Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera appeared on CBS This Morning Friday to discuss a number of topics, including the team’s name change process.
Rivera told host Gayle King, Washington is not close to picking a permanent name.
“No, we’re not close to making a decision. The biggest thing we’ve learned is that this is going to take steps — this can’t happen automatically. So we’re going to have to go through the process.”
Ron Rivera said on CBS This Morning
Washington announced on July 3 their intentions of a “thorough review” of the team’s name. Rivera added the organization learned the process would harder than anticipated to land a permanent name change.
“Truthfully, this is going to be about a 16-18 month process to do it the right way, and really not miss the opportunity to rebrand ourselves, hopefully for the next 100 years.”
Rivera said.
Washington began the process of retiring their old Redskins name and logo on July 13. Then, Thursday, the team announced a temporary name for the 2020 NFL season the “Washington Football Team” along with a new logo and uniform.
The new uniforms will debut in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles at home. The helmets will feature the player’s number in gold instead of the old Redskins logo.
The reaction to the temporary name was mixed throughout social media. Yes, “Washington Football Team” isn’t trendy, but there was no way the team could do a complete re-branding in less than a month with training camp set to start July 28.
For the 2020 season Washington will go by the generic name, and provide a unique experience for the NFL and its fans before they can complete the process of choosing a new team name.
