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Riggo’s Rag Redskins Mailbag: Veterans vs. youth, left tackle battle, more

By Jacob Camenker

MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
MIAMI, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 13: Adrian Peterson #26 of the Washington Football Team runs with the ball against the Miami Dolphins during the first quarter at Hard Rock Stadium on October 13, 2019 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
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CARSON, CA – DECEMBER 31: Head Coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
CARSON, CA – DECEMBER 31: Head Coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders looks on during the first quarter of the game against the Los Angeles Chargers at StubHub Center on December 31, 2017 in Carson, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

How the coordinators factor in

Razorblade17: How much input will Jack Del Rio and Scott Turner have in the final cut down roster? Also game planning; who has final say on defense and offense?

JC: I’m obviously not Ron Rivera, but I can do my best to answer this one.

The Redskins don’t currently have a general manager; Kyle Smith is in charge of the front office, but he is expected to work collaboratively with Rivera to build the team, as we saw this offseason. Because of that, the coaching staff may have more input than usual when selecting the final roster.

Presumably, Rivera will be more involved on the defensive side of the ball. But given that he has allowed his defensive coordinator to tailor the scheme to the coordinator’s strengths in the past (Eric Washington switched to a 3-4 alignment in Rivera’s final season though Rivera tends to prefer using the 4-3), Del Rio will probably have a lot of say on who makes the team. As for the game plan, it will probably be more collaborative on that side of the ball.

As for the offense, Turner may have some more control given that defense is Rivera’s bigger focus. Rivera hasn’t had a coordinator as young as Turner (37) during his days as a head coach, but he trusted him enough to hire him. If Turner needs a little bit of help as he gets more comfortable as the offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach Ken Zampese, a coordinator for the Bengals from 2016-17, could help him out. But Rivera will more likely stay in a facilitator role and will help with overall game strategy and decision making as he did in Carolina.

We’ll see soon enough how Del Rio and Turner fit in. But Rivera has plans for both and seems to have built a great defensive staff and an offensive staff with a lot of upside.

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