The 2023 NFL season was always going to be a make-or-break campaign for Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera, who took his club to the playoffs in 2020 but hasn’t returned since. First-year Commanders owner Josh Harris probably won’t be afraid to make changes this offseason as he remakes the organization in his image.
Washington is now 3-4 following an embarrassing divisional loss to the banged-up New York Giants on Sunday. Is Rivera officially among the NFL coaches on the hot seat after Week 7?
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Commanders HC Ron Rivera Among NFL Coaches on the Hot Seat After Week 7
The Commanders should have been able to easily defeat the Giants on Sunday — at least, on paper.
New York was among the most injured teams in the NFL heading into yesterday’s contest. Daniel Jones missed his second straight game, while Big Blue was also without left tackle Andrew Thomas, center John Michael Schmitz, and right tackle Evan Neal.
Meanwhile, Washington didn’t have a single player listed on its injury report last week.
But even at full strength, the Commanders were dismal against the Giants in a 14-7 loss. Washington’s defense largely contained New York, but Sam Howell and Co. couldn’t get anything going.
Wink Martindale’s Giants defense ranked last in the NFL with just six sacks entering Week 7, but they still managed to take down Howell five times. He’s now been sacked 40 times this year — David Carr (2002) was the only QB in league history to be brought down more times through the first seven games of a season.
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“To me, it’s really about how you bounce back than anything else,” Rivera said. “With 10 games to go, you never know what’s going to happen. But you got to take them one at a time; you got to stay focused on it.
“We’ll correct these things, a lot of things that we can correct, a lot of things that we will get better at, and we’ll continue to work at it, and we’ll see what happens.”
Rivera probably needs a playoff berth to save his job, but Washington is a bottom-10 team in offensive and defensive efficiency to begin the season. The Commanders won’t be able to catch the Philadelphia Eagles or Dallas Cowboys in the NFC East, so a Wild Card slot is their best bet.
But even that might be a stretch. Perhaps Rivera could stick around if Washington fails to make the postseason, but the franchise would need to see significant development from Howell and feel confident he’s the club’s long-term quarterback. So far, that hasn’t happened.
Rivera helped the Commanders push through the final stretches of the Daniel Snyder nightmare, and he’s well-respected in the club’s locker room and around the NFL.
But the NFL is a results-oriented business. If Washington can’t reach the playoffs this year, Harris and the rest of the organization’s decision-makers will likely find a replacement for Rivera in the offseason.
More NFL Hot Seat Updates
Josh McDaniels, Las Vegas Raiders (3-4)
The Athletic recently reported that Josh McDaniels’ job security could be in question if the Raiders didn’t start winning more games. Losing to undrafted rookie quarterback Tyson Bagent and the Chicago Bears is the exact opposite of “winning more games.”
Dennis Allen, New Orleans Saints (3-4)
The Saints’ last-second loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night was an appropriate metaphor for a New Orleans team that seems close to competing but can’t quite get there. Dennis Allen is a great defensive coordinator — is he even a league-average head coach?
Brandon Staley, Los Angeles Chargers (2-4)
There’s no shame in losing to the Dallas Cowboys and Kansas City Chiefs in consecutive weeks. But the Chargers have prime-time games against the Bears and New York Jets over the next two weeks, putting Brandon Staley’s decision-making on center stage.
Frank Reich, Carolina Panthers (0-6)
The Panthers’ Week 7 bye offered a reprieve for Frank Reich, who turned play-calling duties over to offensive coordinator Thomas Brown after Carolina’s most recent loss. While David Tepper probably won’t fire Reich in season, when will the Panthers win their first game?
