Who Made Chase Young & Montez Sweat Trades? What's Truth Mean for Ron Rivera Washington Commanders Future?
Ron Rivera, as the top guy in the Washington Commanders organization under previous owner Dan Snyder, wasn't just the head coach here. He was ... everything, so deeply involved in the front office that major marketing decisions, franchise cultural decisions and of course roster decisions all had his personal mark on them.
Things seem to be changing - and that might be taken as a hint that new owner Josh Harris has some ideas on eventually changing who sits in Rivera's big chair in the head coach's office.
Josh Harris
Washington made two big trades on Tuesday, moving Montez Sweat to the Bears and Chase Young to the 49ers. Both of those players are in the final years of their contracts, and both would've been expensive to retain in 2024. At the same time, the Commanders presently sit at 3-5 - disappointing but not disastrous.
So who made the decision to pull the lever on the trades, and to in a sense pull the plug on the season? According to The Athletic's Dianna Russini, the order came from the top.
As the plugged-in Russini politely phrased it: "I was told Washington ownership had a strong hand in deciding to deal both Chase Young and Montez Sweat. Many in the building wanted to keep them because they believe in this team but in the end, its about the future for the Commanders."
Who would want to keep them? Maybe a powerful coach hoping to hang on for more 2023 wins and hang onto his job.
Who would have the power to veto that sentiment and to instead take the draft picks gained (a second-rounder for Sweat and a third-rounder for Young) and call it a day on 2023? Maybe a new majority owner in Josh Harris who is in the process of restructuring the entire franchise ...
In a way that might not include Ron Rivera.
(An aside: This is not to suggest than Snyder lacked involvement; indeed, he was criticized for “meddling” in personnel.)
At this moment, Rivera deserves acclaim for so much of what he's done outside the white lines. But in his four seasons as the head coach, the Commanders as a football team have found themselves making it to the playoffs once - with a 7-9 record in 2020.
There is now a new boss in town. And it seems that new boss Harris isn't committed to the Rivera-related status quo.
