diagnosed with lymph node cancer. Upon hearing this, Belichick sent his thoughts to one of the few men in the NFL to best him on multiple occasions.
“On behalf of our team and organization I want to send along our best wishes to Coach Rivera,” the New England Patriots head coach said.
“Ron’s been a good friend. Certainly a person who’s had a great career in the National Football League. He’s a quality person, player, [and] coach. So, we just want to send our best wishes along to him and hope for a speedy and complete recovery. And we hope that he’s doing well.”
Bill Belichick with a classy gesture—sending his best wishes to Ron Rivera.
— John Ellis (@OnePantherPlace) August 21, 2020
Rivera remains undefeated against Belichick – going 2-0 against him in their 2013 and 2017 regular season match-ups.
After word of Rivera’s condition emerged, many began to wonder whether he would be able to continue coaching this season.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport spoke with multiple people within the Washington Football Team organization, and it appears as though the plan is still for Rivera to lead the group. However, if he for any reason is unable to do that at some point later in the year, Jack Del Rio will take over.
“The hope for Washington coach Ron Rivera is to coach — uninterrupted — thru the 2020 season as he receives treatment for squamous cell carcinoma,” he said.
“If he has to go to Plan B, I’m told DC Jack Del Rio would assume head coach duties. Del Rio has more than a decade of HC experience.”
The hope for Washington coach Ron Rivera is to coach — uninterrupted — thru the 2020 season as he receives treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. If he has to go to Plan B, I’m told DC Jack Del Rio would assume head coach duties. Del Rio has more than a decade of HC experience.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 21, 2020
The 2020 NFL season will kick off in three weeks. All parties involved should get some clarity on Rivera’s status between now and then.
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Michael Kyaw, initially a PR Manager, built up a valuable network of connections in the sports world that he then utilized to become an influential sports business reporter. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, Fansided, ESPN and the Wall Street Journal.
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