Ron Rivera has a lot to prove in 2022

Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera is entering his 12th season as an NFL head coach in 2022. Next season will be his third in Washington, one in which Rivera expects to see his team take a big step.

Rivera has accumulated a 14-19 record as head coach in two seasons with Washington. Washington went 7-9 in Rivera’s first season and won the NFC East. While many ridiculed Washington for winning the division with a losing record, it was an impressive first season for Rivera.

The head coach took over a team that won three games in 2019 and battled cancer while never missing a game. Rivera also won despite starting four different quarterbacks. Due to that “success,” expectations were high for Washington in 2021.

Unfortunately, quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick went down for the season in Week 1, and Washington battled injuries and COVID all season, finishing with a 7-10 record.

Rivera made it clear how important it was for the Commanders to upgrade the quarterback position this offseason. In Carson Wentz, Rivera feels like he has his guy.

Now that Rivera has a quarterback he believes he can win with, the pressure is mounting for him to win in 2022.

Joe Marino of The Draft Network recently named three coaches he felt had the most to prove in 2022 and named Rivera as one of those coaches.

Rivera is a well-respected head coach and leader within the NFL but it’s more than fair to call into question his results. A head coach over the last 11 seasons, Rivera’s teams finished with a losing record in eight of them, including his first two years with the Washington Commanders.

In considering his time with the Carolina Panthers, Rivera would be quick to point out that he inherited a 1-15 team but I am quick to remind that the Panthers finished with a losing record in four of his last five seasons in Carolina.

Much of the losing Rivera has seen can be attributed to lackluster quarterback play, but hitching his wagon to the unsteady Carson Wentz isn’t likely to…