Commanders Plan To Give HC Ron Rivera Full Season To Evaluate

According to Ian Rapoport, Commanders owner Josh Harris plans to give HC Ron Rivera the rest of the season to evaluate his full body of work at the end of the year, along with that of the full coaching staff and front office. 

Rapoport says that was Harris’ plan when he took over ownership of the team in July and in an ideal world he wants to avoid making sweeping changes in-season. 

He adds Harris and Rivera have hit it off and the new owner doesn’t think making big coaching changes midseason usually leads to positive results. In an ideal world, Rivera and the team show enough progress down the stretch to earn another year. 

However, Rapoport acknowledges an ugly performance against the Cowboys today in a nationally televised game could spark some changes. And if Washington ends up missing the playoffs as looks likely, it could be Rivera’s final season in Washington. 

Rivera, 61, is a former second-round pick of the Bears back in 1984. He played several seasons in Chicago before taking his first coaching job with the Bears in 1997. He worked for the Eagles and Chargers before the Panthers hired him as their head coach in 2011.

Rivera spent nine years as the Panthers head coach and led them to a record of 76-63-1, which includes four playoff appearances and a trip to the Super Bowl following the 2015 season. He was named the AP coach of the year twice before Carolina moved on after the 2019 season.

Washington moved quickly to hire Rivera as their head coach. He has a 26-34-1 record through four seasons. 

For his career, Rivera has a record of 102-97-2 (.512 winning percentage) over 13 seasons with five playoff appearances (3-5 record). 

We’ll have more on Rivera as the news is available.