Ron Rivera Embraced History To Find Success In His First Season In Washington – Forbes

Ron Rivera led the Washington Football Team to its first playoff appearance since 2015.

What have we learned from our history?

Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera posed this question to the media after being asked how his team would sustain the success it achieved in the 2020 season. It was just one day after the Football Teams 31-23 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild Card round.

Amidst the backdrop of the Zoom press conference, Riveras inquiry was rhetorical. But the question itself was significant because it marked a shift in Riveras mindset from forward-thinking to reflective.

Since arriving in Washington, Rivera has looked ahead. He looked forward to creating a player-centered culture and a consistent winning team based on discipline and trust. When the Football Team was 1-3 to start off the season, Rivera planned for Weeks 6-9 when he knew the team would be playing NFC East opponents, and opted to bench Dwayne Haskins Jr. after the signal-callers best start of the season. Faced with an undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers team, Rivera asked, Why not us? When Washington returned to State Farm Stadium - the place where it had lost to the Arizona Cardinals in Week 2 - to face the San Francisco 49ers, he didnt dwell on past performances. And when Rivera faced his former team of nine seasons in the Carolina Panthers with a potential playoff berth on the line, he did not stop to consider the emotions tied up in his past.

Throughout a tumultuous season, Rivera remained focused on building a successful future in Washington. After leading the Football Team to a 7-9 record and their first playoff berth since 2015, Rivera finally paused to consider the accomplishments and lessons of the past.

History is one of the first topics Rivera brought up in his introductory press conference in Washington just over one year ago. He used the Redskins nickname when he spoke because it had not yet been retired.

This one, the Washington Redskins, this ones special, Rivera said last January. This is one of the almost original teams. Started in 1932, theres a lot of history behind this football team. In order for us to get back to where we want to be, we got to study that history, embrace that history and prepare to repeat that history. Because if were not, were doomed to repeat the most recent history and were not going to do that guys. We really arent. Everything we do is going to be about winning, okay? Were going to do things the right way, and thats the only way were going to do them. Because if it doesnt help us, were not doing it. Thats just as simple as it gets.

Unbeknownst to Rivera at the time, history proved to play an active role in Washington leading up to the 2020 season. Amidst national protests on racial injustice and police brutality and then pressure from financial backers, Washington retired its 87-year-old moniker, Redskins. Then, articles in the Washington Post surfaced detailing the sexual assault allegations of 40 former female employees and two female journalists from 2006-2019. In an unrelated case, a running back on the team was arrested and charged following multiple domestic violence incidents.

In a matters of months, Washingtons past had bled into the present and it had to confront history head-on.

Rivera, new to the team and city, turned to the past for clarity. Three days before the 2020 season began, Rivera told the media that he had read The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larsons book about Winston Churchill.

Its really about hunkering down for the long haul, Rivera said. Theres a lot of good messages in it about preparation and preparing and understanding that things arent going to be easy, theyre going to be hard, but getting everybody to rally. I found some solace in reading a book like that.

Rivera created a player-focused culture in his first season in Washington.

Instead of forgetting Washingtons past, Rivera built on top of it. The 3-13 record in 2019 was just as important as the teams 8-7 finish in 2016 - the last time Washington posted a winning record. Rivera understood that changing the future meant that every player and coach had to come together and embrace the trials of the past.

Weve got to stay true to what I believe is a little bit of a philosophy and that is the best team has a great sense of family, the best family has great culture and within that culture theres tremendous character, and thats what weve got to build, Rivera said in his introductory press conference. Weve got to build that. Weve got to build character, weve got to build culture, weve got to build team, weve got to build family. If we can do that, we can win.

The importance of family grew over the course of the season, particularly when Rivera announced in August that he had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma located in a lymph node. Before revealing his diagnosis to the world, Rivera gathered his players in a big circle after their evening meeting so that he could tell them in person.

"Some were stunned, Rivera said at the time. A bunch came up and wished me well. I said, 'I'm going to be a little more cranky, so don't piss me off.'"

Defensive end Ryan Anderson, having not yet played a game for Rivera, expressed his support before even knowing the diagnosis.

"He's definitely a players' coach," Anderson said. "So far, I like him. I trust him. I'd run through a wall for him."

As Rivera continued to coach, missing just three practices and no games, the sense of family only grew stronger. Players wore t-shirts on the sidelines that read, Rivera Strong. It was both a statement of support and a goal, because if this team could be strong like Rivera in the face of adversity, then certainly they could win football games.

Like any family, Washington faced hardship. After Haskins was benched, Kyle Allen took over under center. When Allen broke his ankle, Alex Smith played in his first game since suffering from a gruesome leg injury in Nov. 2018. When Smith injured his calf, Haskins got a second chance. And shortly after images surfaced of Haskins apparently mask-less at a party in violation of COVID-19 protocols, he was cut from the team. With Smith still injured, Taylor Heinicke, who had not started a game since 2018, was tasked with leading Washington to its first playoff win since 2005. He turned in a gutsy underdog performance punctuated by a diving touchdown into the pylon.

After all of that, Washington came up short in what turned out to be their last game of the season. In terms of grit, resilience and character though, the Football Team exceeded expectations.

What have we learned from our history?

More than anyone expected.

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Ron Rivera Embraced History To Find Success In His First Season In Washington - Forbes