Ron Rivera survived Monday as the head coach and de facto defensive coordinator of the Washington Commanders, and barring something ridiculous during the bye week, it looks like he’ll remain those for the remainder of the season (even if it is a foregone conclusion he’ll be gone soon after the final whistle in Week 18).
We know Grant Paulsen is a bit of a pacifist when it comes to firing coaches in-season, so it’s no surprise if he thinks that’s fine – but on Monday, Danny Rouhier went against the grain, the way you should cut a creamy Dutch Gouda, and gave his reasons why he disagrees with that notion when it comes to Ron Rivera, who should’ve woken up Tuesday as the former head coach of the Commanders.
He doesn’t think they will fire Rivera, and agrees they probably don’t want to…but this is why he would:
“To me, we’ve now crossed the threshold of this is depressing and a joke, and for mild-mannered Terry McLaurin to express any kind of dissatisfaction, and Jon Allen to say he’s sick of it, is pretty monumental,” Danny said. “It’s broken, and it’s not like you’re going to rip off four straight wins with a change – but it’s saying to the fan base that we see it too, and it’s so unacceptable and beyond what a competitive NFL team is supposed to be doing, but we simply have to do something.”
Maybe an empty move, as Danny admits, and Grant thinks they already did that by firing Jack Del Rio – but he wants his pound of flesh.
“I don't know how you're expecting fans to keep coming to games and keep tuning in to just, you know, see we're just waiting until the off-season – which we all are, by the way – and not say, ‘you guys, we get it,’” Danny said. “They fired Del Rio? Adorable. The guy who put everybody in place, the roster-builder, with arms folded and headset up getting boat raced, he has to go.”
Again, Grant said that Black Monday is just 35 days away and January 8th will surely end the inevitable, as the statement when Del Rio was fired basically said ‘it’s coming,’ but even if it’s an empty move, Danny needs more than Jack Del Scapegoat.
“I think they let Ron flail there, and he wanted to try that to blame Del Rio, and they let Ron pull levers,” Danny said. “We all know Ron is a dead man walking, so just do it now. It’s so unacceptable. They're a joke.
They're getting destroyed. The world has seen it, so stop being a joke. We’re so nervous about looking like David Tepper or Dan Snyder or whatever, but you gave the guy all the years and the control, so just send him packing, help another young coordinator and give him some increased responsibility. Whatever you want to do, whoever you want to promote, that's fine.”
So, who becomes the head coach? Danny is fine if it’s special teams coordinator Nate Kaczor or tight ends coach Juan Castillo, guys who have been around a long time, if not Eric Bieniemy - but the reason Grant is against a firing is because it would almost have to be Bieniemy installed in the interim, or else the team would get lambasted.
“Don’t you think they would get destroyed nationally if they don't promote Eric Bieniemy?” Grant asked. “He does have the assistant head coach title, which might even mean in his contract that he has to take over if Rivera is fired, but if he fired Rivera, he had to take over, but if they don’t name him, they get lambasted.”
And even worse – if they fire Ron and name EB interim and don’t bring him back next year, or fire Ron at some point and Bieniemy stays as OC? That’s just as bad.
“He had the 15 interviews and didn't get the job, then he came here and he was the coordinator. Now, he was the interim coach and you're not gonna make him the coach?” Grant posited. “If they have no plans behind the scenes of making him the head coach – if they know that the players don't want him to be the head coach or don't particularly think he's done a great job, whatever it is – then making him the interim coach is just bringing a problem on yourself.”
“That all sounds good…but they should fire Ron Rivera right now,” Danny replied. “I understand your point of what happens afterwards…it’s gonna be bad, and you’ll lose, but he’s gotta go. It’s so pathetic. Ron sucks. He’s a buffoon, a boob, and it’s all on him.”
Grant then tried to ask who would call the defense if Ron was gone, aka the Gruden defense, and invoked Adam Schefter’s Tweet that interim defensive backs coach Cristian Garcia was getting more responsibility on game day…and it’s all just a shell game at this point.
“I know you care about the aftermath, but let anyone do it. Castillo has been a defensive coordinator, let him do it. What are they going to do, suck?” Danny asked. “The players are revolting, and it’s over. Let’s just send his ass packing and lose with dignity, in a regular way, and not by 40.”
Grant continued to try to argue that won’t happen if insert name here becomes the defensive coordinator, but Danny is steadfast.
“You think if Richard Rodgers gets promoted they’re going to become the ’85 Bears?” Danny asked.
“No, but if you fire him and you change a bunch of things, it is possible that you get one of the dead cat bounce wins that seem inevitable in this league, and then you get whacked three other games by 50 points probably, but you might win a game from that luck shot that hurts you,” Grant replied.
Then again, that could happen anyway, so ol’ DR had one more plea:
“The losses are coming – 16 teams lose every week – and if they win one, it’s not because they fired Ron and promoted someone,” Danny said. “When you cross this point where it's a joke? This is the last vestige of the Dan Snyder era and the sooner we can be rid of it, the better. Just sweep it away, get rid of it, and let everyone know. They’re a joke either way, but it says that we get that we’re a joke and we're not going to stand for this, we’re not just going to sit here and get our asses kicked at home and the guy that's responsible for every single facet of it gets to keep coming into work. Thank you for everything you did, but this is so bad and incompetent, we’re not going to take it. Send him packing, go away forever, and never come back.”
