WASHINGTON —
Ron Rivera has been "relieved of his duties" as the Washington Commanders head coach following a season-ending loss to division rivals, the Dallas Cowboys. The team confirmed the departure news first to WUSA9 Monday morning. A press conference is scheduled with owner Josh Harris at 1 p.m.
"I want to thank Ron and his wife Stephanie for all they did for the Commanders and DMV community, especially during the ownership transition," Harris wrote in a press release. "Ron helped navigate this organization through some challenging times. He is a good man and thoughtful leader who has positively contributed to this organization and the NFL."
Rivera, a former player for the Chicago Bears and longtime coach of the Carolina Panthers, led the Commanders through four seasons, including an NFC East division title in his first season, a pandemic, his own personal struggle with cancer and two name changes. He coached under two owners, Dan Snyder and the Josh Harris group, and his overall record in Washington was 26-40-1, with just four wins in his final season.
Despite near constant rumors throughout the season about his job security in Washington, Rivera’s message remained consistent: he was focused on coaching one game at a time.
“We’ll just go out and give it everything we got,” Rivera said of his mindset heading into Sunday’s matchup with the Cowboys during his final one-on-one interview with WUSA9’s Chick Hernandez. “What happens after that, I got no control over. The only thing I’ve got control over is the next seven days.”
>Watch Josh Harris's news conference about Ron Rivera's departure below:
After a promising 2-0 start, the Commanders struggled through much of the 2023 season. Rivera, for his part, stayed positive and praised the growth and development of his young team, especially when it came to quarterback Sam Howell. Rivera called Howell a player who could lead the franchise.
“Everyone knows the business we’re in and at the end of the day, if you’re not doing your job, things will happen,” Howell said shortly after the first loss to the Cowboys, when asked about personnel matters. “I don’t think anyone’s really worried about it. We’re just trying to do everything we can on a daily basis and the results are the results.”
There is no doubt Rivera helped the organization. He led a necessary culture change in the building – a culture issue created and fostered under Snyder, which ultimately led to Snyder selling the team in 2023, something he said he would never do.
"The last four years have not been normal. There has been nothing normal about the four seasons I've been here," Rivera said.
Rivera’s only other head coaching job in the NFL was with the Carolina Panthers, where he spent nine seasons before being fired in December 2019 and then quickly picked up by Washington on New Year’s Day 2020. Under Rivera, the Panthers won the NFC South division three times and reached the Super Bowl in 2015.
But the big question for Commanders fans now is who will be taking up the helm next in Washington?
When Eric Bieniemy was brought to Washington this season to take over as offensive coordinator and assistant head coach many industry experts speculated that it was a move to have him ready to take over if Rivera was ousted. He has been interviewed for a head coaching job by 15 teams over the last five hiring cycles. But that move was made under past ownership, and now the tides have turned toward looking outside the organization for a fresh start.
Rivera’s departure turns the page to the next chapter for the Commanders under Harris’ leadership group, and WUSA9 will continue to bring you the latest confirmed Commanders news. Harris is expected to hold a press conference about the future of the team at 1 p.m. He announced Monday morning that he has hired Bob Myers and Rick Spielman to help in his search for new team leadership. Myers is a former General Manager for the Golden State Warriors. Spielman is a former General Manager for the Minnesota Vikings.
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