How down on Ron Rivera are you?

[Boone]

I was thinking about this today. What would it take for you to be even interested in continuing with Ron Rivera as Head Coach beyond 2023?

Truthfully, I was very excited about the Sean Payton revelation that more than one Commander's bidder had reached out to him about the possibility of taking over. I'm so over Rivera. I was fairly bullish on him coming out of Carolina, but he's not the same aggressive coach he was with the Panthers. He's a terrible game manager, the only 'Riverboat' moves I've seen him make were stupid ones, and he's gotten into a bad habit of making excuses and trying to shift blame to others. His most impactful moves to date were championing our stupid new team moniker and giving away the farm for Carson Wentz. The 'we can get eliminated?' gaffe pushed me over the edge. Folks can minimize that all they want, but that was a shocking glimpse into how disengaged he really is. He spends a lot of time and energy on things that don’t involve coaching this team.

For me to even be able to accept having him as the leader of this franchise beyond an inevitable 2023, he'd have to outright win the division with 10 or more wins and get us to the NFC East championship game. Short of that, I’m ready to see him move on. I still hold out a shred of hope a new owner, if that happens soon enough, will clean house starting with Hurney, Mayhew, and Rivera prior to the NFL draft.

I suspect that's much harsher than most view things, so I'm curious - where are you guys on Rivera?

 

[MikefromOH]

Ron isn't head coach material in my opinion. He was a great LB coach, and great DC. But, he doesn't seem to have the ability to get the people around him to do what he wants and hold them accountable when they don't.

He has some legendary rants that gets the players hyped up, but as a head coach nobody seems overly motivated to run through a wall for him.

If Eric comes in as the OC I'd expect to see him as the next HC as soon as the new owner gets comfortable.

 

[Chris]

He seems like a very nice and good man.

That’s all I’ve got.

 

[Boone]

Ron isn't head coach material in my opinion. He was a great LB coach, and great DC. But, he doesn't seem to have the ability to get the people around him to do what he wants and hold them accountable when they don't.

He has some legendary rants that gets the players hyped up, but as a head coach nobody seems overly motivated to run through a wall for him.

If Eric comes in as the OC I'd expect to see him as the next HC as soon as the new owner gets comfortable.

I guess anything is possible but we don’t even know if he can be a good OC yet. And a new owner and GM will have zero allegiance to anyone Ron Rivera hired and I don’t think would be likely to want to hire someone completely unproven.

 

[MikefromOH]

I guess anything is possible but we don’t even know if he can be a good OC yet. And a new owner and GM will have zero allegiance to anyone Ron Rivera hired and I don’t think would be likely to want to hire someone completely unproven.

I agree, they will have no allegiance to anyone. The idea of hiring a black head coach that's been passed over so many times is low hanging fruit. That's how you solidify yourself.

 

[DieselPwr44]

It depends.

If they manage to fix the Oline and actually hit on Howell, it could change alot of feelings.

I agree with alot of what Boone says about Ron. Mainly,he doesn't seem engaged. On the other hand,I do like some of the players the front office has drafted.
This is it though. As my Mom used to say,time to shit or get off the pot.
Guess we'll see.......

 

[Kel Varnsen]

I'm kind of medium on Ron. I'm not calling for his head, but I also wouldn't be disappointed if he retired or was fired. The team has been competitive in his three seasons, but also hasn't been much of a threat. They have the occasional upset and surprise win. But overall, it's been mediocre with more frustration than enjoyment as a fan. I don't see that really improving too much, but it could. I fully expect the new owner to bring in his own guys unless 2023 turns into a huge success on the field.

Which brings me to something I was thinking about as I was listening to the podcast. There are some similarities to when the team was sold 24 years ago. The team was very mediocre and just could never get over the hump in the mid to late 90s. In 96 they started 7-1 and limped to a 9-7 finish. In 97, they finished 8-7-1 in what as mediocre a season as you could get. In 98, they started 0-7 and finished at 6-10. I vividly remember discussing with family when I was home from college how I didn't want John Cooke to continue to own the team because that meant more Norv Turner. Some in my family liked Norv at the time and wanted to see him stay. When the franchise is bought in May of 99, the team is already in place. I can't remember if any action was taken that offseason, but for the most part, the football staff was kept in place for the 99 season. The Redskins go on to win the division and Norv keeps his job. Now, we know the things that happened after that which derailed the franchise after the 99 season, but I just want to focus on what happened in 1999 in the immediate aftermath of the sale. I'm not saying the 2023 team will win go out and win the division, but I'm pretty sure no one thought they could win it in 1999 either after the dreadful start in 98. If that happens though, it would be very difficult for a new owner to fire a coach that just won the division. I'm stating all this to just say to prepare for the possibility that Rivera gets another year if that were to happen.

Overall, I agree with what was said on the podcast though that the most important victory this year will be getting a new owner. What happens on the field will almost be secondary. Yeah, I'll watch and root for them, but the start of the 2024 offseason is where I'm expected to start having more hope in the future of this franchise.

