After each Washington loss, the future of the coaching staff becomes clearer. For his part, head coach Ron Rivera doesn’t want to talk about it. Who can blame him, but it’s reality.
“I’ve told you before I’m not worried about anything,” Rivera said when asked if he was concerned about his job security after Washington’s 45-10 loss to the Cowboys on Thursday. “All I’m going to do is do my job and see how things go. That’s the only thing I can do.”
Everyone knows that new owner, Josh Harris, will make changes. It’s just a matter of when at this point.
With new ownership in place and the Commanders in the middle of a terrible season, there’s plenty of frustration to go around. How are the players impacted by all of the talk surrounding the future of the coaching staff?
Left tackle Charles Leno Jr. made it clear players are only focused on trying to win and following the coaches’ game plan.
“It’s only when you guys ask,” Leno said via John Keim of ESPN. “No one else is bringing this s— up. We don’t talk about this s—; we don’t care about this stuff; we’re listening to our coaches following game plan and trying to win games.”
Quarterback Sam Howell echoed Leno’s thoughts.
“It really doesn’t impact anything in the locker room,” Howell said. “We just focus on what we can control, try to get better. Obviously, when things aren’t going well, people are going to talk about jobs for everybody — not only coaches, players, too.”
Howell is correct. Every player on this roster is also playing for their individual futures, whether it be in Washington or the NFL. The fate of the coaches has already likely been decided.
Until Harris makes a move, players will likely get these questions every time they speak to the media after practice and games.