Washington Football Team: Ron Rivera remains an important stabilizing agent

It’s a new era for the Washington Football Team. But that doesn’t mean the past doesn’t linger.

For the better part of twenty years, the Washington Football Team has not been the respected fringe-playoff contender that it is today. For the better part of twenty years, Washington has been an unenvious maelstrom of dysfunction and mediocrity, both on and off the field.

Some players were able to turn attention away from the futility of the franchise, but at the end of each playoff-less season, the eyes always turned back to the front office, and what they would do to improve.

The answer was always different, but in another way, it was always the same. The common thread, through all of the Washington Football Team’s struggles, was owner Dan Snyder.

In every walk of his career as an owner, Snyder has drawn rightly-deserved criticism. Not only for his meddling in football operations, but also most notably for his direct contribution to a toxic work environment, which was recently the subject of an investigation.

Some hoped that this investigation would eventually lead to Snyder being forced to sell the team. Some — many, in fact — believed that Snyder deserved such a punishment for his role in condoning workplace harassment. But now, the investigation has concluded. There was no written report, and Snyder’s franchise was hit with a $10 million fine — proportionally insignificant against the organization’s value.

Snyder released another statement regarding the investigation yesterday. In that statement, he did a number of things. He explained the new role that his wife Tanya will have in the organization. He touted the Washington Football Team’s organizational changes over the last year and a half.

But perhaps most glaringly, he implied, in the first paragraph, that he was unaware of how his club operated, and was unaware of the harassment that occurred within his franchise’s doors. It almost goes without saying, but that kind of unawareness, from an owner, is negligent in its own right. And that’s if Snyder is being honest to begin with.

Snyder’s unwillingness to take direct responsibility, combined with the NFL’s relatively underwhelming response to his investigation, dissuades those who seek more change in the Washington Football Team’s front office. Jason Wright has provided a pleasant change at team president, but Snyder’s presence emanates constant uncertainty.

Nevertheless, there is a potential buffer, that may keep Snyder from heavily impacting the football operations of the franchise. And that buffer is Ron Rivera. Already, it’s been clear how important Rivera has been in overhauling the Washington Football Team’s culture. It’s also been clear that he hasn’t been disconnected from Snyder. He was Snyder’s first hire in the regime change, even before a general manager, and that procession led to Rivera having increased authority in the organization.

Whether Snyder has changed or not — that’s not ours to determine. You can be skeptical or optimistic, but one fact remains regardless of Snyder’s presence. Ron Rivera has, at the very least, facilitated change. He made clear that the culture upon his arrival was not acceptable, and those first steps, at the very least, have precipitated into some form of accountability.

Is it enough accountability? No. But it’s a start. And with Rivera behind the wheel, with any luck, the Washington Football Team can continue to trend toward true respectability.