 

[Canadian Hog]

I suppose part of the answer to Boone's original question involves what our original expectations of Rivera were. If they involved taking over a dumpster fire and transforming the team into a Super Bowl winner within a 3 or 4 year window, then I am certain people would be greatly disappointed. I personally always saw Ron as playing a table setting role for this franchise - get them back on the tracks and position them for long - term success well beyond his exit. In that regard, I feel Rivera has done relatively well, and I want to emphasize the word 'relatively'. I am fine with him at the helm for 2023 and allowing him to address some glaring deficiencies on the roster at OL, LB, and maybe to a lesser extent CB and TE. I certainly also hope that the chatter about giving Howell a true opportunity as QB1 is fact. Guys like Sirianni and Taylor fast-tracked their way to success thanks in large part to the successes of Hurts and Burrow. Ron kept spinning his tires here in DC at the QB position. Ultimately, I think the success of lack of success experienced by Sam Howell this year will be the deciding factor in how we view the Rivera tenure years down the road. If Sam shows promise that we can make something of him and that he can grow with the team, then kudos to Ron. Otherwise, Rivera will exit with the major blemish of never really being able to solve the QB issue, and that to me would leave an overall failing grade for him, despite all the other good and stability he brought here for a while.

 

[Boone]

I do think we’ve drafted pretty well during Rivera’s tenure (not sure that’s been driven by him but at the least he’s trusted his scouting department and we’ve added talent). I also give him credit for having the balls to tell the owner ‘Dwayne Haskins (#RIP) ain’t it’ as a weaker coach might’ve let that drag on for multiple seasons.

 

[Om]

I'm grateful for what Rivera's done in terms of stopping the organizational bleeding. He gets major kudos for the culture aspect of the team, on the field and off. Washington is no longer an embarrassment either competitively (given the vacuum at quarterback) or, more importantly, in terms of general image around the sports world. It's hard to overstate just how big an embarrassment we had been for the better part of 20 years, and it's no small thing to have largely turned that around in just three years. I think he gets the lion's share of credit for that.

But (and allowing the possibility the light suddenly comes on this year and the team ascends) as of today I'm pretty much done with him as a head coach. I think what we've seen represents his ceiling. Yeah, if Mahomes walked in the door tomorrow, we'd win a lot more games, but I don't believe a Rivera team will ever be the energetic, disciplined, creative, consistent kind of team that realistically contends for championships. We just haven't seen it. What we've seen is a pattern of inexcusably slow starts, followed by mid-season rallies when no one takes the team seriously, followed by late-season floundering once they do and the stage lights get hot. I've seen nothing to indicate that changes going forward.

I do believe he may be the perfect one-year transition coach for 2023, however, once the ownership transfer gets done. I want a guy I know is high-character, and has the respect of the locker room, for a difficult year like that.

 

[Chris]

I do think we’ve drafted pretty well during Rivera’s tenure (not sure that’s been driven by him but at the least he’s trusted his scouting department and we’ve added talent). I also give him credit for having the balls to tell the owner ‘Dwayne Haskins (#RIP) ain’t it’ as a weaker coach might’ve let that drag on for multiple seasons.

As good as the college draft has been, the acquisition of veteran ‘talent’ has been piss-poor.

 

[Boone]

Great post Om and yes, Chris - exactly right, been a decidedly mixed bag. Makes one wonder if the reason for the discrepancy is perhaps that Rivera has had a more active hand in Free Agency decisions with the draft being more group consensus? Just a guess…

 

[MikefromOH]

I know he had his issues, but I wish Scot was still here.

 

[Chris]

Great post Om and yes, Chris - exactly right, been a decidedly mixed bag. Makes one wonder if the reason for the discrepancy is perhaps that Rivera has had a more active hand in Free Agency decisions with the draft being more group consensus? Just a guess…

That’s my guess, too.

 

[Chris]

I know he had his issues, but I wish Scot was still here.

There is one thing for certain: as soon as the new OC calls one unsuccessful and questionable play in an important moment the fanbase’s gloves will come off.

 

[Boone]

I know he had his issues, but I wish Scot was still here.

Who are you and what have you done with MikefromOH?

 

[MikefromOH]

Scot the GM. Not the OC

 

[burgold]

I think Rivera was hired not to get us to a Super Bowl or even the play offs. I think he was hired to make sure the ship didn't sink. From that limited perspective, he's been a qualified success. On the field, we are no longer an embarrassment and most of the drama seems to be old drama and not stuff under his tenure. On the other hand, Ron lost the name, attendance at the games has dwindled despite fielding competitive teams that are in the playoff hunt until the end, and Dan looks to have been "forced" to sell the team. The latter, though most fans cheer it, is surely the boat going under.

So, Ron's tenure has been a mixed bag. Would it have been different without Covid or cancer? I don't know that that ultimately matters except in terms of his legacy. Ultimately, I still think of him as the guy whose job is to make the boat seaworthy, but not necessarily the man to captain the boat to glory.

 

[Chris]

I wouldn’t put the name change or the pitiful attendance on Ron. Those belong decidedly on the tiny shoulders of Snyder.

Now, thinking Norwell and T.Turner were the answer? That is Ron all the way. I find that both interesting AND important.

 

[Boone]

Although perhaps not *technically* wrong, we are very generous with our definition of ‘competitive’.