‘You’re The Guy’ – California Golden Bears Athletics

The more evidence Chancellor Rich Lyons collected, the more obvious it became that Ron Rivera should be Cal’s general manager for football.

FB7/21/2025 10:00 AM | By: Jonathan Okanes

Legend Ron Rivera Is The Perfect Fit To Oversee Cal’s Football Program

This feature originally appeared in the 2025 Summer edition of the Cal Sports Quarterly. The Cal Athletics flagship magazine features long-form sports journalism at its finest and provides in-depth coverage of the scholar-athlete experience in Berkeley. Printed copies are mailed four times a year to Bear Backers who give annually at the Bear Club level (currently $600 or more). For more information on how you can receive a printed version of the Cal Sports Quarterly at home, send an email to CalAthleticsFund@berkeley.edu or call (510) 642-2427.

When UC Berkeley Chancellor Rich Lyons determined the best way to optimally position Cal’s football program for a new era of intercollegiate athletics was to hire a general manager, he consulted with a variety of stakeholders for input.

 

Along with alumni, staff members and others, he also had a series of conversations with Golden Bear legend Ron Rivera, the former Cal All-American linebacker who went on to a successful nine-year professional playing career and then became a two-time NFL Coach of the Year.

 

“(Lyons) said he had talked to some people he was close with and they kept telling him they need to get this guy, bring him in and put him in position to help Cal,” Rivera said. “I said, ‘How can I help?’ He said, ‘Well, you’re the guy they are talking about.'”

 

Rivera had been interviewing for potential NFL jobs but had an epiphany while discussing the Cal opportunity with his wife, Stephanie, who met Ron during her time as a student-athlete on Cal’s women’s basketball team.

 

“I said, ‘If I’m going to mentor somebody and work with somebody, why wouldn’t I go back to Cal?'” Rivera said. “She looked at me and said, ‘Let’s go home.'”

 

Rivera was hired as Cal’s football general manager in March, giving him oversight of all aspects of the program and putting in place a beloved student-athlete alum whose impact will be felt well beyond victories on the field.

 

“After only a few months working with our football program, it’s clear to all that…