Could Commanders Fire Ron Rivera After Missing 2nd Straight Playoffs?

Ron Rivera and the Washington Commanders have missed the playoffs for the second year in a row. Will this season be Rivera's last in D.C.?

Jeremy Brener | Jan 2, 2023

For the second consecutive season, the Washington Commanders will be heading to the couch after a 24-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns eliminated them from playoff contention.

The loss moved head coach Ron Rivera's record to 21-27-1 through nearly three seasons in leading Washington. Should the Commanders lose the season finale to the Dallas Cowboys, it will mark three straight seasons of exactly seven wins.

The stagnancy shows that the Commanders aren't exactly making progress with Rivera and a change could be warranted.

But will there be a change with the coaching staff?

Signs at this point are pointing towards no, at least if Rivera wants to stay.

Rivera, who turns 61 this week, signed a five-year contract back in 2020, meaning he has two seasons left on his deal after this one. Given the fact that Rivera is under contract and Dan Snyder could sell the franchise this offseason, any massive changes for a mediocre team aren't likely.

If the Commanders bottomed out, there would be more heat under Rivera's seat, but from the limited view we've seen, players enjoy playing for the coach.

We've seen Washington consistently rally around Rivera during his tumultuous tenure with the team from battling cancer, COVID-19, quarterback controversies and losing his mom Dolores in October.

There's also no guarantee that a new coach would be an upgrade over Rivera. Unless Sean Payton threw his hands up wanting to coach the Commanders, there probably isn't a proven commodity better than Rivera on the open market. Plus, the Commanders don't have the most attractive job at the moment with Snyder under fire and still in charge amidst a potential sale.

There's already a lot of smoke going on in Washington at the moment, the last thing the Commanders need is another fire right now.

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Published Jan 2, 2023

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.