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Redskins: Indicators for success under head coach Ron Rivera

By Tim Meek

MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 30: NFL coach, Ron Rivera, of the Washington Football Team speaks onstage during day 2 of SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIV on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM )
MIAMI, FLORIDA - JANUARY 30: NFL coach, Ron Rivera, of the Washington Football Team speaks onstage during day 2 of SiriusXM at Super Bowl LIV on January 30, 2020 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM ) /
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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 27: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers looks on from the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 27: Head coach Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers looks on from the sidelines against the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL football game at Levi’s Stadium on October 27, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Ability to adjust

Another positive attribute of coach Rivera is his ability to adjust and change.  Again, this is a league filled with egos. Coaches are often reluctant to change their coaching style to adjust to the team’s strengths. This is also something we’ve seen firsthand in Washington with the reluctance of previous coaches to stay with a 3-4 defense.

Coach Rivera has typically implemented a 4-3 defensive base as coach.  But he’s not been bullish about changing it. Sean McDermott, the successful second-year coach of the Bills started his journey with coach Rivera in Carolina. McDermott was quoted as saying “That’s part of the reason, quite frankly, that I came down here – so we could get together and merge our systems together. I think in due time you’ll see that and you’ll see the effectiveness of both.”

In 2019, coach Rivera, who had run the 4-3 base defense with Carolina,  felt as though teams had figured out his defense. He wasn’t getting results he was accustomed to. He was quoted as saying “I’m going to copy a whole bunch of people. I like what Chicago is doing”.  He switched his defense to a 3-4 in hopes of creating more pressure on the QB.

It’s a results-driven league, and having a coach in place who is willing to try new strategies and step out of the box… that should be exciting news to Redskins fans.

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