Commanders decision to fire Ron Rivera is bad news for the Eagles and their NFC East rivals
By Jake Beckman
Black Monday is always an interesting day on the professional football calendar. We see the dismissal of NFL head coaches lose their jobs. The Philadelphia Eagles often won’t observe the Holiday, but their division rivals certainly do. This time around, one of the casualties is one of Philly's former assistants and a man respected around league circles.
One of the first bits of news reported during 2024’s version of Black Monday was the Washington Commanders’ decision to fire Ron Rivera. The move was expected, but here's what no one is discussing. Their decision to do so is horrible news for our Eagles.
The Commanders are on the up-and-up following an awful season, and that's something no Eagles fan wants to see.
Let’s get it straight: Dan Snyder was an awful owner and somehow an even more awful person. His selling the Washington Commanders was a win for humanity, but a huge blow to the teams in the NFC East.
As long as that guy owned the franchise, it was bound to be a joke year in and year out. Now that the Commanders have new ownership, they unfortunately need to be taken seriously. That's good for Washington. That's bad for the Birds, the hated New York Giants, and the even more hated Dallas Cowboys.
Ron Rivera was an objectively bad head coach. His nickname, ‘Riverboat Ron’, is one birthed out of his penchant for gambling in-game and taking a lot of risks. That wasn’t the case during his tenure with Washington. He coached cowardly and offered nothing of value to that team. It was awesome for us… and now he’s gone. Gosh, he's going to be missed.
Washington's new ownership group, one led by Josh Harris, has bazillions of dollars to throw around. They’re going to invest heavily in their next hire and making the Commanders a model franchise. That will make their head-coaching job very attractive. Since their season is already over, they’re going to have a head start on other teams that need a new head coach (read: the Philadelphia Eagles).
On top of that, Rivera did such a good job tanking that the Commanders will own the second overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft. That means they could wind up with one of the top quarterback prospects, Caleb Williams (USC) or Drake Maye (UNC).
That means the Commanders are going to be going into the 2024 season with an invigorated front office, a starry-eyed (probably amazing) new head coach, and a potentially elite quarterback on a rookie contract. That's a very bad thing. It’s all bad. It's all very, very bad. Quote us on that.