Commanders' Ron Rivera avoids discussing job security

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is more concerned with getting his 4-7 club ready to play at the 7-3 Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day than he is about his job security past Week 18. 

"I can only control what I can," Rivera said coming off Sunday's 31-19 loss to a New York Giants team that started undrafted rookie Tommy DeVito at quarterback, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. "What happens beyond today, what happens beyond the end of the season, that’s not in my control. So everything I can do is focus on today, the present. That’s the only thing I have. I’ll try to get that across to the players as well. I can’t focus on what I can’t control." 

Rivera suggested ahead of the weekend he understands new team owner Josh Harris could make a coaching change this coming January. That was before Washington sacked DeVito nine times but also allowed the 25-year-old to complete 18-of-26 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns. 

It was previously rumored that Harris could explore trading for New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick this offseason. For a piece published Monday afternoon, Peter Alexis of oddschecker listed Rivera as third among the betting favorites at +300 odds to become the next NFL coach fired by an organization. 

"I try to focus on the Cowboys and just take it one day at a time," Rivera continued. "I try to focus in on what’s important today, and that’s preparing for Dallas." 

The Commanders have gone 26-34-1 under Rivera since the start of the 2020 season and have lost four of their last five games. As of Monday afternoon, oddschecker listed Washington as a 10.5-point underdog against Dallas. 

"We’re all frustrated," Rivera added during his comments. "We’re all trying to get this thing corrected. We’re all trying to do the best we can." 

According to Bill Barnwell of ESPN, teams that sacked the quarterback nine or more times during a single game had gone 43-1 since the turn of the century before Sunday. 

Barnwell also noted that "it's no secret around the league that many people expect this to be Ron Rivera's final season in Washington."