WEBVTT - Coach Rivera from League Meetings | Episode 1

0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:09.880
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Commanders Today Podcast. I'm Julie Donaldson. The

0:00:09.920 --> 0:00:14.320
<v Speaker 1>offseason festivities continue for head coach Ron Rivera. Team owners, executives,

0:00:14.320 --> 0:00:17.320
<v Speaker 1>and coaches gathered in South Florida this week to prepare

0:00:17.320 --> 0:00:19.800
<v Speaker 1>for the upcoming season. I had the chance to talk

0:00:19.840 --> 0:00:22.520
<v Speaker 1>with head coach Ron Rivera to discuss this offseason, the

0:00:22.520 --> 0:00:26.600
<v Speaker 1>Commander's new QB one, and the upcoming NFL draft coach

0:00:26.840 --> 0:00:29.320
<v Speaker 1>Sonny Florida. Are you aware how cold it is right

0:00:29.400 --> 0:00:31.760
<v Speaker 1>now up in DC? Yes? Because every time I call

0:00:31.840 --> 0:00:34.360
<v Speaker 1>back home and talk to my kids, all I hear

0:00:34.400 --> 0:00:37.320
<v Speaker 1>is that it is freezing out here. Yeah, sometimes it's

0:00:37.360 --> 0:00:39.280
<v Speaker 1>not bad to be the head coach and have to

0:00:39.320 --> 0:00:42.479
<v Speaker 1>come down to these things in West Palm. Beautiful scenery

0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:46.199
<v Speaker 1>here at the Breakers. Have you stopped and pause though

0:00:46.200 --> 0:00:50.320
<v Speaker 1>it all yet? No? You know, I'm on the competition committee.

0:00:50.320 --> 0:00:53.120
<v Speaker 1>So I got here and I hit the ground working.

0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:56.240
<v Speaker 1>We started on Sunday and we've been going ever since.

0:00:57.480 --> 0:00:59.240
<v Speaker 1>What do you get from being on the competition command

0:00:59.280 --> 0:01:01.480
<v Speaker 1>I know you've quite a few years now, like why

0:01:01.600 --> 0:01:04.240
<v Speaker 1>take that step and what does it take? What do

0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.080
<v Speaker 1>you get from it? Well? I really do believe it's

0:01:07.080 --> 0:01:09.080
<v Speaker 1>about you know, trying to help and better the league

0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.760
<v Speaker 1>and create positive situations for the NFL. UM. One of

0:01:12.760 --> 0:01:14.520
<v Speaker 1>the things I do take from it is is I

0:01:14.560 --> 0:01:16.720
<v Speaker 1>get an insight into the rules, get a better feel

0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:19.600
<v Speaker 1>for those things. I think that helps me. UM. I

0:01:19.640 --> 0:01:22.920
<v Speaker 1>think it it for us in terms of what we

0:01:23.040 --> 0:01:25.559
<v Speaker 1>try to develop and help with more than anything else.

0:01:25.680 --> 0:01:27.720
<v Speaker 1>Is you know, like right now we've got the whole

0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.080
<v Speaker 1>thing with the inclusion, you know, trying to make sure

0:01:30.080 --> 0:01:34.120
<v Speaker 1>that people are getting opportunities, UM, you know, to be coaches,

0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:37.360
<v Speaker 1>to be um to be front office people in this league,

0:01:37.360 --> 0:01:39.000
<v Speaker 1>and we want to make sure it gets opened up

0:01:39.000 --> 0:01:42.520
<v Speaker 1>to everybody. As a minority coach, yourself as having one

0:01:42.520 --> 0:01:45.200
<v Speaker 1>of the first females on your coaching staff, I guess

0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:47.720
<v Speaker 1>the new rule wants to have a minority or a

0:01:47.760 --> 0:01:51.640
<v Speaker 1>female that works with the offensive coordinator. Do you believe

0:01:51.640 --> 0:01:53.080
<v Speaker 1>that that'll work? Is this a good step in the

0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:55.120
<v Speaker 1>right direction? Well? I do think it's a good step

0:01:55.120 --> 0:01:57.200
<v Speaker 1>in the right direction. Will the work Only time will tell.

0:01:57.280 --> 0:02:00.680
<v Speaker 1>But you know what we've seen and everybody realized recognize

0:02:00.680 --> 0:02:03.360
<v Speaker 1>it that one of the quickest pipelines to get advancement

0:02:03.400 --> 0:02:05.680
<v Speaker 1>this league is through the quarterback position. So if you're

0:02:05.680 --> 0:02:09.280
<v Speaker 1>coaching that position, if you're coordinating on the offensive side,

0:02:10.000 --> 0:02:12.760
<v Speaker 1>you've created probably the best pipeline for people to get

0:02:12.840 --> 0:02:15.760
<v Speaker 1>chances to take the next big step. So yeah, I

0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:18.280
<v Speaker 1>hope it works. I believe it can. But right now,

0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:20.840
<v Speaker 1>only time will tell us what would this mean internally

0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:23.600
<v Speaker 1>for Washingtons. You already have Jennifer King there and I

0:02:23.639 --> 0:02:25.040
<v Speaker 1>know when we first brought her and you said you

0:02:25.080 --> 0:02:27.880
<v Speaker 1>wanted her to learn multiple rooms before she just kind

0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:29.880
<v Speaker 1>of got that permanent position with the running backs. Could

0:02:29.880 --> 0:02:32.600
<v Speaker 1>this be an elevation for her? Maybe something else? Um,

0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:34.680
<v Speaker 1>it's probably gonna be something else. Um. You know we're

0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:36.959
<v Speaker 1>gonna get We're gonna get Doug involved. You know, we've

0:02:37.000 --> 0:02:39.280
<v Speaker 1>thought about this for a few weeks to be honest,

0:02:39.760 --> 0:02:41.160
<v Speaker 1>when we first got wind of it, and so we

0:02:41.200 --> 0:02:43.320
<v Speaker 1>started mapping it out. I sat down with Jason and

0:02:43.360 --> 0:02:46.400
<v Speaker 1>Doug and we talked about how can we best find

0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:50.560
<v Speaker 1>the best suit of candidate for that position. And we're

0:02:50.560 --> 0:02:53.960
<v Speaker 1>gonna we're gonna continue to finish, you know, that process

0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.360
<v Speaker 1>that we are. We're going to start pretty soon again.

