There were hundreds of people packed into the conference room at Redskins Park, but the event that was about to transpire had the attention of millions.

Only four days had passed since the Redskins' season ended in Dallas, and Ron Rivera was about to be announced as the team's next head coach. The deal was already written in ink; Rivera had officially signed on New Year's Day after days of every sign pointing towards that partnership.

But this was Rivera's coronation, the moment when he'd stand in front of the entire organization, and indirectly, the entire fanbase, and explain his plan to resurrect the franchise.

Rivera was resolute as Redskins owner Dan Snyder gave his opening statement; he grinned at Snyder's "Happy Thanksgiving!" joke and listened while Snyder laid out how the 58-year-old known as "Riverboat Ron" was the right man for the job.

"What the Redskins have needed is a culture change, someone that can bring a winning culture to our organization," Snyder said. "It all starts and ends with our head coach. When looking for that man, I looked for a class act. That's how you describe Coach Rivera."

Growing that kind of reputation takes time. It goes back long before he first arrived in Ashburn, Virginia, and even before he earned the "Riverboat" nickname. It actually began when he was known by another name: Chico.

"Well, Buddy, you've had three days to look at your first- and second-round picks. What are your impressions?"

That's what Bears Hall of Fame defensive end Dan " The King" Hampton remembers as one of the first questions the Chicago media asked Ryan ahead of his sixth year in the NFL.

It was 1984, and the Bears were just one season away from history. Mike Ditka was entering his third season as the head coach, and many of the pieces that made up the legendary 1985 Bears defense were already in place. There was Hampton, Singletary and Otis Wilson, though none of them were the legends they eventually became in later years.

After finishing the past two seasons with a combined record of 11-14, the Bears were ready to make a playoff push. They started by drafting linebackers in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.

With their first pick at No. 11 overall, the Bears chose Wilber "Phenom" Marshall out of the University of Florida. At 6-foot-1 and 231 pounds, Marshall was exactly what Ryan and Ditka wanted out of a linebacker. He was quick for his size and fit right in with the Bears' culture.

"He was the most unbelievable athlete I've ever been around," Rivera said.

The Bears then drafted Rivera 44th overall. He was two inches taller than Marshall, but eight pounds heavier. He wasn't as fast, either; in fact, Hampton said it looked like Rivera was "tied to a sled" whenever he and Marshall ran next to each other.

"Hey, 59!" Ryan yelled. "Come here."

Ryan never called players by their name; it was always by their numbers.

Any player who wanted to be a part of the Bears' defense in the 1980s had to know all about the 46 defense, otherwise known as the "Bear" defense.

Ryan designed it himself; he knew his defense wasn't good enough to stop offenses with a three-man rush, so his solution was to put eight players in the box. If quarterbacks were able to complete passes against that, fine; but he wasn't going to make it easy.

It was the middle of Rivera's rookie year when he was called over by Ryan, who always stood about 40 yards behind the defense to watch the plays. For about 10 plays, the two were silent as practice progressed. Suddenly, Ryan began to question Rivera.

"'What's happening on this?'" Rivera remembers Ryan asking him. "What should we do on that? Why did he do that? What are we looking at?'"

It became a daily ritual between the two, and Ryan would often question Rivera with his infamous intensity.

"Why am I calling that?" Ryan would say.

"Because you want to take the outside linebacker and put him in position so he can get his hands on the tight end so he can read what's going on and he can get to the flat," Rivera would reply.

It was during those sessions that Rivera truly started to understand how NFL defenses worked and, more importantly, the reasoning behind Ryan's decisions.

"He really understood how to game plan and attack an opponent," Rivera said. "That's where I learned. I learned it from him. That's when I really started to understand football. I'm watching players and seeing who's making mistakes and who's doing it right. I'm watching how the offense is attacking the defense and then I'm listening to why he's doing the things he's doing."

In Rivera's rookie season, it was Singletary, Otis Wilson and Al Harris as the starting linebackers. Rivera's job in his second year was to shadow Singletary, but he wasn't limited to middle linebacker. He could play all three spots.

"He was willing to do everything and understood exactly what he needed to do," McGinnis said.

Morrissey liked to sleep. It was part of he and Rivera's routine whenever they traveled for road games. Morrissey would sleep in, and Rivera would get up early. One wouldn't imagine it to be the ideal setup for roommates, but it worked out well enough.

That was especially true for Morrissey, who would wake up to the pancakes, sausage and eggs that Rivera had gotten for him.

"Good roomy," Morrissey said. "He was a great teammate, and that's all you can ask for. Obviously he knows the game of football and knew the game of football, and with his personality and being a likable person, he's got the whole package."

As good as Rivera was on the football field, he was known for being an even better person off of it. He was a man who everybody on the team counted on, looked up to and wanted to be around. That's part of the reason he was nominated as the team's Man of the Year and Ed Block Courage Award recipient.

"He was a big brother everybody loved to have," Hampton said. "I've played with some 300 different guys, and he was exemplary in so many ways."

"You know as they say, 'Hail to the Redskins.' Let's go, man. Let's roll."

Rivera had finished his opening statement as the Redskins' new head coach and held up a burgundy helmet for all to see. The cameras flashed as Rivera smiled and the audience applauded.

It was no surprise to any of his teammates that Rivera would get into coaching. Thanks to all those meetings with Ryan, he was always wondering about the "how" and the "why" of every play. He always talked about getting into the profession.

"He was determined to get back in the game and he did it right," Morrissey said. "He did it the right way."

Rivera worked his way from defensive quality control coach with the Bears in 1987 to other coaching jobs with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Bears again in 2004 and the San Diego Charges. In 2011, he was named the head coach of the Carolina Panthers.

He held the position for nine years, and in that time frame he led his team to four playoff appearances, three NFC South Division titles and an appearance in Super Bowl 50. He was also named the Associated Press Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2015, making him one of 10 coaches in NFL history to win the award twice.

All that has given his old teammates something to be proud of when seeing how the player they knew grew to become Rivera, the head coach.

"Ron and I used to talk about [one day becoming NFL coaches] all the time," Singletary told ESPN in 2016. "I always told him he was going to be a coach. And he would tell me that I was going to be a coach. He always found a way to make a difference on the sidelines and not pout about not playing. He made the most of it."

McGinnis, who coached in the NFL for three decades, still considers Rivera to be one of his all-time favorite players. He and Singletary were two of the brightest players he ever coached, so it does not surprise him that Rivera had excelled on the sidelines.

"Ron Rivera has exactly what this league needs, and I'm very happy for his success as a head coach. Washington made a great hire."

Rivera now inherits a franchise in need of change. The Redskins have only been to the playoffs twice in 10 seasons, and the fans are looking for a new culture.

Rivera seemed to gain the fans' approval almost as soon as he was officially hired. The organization likes his vision, and they're willing to let him lead them to the ultimate goal of eventually winning a Super Bowl.

The only thing left for Rivera to do now is to set that plan in motion. Thanks to Chico, Rivera is up to the task.

"If they're patient and give him time, he'll get it flipped," McGinnis said, "because he is the right person."