The reaction to Washington coach Ron Rivera having cancer is two-fold – how is his health and why is this franchise seemingly cursed with bad news?
If anyone is tough enough to beat cancer it’s Rivera. His passion for life is what made him such an exciting hire. He will push this team harder than past coaches and will squeeze a couple more wins from them than expected. Finally, the team has a leader.
And people can say whatever they want about owner Dan Snyder, but he is a superstar when it comes to helping people in medical crisis. It’s Snyder’s super power and Rivera will get the best care possible.
So that’s encouraging. That Rivera has a relatively treatable form of cancer called Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is encouraging. The coach found a lump in his neck last month before informed in early August of its diagnosis. He told players on Thursday.
SCC is the second most common form of skin cancer and has a 92 percent success rate if found early. Doctors found cancer in one of Rivera’s lymph nodes.
That said, a cancer diagnosis is always scary. And it makes longtime Redskins fans remember Vince Lombardi, who died in 1970 of cancer after coaching the Redskins one season. But, that’s where comparisons end. Lombardi died 10 weeks after the discovery of late-stage colon cancer, which even today has only a 10 percent survival rate. But, medical advances in cancer treatment are phenomenally better than Lombardi’s day. Indeed, The Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center honors the coach who died at the university hospital.
The Redskins say they have a Plan B if Rivera is temporarily sidelined during treatments. It wasn’t immediately disclosed, but defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio has been a head coach in Jacksonville and Oakland.
Still, look for Rivera to soldier on between treatments. He joked to players of being grouchy in the coming weeks. That might be hard to tell the difference because Rivera has never been one to hold back criticism during practice and film sessions. And yet, players will now surely endure any bark from their coach knowing his medical challenge ahead.
Cancer is going to lose to Rivera.