Barring any unforeseen developments, the Redskins are expected to hire Ron Rivera to be their next head coach, according to a report by Adam Schefter at ESPN.
While it’s not official yet, this deal seems to be coming together fast. On Sunday, it was reported that Rivera was the organization’s top choice, and that in turn Rivera’s top pick was Washington. He is meeting with the team today.
This news comes as a bit of a surprise. When Rivera was fired, we ranked four potential destinations for his next NFL job and the Redskins didn’t even make the list. There’s far more talent to be had coaching the Cowboys or the Browns, to name a couple of options.
There’s something to be said for embracing a challenge, but if he does go to Washington, Rivera is walking into a difficult situation and may be set up to fail. The team hasn’t posted a winning season since 2016 and only made the playoffs twice in the last decade. The roster he’s inheriting is bad, the culture is worse and he’d be working for the worst owner in the league.
We wish Rivera well with this and all his other future endeavors, but it’s hard to escape the feeling that he’s selling himself short if he really settles for Washington.
