After four seasons with the team, the Super Bowl champion coach was fired.
The coaching staff of the Washington Commanders is undergoing changes. The firings of defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were announced by head coach Ron Rivera on Friday. The team’s Thanksgiving Day 45-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys prompted the changes.
“I understand exactly how our supporters are feeling right now: let down and angry,” Commanders owner Josh Harris stated in a release. It’s also how our staff and players feel. I was aware that there would be difficulties during our first season of ownership, but we are not going to back down from a challenge or give up easily. As Coach Rivera and I talked about, our entire season will be centered on improving our football team’s performance and player development, with a close examination of the areas that require improvement this offseason. A team that can contend with the NFL’s top teams and win consistently over the long haul is what our fans deserve.”
Reasons for Super Bowl Coach to Get Fired
For the remainder of the season, Rivera informed reporters, he will be calling the defensive plays. “If you don’t change things, can you expect things to change?” ESPN quoted Rivera as saying. “So that’s what I’m doing, to see if things will change.” Rivera continued, saying that while he considered making the changes “for a little while,” the Cowboys game proved to be the decisive factor because the defense gave up 38 points, including 18 in the fourth quarter.
“I mean it’s not an indictment of Jack and Brent because those guys worked their asses off trying to get things right and trying to do things for us,” Rivera stated. Simply put, something wasn’t coming together for whatever reason. This season, we haven’t performed as well as we would have liked. I assure you that we are all accountable. Collectively, coaches and players make us all.”
Since 2020, when Rivera was appointed head coach, Del Rio, 60, has served as the Commanders’ defensive coordinator. Throughout his NFL career, he has held head coaching positions with the Oakland Raiders (2015–2017) and Jacksonville Jaguars (2003–2011). When Del Rio was coaching the linebackers for the Baltimore Ravens, the team won a Super Bowl in 2000.
