Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is a talker. In a sports world of tight-lipped Bill Belichikian head coaches, it is a refreshing experience to listen to Rivera's press conferences because he will freely say things. It makes for good conversation and it helps both fans and media understand the team better. And the talking and honesty of Rivera isn't really a problem, but Rivera's talking can get him into a bit of trouble.
And this past week he has said some things about starting quarterback Sam Howell that have raised plenty of eyebrows. Last week, the Commanders head coach told Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer that had he known Howell was as good as he was they wouldn't have started Carson Wentz or Taylor Heinicke for so many games ahead of him last season.
"You can ask Stephanie, all we f---ing talked about was the quarterback, what the quarterback did, who he was," Rivera told Breer. "I kept saying, F---, if I would have known this, I would have played him sooner.
"When you only have so much time to show it, it's hard, I kept thinking, God … but after that game, everything told me this kid, give him the opportunity and see what he does with it."
Well, it appears Rivera has said something a little different about Howell to ESPN's John Keim in a story published on Tuesday.
"We knew what we thought we had but we were right in the middle of a frickin' playoff run," Rivera said. "We kept hoping we'd blow someone out so we could put him in the second half and finish up a game but it never got to that point."
For Kevin Sheehan, this inconsistency is not good.
"So last week he told Albert Breer he had no idea what he had, but he told Keim 'We knew what we thought we had.' This is why he needs to stop talking because every few days there's essentially a retraction," Sheehan said. "Not a planned retraction, but it's a complete change of opinion."
Sheehan also noted how Rivera told Keim that playing Howell was "a calculated risk."
"This is a calculated risk. This has been thought out," Rivera told ESPN. "It's something I felt needed to be done. I wanted a change because I wanted to see us do something different."
Sheehan incredulously responded: "A calculated risk? Thought out? They weren't ready to start him against Dallas and then four days later they named him the starter. The QB1. Stop talking, please. Just start delivering us something."
Rivera and the Commanders "are in marketing mode" and are trying to capitalize on the momentum and excitement around the fan base after the sale, Sheehan said, "Talking about the team and being excited about the team, there's part of me that says they're in the mode of trying to acquire customers... you can't just say watch us and see. But that's what the great ones do: watch us and see. And then deliver."
Sheehan and produce Denton Day then caught up on some stories missed from a pre-Labor Day vacation including team president Jason Wright saying going back to the old name "was not being considered" by the Commanders.
Sheehan called that declaration not "breaking news," but was a finality in Wright, a person in an official capacity with the organization, saying definitively that the old name is gone. But Sheehan noted that there was not a statement that a re-brand was off the table and noted some other off-field steps the ownership was doing.
Listen to all of Sheehan's thoughts on these topics on the audio player above!
