Commanders coach Ron Rivera ‘not worried’ about job status after 35-point loss

DALLAS — Washington’s commanders didn’t want to focus on possible coaching changes — and they’re not convinced it would help.

After the Commanders lost 45-10 to Dallas – their eighth loss in 10 games dropping them to 4-8 – speculation once again turned to the job security of fourth-year head coach Ron Rivera and his team.

Rivera said of his situation: “I told you before, I’m not worried about anything. All I’m going to do is do my job and see how things go. It’s the only thing I can do.”

But several players said they weren’t focused on the coach’s fate.

“It’s only when you ask for it,” said Washington left tackle Charles Leno, Jr.. “Nobody else talks about that shit. We don’t talk about that shit; we don’t care about those kinds of things, we listen to our coaches follow their game plan and try to win games.

Because this is the fourth year of Rivera’s regime and the first of owner Josh Harris, there is constant talk about the coach’s future. Washington won the NFC East under Rivera in 2020 but hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2016.

Harris said he wanted to give the staff a full season to better evaluate the entire operation. But the Commanders lost three straight, and in two nationally televised games, they were outscored 85-30.

“Who’s going to step in and be the head coach? Who?” said Leno. “I don’t know. … Where we are right now, I don’t know if that’s going to help anything. I just feel like when you do things like that in the middle of the year, I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

Leno said that even if Harris promotes assistant head coach/offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy to interim coach, “it will be the same because ultimately EB will focus on offense And [defensive coordinator] Jack [Del Rio] will be focused on defense. What is the difference?”

Several players said privately that Rivera had not lost the locker room and wanted him to remain their coach for the remainder of the season. It’s possible he could choose to change teams before the end of the season, but after the match, when asked about it, he said: “I’m not going to talk about that sort of thing.”

“It really doesn’t have any impact in the locker room,” Washington quarterback Sam Howell said. “We just focus on what we can control, try to get better. Obviously when things aren’t going well, people talk about jobs for everyone, not just coaches and players. We just have to zone everything outside.”

Wide receiver Terry McLaurin went through a coaching change here during the 2019 season. Then-owner Dan Snyder fired coach Jay Gruden after an 0-5 start; Gruden was in his sixth season. Washington won its first game after the shooting, against the winless Miami Dolphins. But the Commanders finished the season 3-13.

“Just because you make a change here or there doesn’t necessarily impact the outcome at all times,” McLaurin said. “I don’t participate in those kinds of discussions, but I think even in my first year, when we went through changes, we still had our ups and downs. It’s about the players having always respect and pride. You can’t come in here with your head down and not go hard and try hard. I just don’t think it reflects how much of a player you want to be personally . So that’s a bit of my state of mind.

Washington was coming off an 8-8-1 season and hired Bieniemy to revive a struggling offense. The Commanders opted to sign second-year player Howell at quarterback after he played well in the season finale victory over Dallas.

Commanders anticipated offensive difficulties due to the changes but did not foresee the defensive stumbles. Washington finished seventh in points and third in total yards last season defensively. He hoped to build on that success, but instead struggled all season.

The Commanders rank last in defensive rating and 29th in yards allowed. Players say their conflicts extend beyond coaches.

“In the NFL you have to do your job and as players we don’t do the job,” Washington defensive tackle Jon Allen said. “As coaches, we don’t do the work, so I don’t think anyone does the work.”