The Washington Commanders have fired head coach Ron Rivera one day after the team finished a 4-13 season with a 38-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. It was Washington’s eighth consecutive loss.
More coaching changes: the Washington Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera, per league sources. pic.twitter.com/4Ri6NQsNLv
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 8, 2024
Rivera finishes his time in Washington with a 26-40-1 record and missed the playoffs the past three seasons. In Rivera’s first season (2020), he unexpectedly led the franchise to an NFC East title, albeit with a 7-9 record.
However, hopes were high heading into 2021. Washington spent in free agency, signing cornerback William Jackson III, wide receiver Curtis Samuel and quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. The Jackson and Fitzpatrick moves proved disastrous and Samuel missed virtually his entire first season in Washington before becoming an integral part of the offense over the past two seasons.
Washington finished 7-10 in 2021, but Rivera believed the team would bounce back in 2022. The team became the Commanders in Feb. 2022 and attempted to trade for veteran quarterbacks Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers before settling on Carson Wentz.
It proved to be another disastrous move for Washington. Wentz struggled badly, starting only seven games, and Taylor Heinicke started for most of the season for a second consecutive year. Heinicke was signed in Dec. 2020 off the street as an emergency quarterback during COVID-19 and quickly became a fan favorite.
Despite Rivera’s best efforts to replace him, Heinicke would become his most dependable quarterback through his four seasons as head coach. In 2023, Rivera anointed Sam Howell Washington’s “QB1” shortly after the end of the 2022 season. Howell showed promise through 10 weeks but struggled mightily during Washington’s final seven games.
Rivera’s failure to adequately address the quarterback situation, in addition to his personnel blunders — in the draft and free agency — proved to be some of his biggest mistakes.
However, Rivera was the leader the franchise needed during some dark times, including the continuous drama and scandal involving former owner Dan Snyder and the team changing its name twice.
