Report: Ron Rivera likely to retain Kevin O’Connell, will they add Steve Wilks?
Ron Rivera is the next coach of the Washington Redskins. And he’s already starting to build out his staff.
The Washington Redskins and Ron Rivera agreed to a five-year deal on Tuesday morning. The Redskins moved quickly to secure the services of the veteran coach Rivera and while many other teams were just beginning their coaching search on Monday, the Redskins were able to retain Rivera’s services.
And now, Rivera is reportedly starting to fill out his staff.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Rivera is likely to retain Kevin O’Connell as the team’s offensive coordinator while he will add Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb on the defensive side of the ball.
Skins might not complete their front office changes until after the draft. Ron Rivera likely to retain Kevin O'Connell on offensive side of ball and have Steve Wilks and Al Holcomb with him on defense
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) December 31, 2019
This is big news for the Redskins. It’s not entirely surprising that Rivera would look to retain O’Connell, but it is significant.
At exit interviews on Monday, Dwayne Haskins vouched for O’Connell and said that he wanted to keep working with him. That’s significant, and Haskins and O’Connell seem to have a rapport. O’Connell can continue to work with the young quarterback and Haskins won’t have to learn an entirely new offensive system ahead of his second season. So, that should afford him an opportunity to continue to grow.
And, of course, the Redskins won’t be letting another bright, young offensive mind walk out of the build. That’s something that happened a bit too frequently in this decade, much to the chagrin of Redskins fans.
As for bringing Wilks, that was an expected outcome. The former Arizona Cardinals head coach spent 10 seasons on Rivera’s various staffs, so coming to Washington after Freddie Kitchens’ staff in Cleveland was fired was a no-brainer. Wilks should have a shot to improve the defense and develop talent in the secondary. He also could help the team switch to a 4-3 alignment.
However, John Keim of ESPN is reporting that Wilks may not be coming to the Redskins after all.
Source close to Steve Wilks said at this time he does not expect him to join Ron Rivera in Washington as the DC. Had coached with him in Carolina.
— John Keim (@john_keim) December 31, 2019
That will certainly be something to keep an eye on moving forward.
Meanwhile, Holcomb was a linebackers coach under Rivera from 2013-2017 and got a year of experience as a defensive coordinator under Wilks in Arizona. He has coached with Rivera and Tom Coughlin and should prove to be a valuable asset as a position coach and in the even that Wilks isn’t coming to Washington, he could get a chance to play a bigger role with the squad.
Next. Five reasons Rivera was right to choose Redskins. dark
Overall, keeping O’Connell, one of their bright, young rising talents, would be great news for the team. Wilks would be a nice hire too and would bring some needed experience and change to the defensive side of the ball, but if he isn’t coming after all, it will be interesting to see which direction the Redskins go in. We’ll soon which report ends up being true regarding Wilks’ status.