Ron Rivera: If you don't change things, you can't expect things to change
The Commanders responded to Thursday's drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys by shaking up their defensive coaching staff.
Defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio and defensive backs coach Brent Vieselmeyer were fired and head coach Ron Rivera discussed the decision to make those changes at a press conference on Friday afternoon. Rivera said he "was concerned" by the way things snowballed in Dallas after watching similar performances over the course of the season and that he felt the team had to move now in order to create different results.
"If you don’t change things, can you expect things to change? That’s what I’m doing, to get things to change," Rivera said, via Ralph Vacchiano of Fox Sports.
Rivera said he will be devoting himself to the defensive side of the ball for the remainder of the season. Senior defensive assistant and safeties coach Richard Rodgers will assist him with game-planning while Cristian Garcia will take over as the defensive backs coach.
If the shakeup does not result in a major change in fortunes for the Commanders, Rivera will likely find that his explanation for Friday's moves sets him up as the next to go in Washington.
