Washington Football Team: Ron Rivera remains an important stabilizing agent

LANDOVER, MARYLAND - SEPTEMBER 13: The helmet of Keith Ismael #60 of the Washington Football Team is shown before their game against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedExField on September 13, 2020 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)

It’s a new era for the Washington Football Team. But that doesn’t mean the past doesn’t linger.

For the better part of twenty years, the Washington Football Team has not been the respected fringe-playoff contender that it is today. For the better part of twenty years, Washington has been an unenvious maelstrom of dysfunction and mediocrity, both on and off the field.

Some players were able to turn attention away from the futility of the franchise,…