Ron Rivera was on the hot seat even before another Washington Commanders season on his watch turned into what it did – the 4-13 finish in 2023 was his third losing season in four years; the one non-losing season was literally that, 8-8-1 a year ago.
The change in ownership, with Josh Harris taking over as managing partner on the eve of the 2023 season, foretold change coming unless Rivera somehow got the Commanders into the playoffs this season.
“I want to thank Ron and his wife Stephanie for all they did for the Commanders and DMV community, especially during the ownership transition,” Harris said in a nicely worded future endeavors statement on Monday announcing the sacking of Rivera, who was 26-40-1 in four seasons as the Commanders coach.
“Ron helped navigate this organization through some challenging times,” Harris said in the statement. “He is a good man and thoughtful leader who has positively contributed to this organization and the NFL. I wish the Rivera family nothing but the best moving forward.”
As in the case in college athletics, when a new AD wants to put their guy in place as the football coach, new owners are going to want their guy, whoever that ends up being, leading the franchise forward.
The job should be a hot one on the 2024-2025 NFL job market, given the presence of the new ownership group, and the housecleaning that Harris and GM Martin Mayhew initiated mid-season.
The front office most notably jettisoned underproducing former #2 overall pick Chase Young at the trade deadline, and signaled that the QB1 spot is open with the decision to bench 2022 fifth-round pick Sam Howell late in the season, though Howell ended up starting the final two games after backup Jacoby Brissett suffered an injury in practice.
The Cs, because of that 4-13 finish, have the second pick in the upcoming draft, which they could leverage for a top-shelf college QB talent, or use to trade down and stockpile additional first- and second-round picks.
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Chris Graham
