MIAMI – A gaggle of media surrounded the table well before Ron Rivera was scheduled to talk Thursday morning. Such is the power of the Cowboys.
The team's coaching search was put on pause for Super Bowl XLI by owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who arrived in Miami on Thursday afternoon. But the Cowboys' quest for a new coach has become woven into Super Bowl chatter.
Rivera, the Bears defensive coordinator, was not asked about the Colts' offense for the first 15 minutes of his media availability. Instead, he was bombarded with questions about possibly becoming the Cowboys' next head coach or their defensive coordinator.
"What I can tell you is I've talked to nobody," Rivera said.
A few hours later, at the Harbor Beach Marriott in Fort Lauderdale, Indianapolis assistant head coach Jim Caldwell sat largely unnoticed. He answered a few questions about Peyton Manning and backup quarterback Jim Sorgi.
When the subject of possibly being a candidate for the Cowboys' opening came up, he deferred.
"My focus is on the game we have and playing against a very, very tough Chicago Bear team," said Caldwell, who interviewed for the Arizona job this year and the Buffalo job last year. "That's where my focus is. I have thought of nothing else."
League rules prevent the Cowboys from making contact with either coach until Monday, and it's not clear if Jones will ask to interview another candidate.
But if contacted, Rivera would listen, and he did not rule out the possibility of joining the Cowboys as coordinator should Norv Turner become the team's next head coach.
The Bears, using a 4-3 scheme, had the fifth-ranked defense in 2006 and allowed only 15.9 points per game. Rivera blends some of what he learned as a player in Chicago under Buddy Ryan, when the Bears won Super Bowl XX, and as a coach under Jim Johnson in Philadelphia. The Bears this season had eight players intercept 24 passes. Their 40 sacks came from nine players.
"I think the biggest thing guys respect about him is he's going to treat you as a man, the same as Lovie Smith," Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye said. "Because he is the defensive coordinator, he has to be a little more assertive, a little more aggressive, but he doesn't like any half-[hearted] plays. He likes guys to go full speed. He feels any mistake can be overcome by effort."
Rivera has interviewed for six jobs the last few years without success, which may be viewed as a negative. But Romeo Crennel went through a similar story as New England's defensive coordinator before becoming head coach in Cleveland in 2005.
Rivera said Jones is the top reason he would want the job.
"The man is committed to winning," Rivera said. "He's got a great attitude toward winning. He does what it takes to win, and I think they have good personnel. I really do like that situation. And it's a football community down there. They love football. It's very similar to Chicago. There's a lot of good that can come of an opportunity like that."
The Bears could help Rivera with a strong performance Sunday against Caldwell's offense. And vice-versa.
"I'm very motivated because winning cures a lot," Rivera said. "Winning gets a lot of people's attention. That's the one thing Coach Smith has said, too. When the tide rises, so do all the ships. Believe me, I can't think of a better way to help myself and help my career in terms of getting an opportunity than to win."
