Every NFL coach was once another coach's protégé. A head football coach does not come by his philosophy casually, particularly one with a conservative bent learned at the knees of "Iron" Mike Ditka, Buddy Ryan, Jim Johnson and Lovie Smith. To Rivera's everlasting credit, he was open-minded enough to welcome a mid-career football epiphany that embraced an expanded understanding of probability in determining the outcome of football games. No longer playing it by the proverbial book, "Riverboat Ron" has emerged as one of the NFL's best strategists on fourth downs and in close games.