There is a new era for the Washington Commanders following the sale from the unpopular Dan Snyder to the upbeat Josh Harris. Fans are enthusiastic about the ownership change. The players are feeding off that newfound energy from its support. Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is “fired up” by the noticeable decrease in distractions heading into this season.
“A lot of it is the feeling that so many people are behind us,” Rivera said, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post. “It was different; you were having to deal with stuff outside of football. Now it’s about football.”
Ron Rivera has had to deal with so much unrelated to football since becoming Washington’s head coach in 2020. Months into the job, Rivera had to endure the bombshell report of sexual harassment and a horrible workplace culture that was in place long before his arrival.
The team underwent the first of two name changes, retiring its old moniker, deemed disparaging to Native Americans. Shortly after all this occurred, he was diagnosed with skin cancer.
The subsequent years weren’t much better outside of him beating his battle with cancer. More sexual misconduct allegations surfaced against the team, and the owner, Dan Snyder.
Through his first three years, Rivera dealt with an array of issues on and off the field that placed a dark cloud over the franchise. As a result, the on-field product was underwhelming. Washington finished with 7-9, 7-10, and 8-8-1 records.
With the sale from Snyder to Harris official, at least the biggest dark cloud has been removed. There’s a light at the end of the tunnel. With Snyder gone, Rivera can see that with the start of training camp is approaching. Entering the season, Rivera is happy he can focus on football.
