The Ron Rivera Era has come to a close in Washington.
Washington Commanders fire Ron Rivera
With new ownership in place, the Commanders are cleaning house
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Mark Schofield is a former college quarterback and attorney covering the NFL and F1.
After the Commanders finished the 2023 NFL regular season with a 38-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in the season finale, the organization parted ways with Rivera the following morning. Rivera took over in Washington ahead of the 2020 season, and guided the organization to a division title in his first season as the head coach.
With a 7-9 record.
Washington lost in the opening round of the playoffs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who went on to win the Super Bowl.
The Commanders finished with a 7-10 record in 2021, and then finished with an 8-8-1 record in 2022. This season, Washington won their first two games and were sitting at 3-3 in the middle of October, but a 1-6 stretch followed, and the Commanders limped into their bye week with a 4-9 record. Rivera fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio after the team lost to the Dallas Cowboys 45-10 on Thanksgiving Day, and with Sunday’s loss to the Cowboys in the season finale, the team finished 4-13, with eight-straight losses to close out the season.
During his Washington tenure, Rivera posted a 26-40-1 record.
Speculation now turns to who will take over in Washington, with a familiar name seemingly at the top of the list. Before Sunday’s slate of games, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk linked legendary coach Bill Belichick to the Commanders. Earlier in the season Florio reported on a potential trade between New England and Washington, and Florio outlined on Sunday how new ownership in Washington might be willing to give Belichick full football control of the Commanders.
Could we see Belichick at FedEx Field next fall? Time will tell.
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