The Commanders’ change in ownership has ended an extended period of drama within Washington’s NFL franchise. And clearly the team’s head coach is relieved to be putting that phase of the organization behind him.
Ron Rivera, speaking publicly for the first time since the sale of the Commanders was approved by league owners, said he was “pretty excited” about the new ownership.
“I’m fired up about the opportunity as we go forward,” Rivera said. “A lot of it, I think has to do just with the feeling that so many people are behind us. It was different. I mean when you were having to deal with stuff outside of football. Now it’s about football.”
MORE: Snyder fined $60 million by NFL as sale of team approved
Much of Daniel Snyder’s reign as Commanders owner was mired by controversy. The team faced allegations that cheerleaders were required to pose topless for a photo shoot, faced multiple reports of sexual harassment within the organization, was accused of financial malpractice and was tied up in the controversial email leaks of Jon Gruden.
Rivera, who was hired to be the team’s head coach starting in 2020, has been around to see the team under investigation by the NFL and Congress with a litany of reports emerging from major publications like The New York Times and The Washington Post that shined a light to countless alleged issues within the organization.
On July 20, the NFL officially approved the sale of the Commanders from Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris, owner of the 76ers. Snyder sold the organization for $6.05 billion, the largest price for a North American sports team in history.
“The last few years, I honestly felt more like a manager,” Rivera said, per The Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala. “But the spring, I thought, was really good because it really was about putting the team together knowing the ownership change was going to happen.”
MORE: Will the Commanders change their name after ownership change?
Rivera won’t be the only one relieved by the sale of the organization. Plenty of fans of the organization have largely grown exhausted with Snyder’s controversial tenure, and are likely relieved to see him leave.
“You can already feel the impact. A lot of it has to do with just really the reaction from the fan base more so than anything else,” Rivera said. “I think our guys have also felt it.”
There was more than just relief for the departure of Snyder, but also some excitement for the new group coming in. Snyder said during the press conference that he has already spoken with Harris about philosophy, and he said he could tell there will be plenty of support from the new group.
“That was probably the thing that I really appreciated was having that conversation and just hearing their commitment to trying to do the best they can to bring back to this area, a sense of pride in this organization and that was probably one of the really good things that I really appreciated in our first conversation,” Rivera said.
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