Few NFL head coaches have earned the level of respect for their daring play-calling that Ron Rivera of the Washington Commanders has during his time in the league.
That’s because the man nicknamed “Riverboat” has taken his fair share of chances, both with the Commanders and the Carolina Panthers, netting him a .521 career winning percentage and three playoff wins in his career.
But that risk-taking approach to coaching has also cost Rivera his fair share of spreads with both teams, as the 61-year-old ranks 15th among the 29 NFL coaches with at least a year in the league in cover percentage (52.23%). For a coach who had both a 15-1 and 12-4 season in Carolina, he hasn't exactly been a juggernaut across Virginia sports betting.
To get a sense of where Rivera ranks among his head coaching peers against the spread, BetVirginia.com utilized data from TeamRankings.com to gather every active NFL head coach’s record ATS, dating back to 2003 when data was made available. We did not include records from interim stints.
Stick with BetVirginia.com ahead of the NFL season, where we'll closely track the Commanders playoff chances under Rivera.
NFL Coaches Against the Spread
Rivera In The Middle of the Pack
Rivera finds himself in the middle of the pack, ATS-wise, sandwiched between the L.A. Rams’ Sean McVay (52.4% cover percentage) and Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers (52.1%).
The 12-year NFL head coach ranks well behind the NFL’s ATS leaders, such as Brian Daboll of the New York Giants (73.7% cover percentage), Dan Campbell of the Detroit Lions (67.7%) and Zac Taylor of the Cincinnati Bengals (60%).
As far as NFC East coaches are concerned, “Riverboat” Ron ranks third out of five, behind Daboll and Mike McCarthy of the Dallas Cowboys (56.4% cover percentage). Rivera does rank ahead of Nick Siranni of the Philadelphia Eagles (48.7% cover percentage) on the NFL ATS leaderboard, however.
It seems that as the NFL readies for the opening kickoff of the 2023-24 regular season that Commanders fans should prepare themselves for another season of neck-and-neck contests, as Rivera’s past likely means that the club won’t be able to cover the spread very often in the year ahead.
BetVirginia.com is also your home to the best Virginia sportsbook promos.
