Why keeping Rivera is the right call for Commanders

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera. Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

Why keeping Ron Rivera is the right call for Commanders

By Ryan McCafferty | Last updated 1/10/23

With the passing of "Black Monday," the day after the regular season when NFL owners typically fire coaches, all indications are the Washington Commanders will retain HC Ron Rivera.

In three seasons under Rivera, the Commanders are 22-28-1, including a loss in the playoffs. Many Commanders fans may be ready to move on, but there's still reason to believe he's the right person for the job.

Solving the quarterback problem is obviously the top offseason priority for Washington.

The Commanders will always have a lower ceiling than other potential contenders as long as their QB room is a revolving door. In 2022, Washington got middling results from QBs Taylor Heinicke and Carson Wentz.

If he gets an elite QB, as he had in Carolina with Cam Newton, Rivera can be successful. He deserves at least one more offseason to find the answer.

Ron Rivera when asked why this QB search will return better results: "I think going into it, we're in a much better place."
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) January 10, 2023

There's other room for optimism.

By the time next season rolls around, Dan Snyder may no longer be Washington's owner, per multiple reports. Throughout most of his tenure, Snyder has presided over a toxic workplace environment and a losing culture. Many fans believe the team will never find sustainable success until he is gone.

Washington's fans couldn't have asked for a better antidote to Snyder drama than Rivera. He has taken a team culture that seemed broken beyond repair and turned it around.

In today's world of instant gratification, it seems we often forget that building a winner is a process. Sometimes it takes time, as it did for the Steelers under Chuck Noll decades ago.

Although Washington is missing pieces, it has a solid foundation built by Rivera on and off the field.

Coaching is about much more than calling plays and making lineup decisions. It's also about leadership, and Rivera has already succeeded in that department.

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