Best Commanders head coach candidates to replace Ron Rivera
Who should the next Commanders coach be?
Typically, when a new ownership group buys a professional sports franchise, they tend to clean house and start from scratch with their coaching staff and front office personnel. While it isn’t a guaranteed lock the new Washington Commanders ownership group led by Josh Harris and Magic Johnson will look to do that and move on from head coach Ron Rivera, they certainly have an entry point to doing so with the way this 2023 season has gone. The Commanders have the fourth-worst record in the NFL at 4-10 and have the second-worst point differential in the league at -142, which is tied with the 2-12 Carolina Panthers and only exceeds the 5-9 New York Giants (-149).
That all falls on the lap of head coach Ron Rivera. Though Rivera did win the NFC East in his first season in charge of the Commanders, the franchise has been largely mediocre during his tenure. They’ve especially been bad defensively, which is supposed to be Rivera’s area of expertise. They’ve already fired defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who also has head coach experience, but things haven’t gotten better there for the Commanders. Washington ranks dead last in defensive EPA per play allowed this season. In 2021, they ranked 29th in the league in that category. They were top five in that stat in 2020 and 2022, but the inconsistency has been maddening.
The inconsistency there, as well as the quarterback, are what will likely do Rivera in as head coach. Washington has had a different Week 1 starting quarterback in each of Rivera’s four seasons: Dwayne Haskins, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Carson Wentz, and Sam Howell. That doesn’t even include the starts that Taylor Heinicke, Alex Smith, and Kyle Allen have made during this tenure as well.
The Commanders have to start fresh. A top-five pick (prime position to pick a franchise quarterback) and a new head coach is a great way to start. Three candidates jump out as potential next head coaches for the Commanders.
Lions OC Ben Johnson
Perhaps no coach in the NFL has seen their stock rise more than Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has over the past two seasons. Johnson was named the Lions’ offensive coordinator a year after being their passing game coordinator in 2021.
Well, from the start of the 2022 season until now, the Lions rank seventh in the NFL in EPA per play on offense. Only the San Francisco 49ers, Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Dallas Cowboys rank higher in that metric than the Lions in that span. They’re also sixth in EPA per dropback, behind all of those teams save for the Eagles.
Johnson is not only helping the Lions’ offense excel, but it isn’t like the Lions have a treasure trove of star skill-position players either. Rookies Jahmyr Gibbs and Sam LaPorta have popped this season alongside the star Amon-Ra St. Brown, but those two have only been in Detroit for one season.
Jared Goff is shining behind the Lions’ fantastic offensive line. Since the start of the 2022 season, Goff ranks ninth among quarterbacks in EPA plus Completion Percentage Over Expectation (CPOE) composite score. A lot of that is because of Ben Johnson. Johnson would be a dream hire for the Commanders if they can pull it off.
Cowboys DC Dan Quinn
The Commanders should know all too well how good of a job Dan Quinn has done as the defensive coordinator for the division foe Dallas Cowboys. Dallas’ defense scored as many touchdowns as Washington’s offense in their Week 12 tilt on Thanksgiving when DaRon Bland rattled off his fifth pick-six of the season.
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