Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera wants the organization and fan base to be patient. He preaches that building a winning culture takes time, he sold the franchise on a vision that everyone needs to buy into for the culture to be changed. After all, success isn’t going to happen in one night.
Rivera finds himself squarely on the hot seat this season, in a critical year three for head coaches. With the Commanders off to another rough start, sitting at the bottom of the NFC East as their rivals thrive, Washington’s head coach deflected the blame in a recent press conference. When asked by reporters about why other teams in the division are further ahead at this point, Rivera cited quarterback.
Putting aside the fact that a head coach essentially threw his quarterback under the bus, Rivera seems to have a poor grasp on the current state of the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys. New York made the leap in 2022 because of a great coach, with first-year coach Brian Daboll unlocking the offense and his staff helping get the most out of a roster that is $19 million cheaper than Washington’s depth chart. As for Dallas, it’s won four consecutive games with a backup quarterback who didn’t make the initial 53-man roster and then came off the practice squad right before Week 1.
Rivera later backtracked, defending the quarterback who he helped pick as Washington’s marquee offseason acquisition. He also defended Carson Wentz‘s play, ignoring the fact that Washington’s signal-caller ranks 24th in ESPN QBR (38.2) and grades as the 24th-best quarterback by Pro Football Focus.
The Commanders are likely going to stick with Wentz as their starting quarterback for the majority of the season – even if it means losing a 2023 second-round pick – because Rivera needs the starter who he trusts the most to save his job. It’s just part of the reason why it’s time for Washington to fire Ron Rivera.
“It’s not going to happen overnight” and likely never will
It’s not going to happen overnight is something the 60-year-old coach loves to remind everyone of about his way of building a team. Months into the job, Rivera asked fans to give him patience because his vision for the team would take years to build. Rivera wouldn’t put a time frame on exactly how long it would take, but 13 years of NFL coaching experience provide him with a first-hand look at that. However, he needed everyone to just be patient with him.
“The truth of the matter is there is no time frame, there really isn’t, but I do know that it’s got to happen soon, I can tell you that much. I understand I get that part of it. But it’s not going to happen overnight. What we need is we need everybody to come in and understand what the vision is and they’ve got to buy into what the vision is going to be. Once they’ve done that, it gives us an opportunity to be successful.”
Washington made the playoffs in Rivera’s first season at the helm, hosting a game at FedEx Field. However, that postseason appearance came in a historically bad season for the NFC East. At 7-9, it finished 14th in the NFL standings and seventh in the conference with a +6 point differential that ranked 14th in the league.
The following season, Washington went into its Week 9 bye with a 2-6 record. Even if it scorched earth down the stretch, making the playoffs was extremely doubtful. Fully aware of the direction the team was headed, Rivera once again reverted to his favorite line.
In November 2021, he told ABC 7 News that overhauling a culture within an organization is a long-term process. Pointing to his time with the Carolina Panthers, supporters and personnel for an organization all need to be bought in. As he stated, “it gets darkest before it gets brightest,” his vision needed several years to be implemented before everything would come to fruition.
“Futility just doesn’t disappear overnight. To create a positive environment, it takes time, it’s not going to happen overnight.” -Ron Rivera in 2021 on fixing a team’s culture and keeping everyone engaged
Rivera’s team finished with a 7-10 record, finishing a distant third in the NFC East with zero wins against the Dallas Cowboys or Philadelphia Eagles. Fans were rightfully frustrated after consecutive losing seasons, but once again, perseverance and a willingness for everyone to keep buying into the plan was necessary for it to work.
The Commanders are now one of the worst teams in the NFL, entering Week 6 with a 1-4 record and at the bottom of the NFL power rankings. Just as alarming as the team’s record, it has the second-worst point differential (-38) through five games with both one of the worst offenses and defenses in football.
Before the Week 5 loss to the Tennessee Titans, Rivera understood the frustration of the fan base and those within the organization. But he wanted everyone to be realistic about what can be accomplished, he wasn’t panicking and he once again reiterated the same line to reporters.
It’s now been more than 1,000 nights since Washington hired Ron Rivera and defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and the results speak volumes.
- Ron Rivera record (Washington Commanders): 15-23