Give Coach Ron Rivera a break on this much: Managing amid job insecurity is one of the most difficult tricks in any business. A chronic state of instability was unfairly thrust on him: Dan Snyder was a wreck of an outgoing owner, and by the time his forced sale to Harris was complete, it was training camp and too late for Harris to make any kind of fresh start.
Rivera’s job was thus a set of paradoxical tensions. He was supposed to establish continuity while on a tenuous professional string. He had to foster stability yet show rapid improvement, and bring a young quarterback along responsibly, while chasing win-now performances.