Ron Rivera ‘not worried about’ job after Cowboys loss; HC reportedly won’t be fired before end of season

The Washington Commanders sit at 4-8 in third place in the NFC East and are coming off a 45-10 blowout Thanksgiving loss to the Dallas Cowboys. They have lost five of their last six games and are on a three-game losing streak.

When a team struggles to the level Washington has, naturally questions about the head coach will come up. Despite back-to-back, double-digit losses, head coach Ron Rivera is not concerned about his job security. 

“No, I’ve told you before I’m not worried about anything,” he said (via the official transcript). “All I’m going to do is do my job and see how things go. That’s the only thing I can do.” 

According to ESPN, Rivera is expected to coach out the rest of the season. Rivera did say that the loss to the Cowboys was “a low point for sure.” Afterwards, when he was asked if he would make any coaching changes, Rivera dismissed the question, saying, “I’m not going to get into any of that stuff.”

“That stuff” ended up happening Friday, when defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired. Rivera is expected to run the defense for the rest of the season.

The defense has been a weak spot of the team under Del Rio. The unit came into the week allowing the most points in the NFL. On Thursday, the defense surrendered 431 yards total. 

Eric Bieniemy’s offense has been up and down, with quarterback Sam Howell leading the league in passing yards, but also first in the NFL in being sacked.

Veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Allen noted that no one on the team is doing enough. 

“At the end of the day in the NFL, you have to do your job,” Allen said. “And as players, we’re not getting the job done, as coaches we’re not getting the job done. So I don’t think anyone’s getting the job done.”

Rivera joined the Commanders as their head coach in 2020 and is 26-35-1 since, leading the team to one NFC East divisional title. His all-time coaching record is 102-98-2, with five playoff runs and one Super Bowl appearance. Before his time in Washington, he was the head coach of the Carolina Panthers, where he was named AP NFL Coach of the Year twice.