'Facelift!' Ron Rivera Fired Following Cowboys at Washington Finale - Reports
The impending firing of Ron Rivera - the two-time NFL Coach of the Year who carried a heavy load during his time here trying to do more than coach the woeful Washington Commanders - is being phrased many different ways by many different media outlets.
"Parting ways.'' "Moving on." "Saying 'goodbye.'"
Say it how you wish; owner Josh Harris - who ought to be hoping that his team loses in Week 18 against the Dallas Cowboys, securing the No. 2 pick and a chance for his franchise to pick a top quarterback - is about to pull the "Black Monday'' trigger on a major change.
NFL Network terms what the Commanders need as a "facelift." We find that to be almost as gentle as "Parting ways'' and "Moving on" and "Saying 'goodbye.'" But so be it. It is true.
First, Rivera (and Harris) need to engineer their way through this Cowboys game. Rivera enters Week 18 with a 102-102-1 record in 13 seasons as an NFL coach. It is possible that the 61-year-old will be coaching the final game of his career Sunday afternoon, which, barring a tie, will determine whether he finishes with a lifetime winning or losing record.
Win one for "Riverboat Ron"?
But ... Washington has lost seven straight. What will eight straight matter, even though it means folding to a Cowboys team trying to secure both the NFC East title and No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs?
Soon enough, the Commanders talk will be about Ron being gone and a flood of gossip and reports about the next guy, from Bieniemy to Belichick and everybody in between. And to most Washington fans - meaning no disrespect to the positive things that Rivera tried to accomplish while working for Harris predecessor Daniel Snyder - "the next guy" cannot come soon enough.
