Briefs
Redskins hire Rivera
The Redskins hired Ron Rivera as their coach on Wednesday in owner Dan Snyder’s latest step to try to turn around the wayward franchise.
Washington announced the move two days after Snyder fired president Bruce Allen following a decade of futility. The former Carolina Panthers coach quickly emerged as the Redskins’ top candidate and inherits a team that went 3-13 this season and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2015.
“After several meetings with Coach Rivera, it was clear he is the right person to bring winning football back to Washington, D.C.,” Snyder said in a statement. “He is widely respected around the league as a man of great integrity and has proven to be one of the finest coaches in the country.”
The 57-year-old Rivera is the seventh coach hired by Snyder in his two decades of ownership, which have included just five playoff appearances. He spent the past nine seasons coaching the Panthers, taking them to the Super Bowl in 2015.
Rivera replaces interim coach Bill Callahan, a favorite of Allen, who was fired after going 62-97-1 during his 10 years with the organization.
Snyder and Allen fired Jay Gruden in October after a 0-5 start to his sixth season. Rivera was fired by the Panthers in December after starting 5-7.
Pens’ Guentzel out after surgery
Pittsburgh Penguins leading scorer Jake Guentzel is out at least four months after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday.
The 25-year-old Guentzel injured the shoulder in the third period of a 5-2 victory over Ottawa on Monday night when he slammed into the boards shortly after tapping in his team-high 20th goal of the season. Guentzel slowly made his way to the bench clutching his right arm.
Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford says the expected recovery is 4-6 months, meaning there’s a chance Guentzel could return for a portion of the playoffs. Guentzel was named to the All-Star team on Monday, just hours before going down.