Ron Rivera and the Washington Commanders were taking on a New York Giants team Sunday that had lost three consecutive by an average of 20 points per game.
Third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito was being called on to replace an injured Daniel Jones (torn ACL). For most, it seemed as if this would be a get-right game for Washington after the team had lost six of its past eight.
About that? Washington turned the ball over a season-high six times as it fell to the division-rival Giants by the score of 31-19. The all-around performance was putrid as the Commanders fell to 4-7 on the season and pretty much completely out of the NFC Playoff race.
One day later, and Rivera took to the podium to discuss both his team’s recent performance and his job status moving forward.
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“I can’t tell you what the future will be. Today we came in and had a good meeting and now we’re getting started on installation meetings,” Rivera said when asked about his future in Washington.
These questions were bound to come up following Sunday’s ugly outing against New York. Rivera entered the season on the hot seat after posting a 22-27-1 record in his first three years with the Commanders.
Josh Harris taking over as the Commanders’ new owner heading into the season magnified this further. He has no built-in relationship and might want to bring in his own guy to run things from the sidelines. Recently, reports indicate that New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick could be a fit.
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Ron Rivera record with Washington Commanders: 26-34-1
Rivera has been given more than three seasons to prove that he can be the man to turn things around for the long-downtrodden Commanders organization. After leading the team to a playoff appearance despite a 7-9 record in his first season, Rivera has not proven himself capable in that regard.
The larger question here is whether Washington will give Rivera the remainder of the season. It is set to take on the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving before a home date with the Miami Dolphins heading into the team’s Week 14 bye. Two more ugly showings could have Rivera out of a job before mid-December.