Why Commanders Should Be 'Concerned' About Ron Rivera

Is Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera coaching himself out of a job?

Owner Josh Harris has made it a priority to usher in a new era of Washington Commanders football. How he evaluates his coaching staff could go a long way towards delivering on those promises.

Head coach Ron Rivera is entering his fourth season as Washington’s lead man. To Rivera’s credit, he won a lackluster NFC East title in 2020. Still, his 22-27-1 record isn’t conducive to much optimism, regardless of questionable quarterback play and ex-owner Dan Snyder’s antics.

Former NFL executive Michael Lombardi took to the airwaves to summarize his displeasure with Rivera.

“I like Washington, but I don’t trust Rivera,” Lombardi said.

Geoff Burke, USA Today

He pointed to miscues with the media that revealed critical lapses in judgment. Rivera admitted to not knowing the Commanders could be eliminated in their Week 17 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He also did not defend new offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy in the wake of early-camp criticism and regretted not seeing the spark in quarterback Sam Howell that has engulfed Commanders camp this summer.

“New Commanders owner Josh Harris should be concerned now,” Lombardi said on the 'Grant and Danny Show.' “Did the 2022 coaching staff have a meeting after the first quarter of the season to discuss everyone on the roster?”

Quarterback Carson Wentz was horrible in 2022. The only starter with a lower quarterback rating than Wentz’ 32.9 mark was current Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield. Wentz started seven games for Washington, leading them to a 2-5 record. Replacement passer Taylor Heinicke was 5-3-1 in his starts, but could not pull the Commanders up from the depths of their early-Autumn struggles.

Teams deal with bad quarterback play all the time. Doing so with next year’s starter on the roster, however, is a different story. Lombardi emphasized that seeing Howell in practice and not giving him a chance to play over Wentz and Heinicke is an indictment of Rivera in itself.

Lombardi’s affinity for Howell has left him optimistic about the Commanders, even if Rivera causes him to hesitate. He, like many fans, wished they got a longer chance to watch Howell last season. 

There is an inherent pressure for Harris to put his fingerprints on the organization. It’s started with FedEx Field upgrades and a sense of stability that the organization has missed. With a perceived budding head coach already on staff, a slow start to the season could spell the end of Rivera’s tenure in Washington.

Rivera will have the headset on for the Commanders’ Week 1 affair against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.