Could Commanders Fire Ron Rivera After Missing 2nd Straight Playoffs?
For the second consecutive season, the Washington Commanders will be heading to the couch after a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns eliminated them from playoff contention.
The loss moved head coach Ron Rivera's record to 21-27-1 through nearly three seasons in leading Washington. Should the Commanders lose the season finale to the Dallas Cowboys, it will mark three straight seasons of exactly seven wins.
The stagnancy shows that the Commanders aren't exactly making progress with Rivera and a change could be warranted.
But will there be a change with the coaching staff?
Signs at this point are pointing towards no, at least if Rivera wants to stay.
Rivera, who turns 61 this week, signed a five-year contract back in 2020, meaning he has two seasons left on his deal after this one. Given the fact that Rivera is under contract and Dan Snyder could sell the franchise this offseason, any massive changes for a mediocre team aren't likely.
If the Commanders bottomed out, there would be more heat under Rivera's seat, but from the limited view we've seen, players enjoy playing for the coach.
We've seen Washington consistently rally around Rivera during his tumultuous tenure with the team from battling cancer, COVID-19, quarterback controversies and losing his mom Dolores in October.
There's also no guarantee that a new coach would be an upgrade over Rivera. Unless Sean Payton threw his hands up wanting to coach the Commanders, there probably isn't a proven commodity better than Rivera on the open market. Plus, the Commanders don't have the most attractive job at the moment with Snyder under fire and still in charge amidst a potential sale.
There's already a lot of smoke going on in Washington at the moment, the last thing the Commanders need is another fire right now.
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