0:02:56.400 --> 0:02:58.720
<v Speaker 1>It's all about taking those steps because something needs to

0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:00.560
<v Speaker 1>be done for sure, and that's where it happens kind

0:03:00.560 --> 0:03:03.720
<v Speaker 1>of right here. Um, do you find this Is it

0:03:03.800 --> 0:03:06.240
<v Speaker 1>friendly environment for you or is it like, wait, you're

0:03:06.280 --> 0:03:08.560
<v Speaker 1>my competition. I didn't like that play that you pulled

0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:10.840
<v Speaker 1>on us. That's a little bit about little both. I

0:03:10.840 --> 0:03:12.200
<v Speaker 1>mean it's pretty friendly for the most part. And you

0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:13.840
<v Speaker 1>get an opportunity meet a loz you guys. I mean

0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:16.280
<v Speaker 1>it's hard to put a name to a face because

0:03:16.320 --> 0:03:17.880
<v Speaker 1>you know, we didn't get a chance to interact the

0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:19.480
<v Speaker 1>last couple of years, and there's been a lot of

0:03:19.560 --> 0:03:22.200
<v Speaker 1>changeover and that's really kind of the nature of this business.

0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:24.639
<v Speaker 1>So getting an opportunity to meet guys, see guys spent

0:03:24.680 --> 0:03:26.120
<v Speaker 1>a little bit of time with him as cool. Do

0:03:26.160 --> 0:03:27.880
<v Speaker 1>you guys talk about the moves made in free agency,

0:03:27.919 --> 0:03:29.519
<v Speaker 1>because it seems like this free agency it was a

0:03:29.520 --> 0:03:32.520
<v Speaker 1>little bit of the march madness compared to most very much.

0:03:32.520 --> 0:03:34.119
<v Speaker 1>So we have we a lot of guys have talked

0:03:34.120 --> 0:03:36.080
<v Speaker 1>too at Guys have talked about you know, why did

0:03:36.120 --> 0:03:37.880
<v Speaker 1>we do this or you know we had to do that,

0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.560
<v Speaker 1>and you sit there going wow, you know, the cap

0:03:40.800 --> 0:03:42.640
<v Speaker 1>is right now having a major impact on a lot

0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.760
<v Speaker 1>of decisions that we make as a league and as teams,

0:03:45.800 --> 0:03:48.160
<v Speaker 1>and and and you know, we went through the same thing.

0:03:48.200 --> 0:03:51.480
<v Speaker 1>You know, we get Carson Wentz m. Carson's salary obviously

0:03:51.600 --> 0:03:54.040
<v Speaker 1>is what it is. It does have an impact on

0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:57.160
<v Speaker 1>our salary cap. It does impact how we view players,

0:03:58.080 --> 0:03:59.839
<v Speaker 1>and what we have to do now is figure out

0:04:00.000 --> 0:04:02.080
<v Speaker 1>and work on best ways to get some of our

0:04:02.120 --> 0:04:04.160
<v Speaker 1>other players taken care of. How much when you watch

0:04:04.240 --> 0:04:05.800
<v Speaker 1>was kind of going on in free agency, does it

0:04:05.880 --> 0:04:09.480
<v Speaker 1>impact your plan and can you anticipate like some of

0:04:09.480 --> 0:04:11.520
<v Speaker 1>the salaries going some high and some of the key

0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:14.680
<v Speaker 1>players moving as they are, and that's exactly what happens.

0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:16.680
<v Speaker 1>You have to anticipate how it's going to impact not

0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:19.039
<v Speaker 1>just this season, but the next season, in the season

0:04:19.080 --> 0:04:21.120
<v Speaker 1>after that going forward. So you really got to make

0:04:21.120 --> 0:04:23.359
<v Speaker 1>decisions that are going to impact your future. And you know,

0:04:23.400 --> 0:04:25.400
<v Speaker 1>when you make a play like we did and we

0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:27.440
<v Speaker 1>bring a Carson in, it does change our plans because

0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:29.560
<v Speaker 1>one thing that we always looked at was let's find

0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:31.800
<v Speaker 1>a guy in, let's draft him and then build around that.

0:04:32.880 --> 0:04:36.039
<v Speaker 1>And with the players coming out of this year's draft

0:04:36.080 --> 0:04:39.279
<v Speaker 1>and everybody's strong need for a quarterback and us picking

0:04:39.279 --> 0:04:41.560
<v Speaker 1>at eleven, we felt one things we really had to

0:04:41.600 --> 0:04:43.960
<v Speaker 1>look at is trying to obtain a veteran guy, and

0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:47.120
<v Speaker 1>that's what we did in grabbing Carson. You told me

0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:50.120
<v Speaker 1>heading into this time period that getting a quarterback was

0:04:50.120 --> 0:04:52.520
<v Speaker 1>the number one priority and you had your options. So

0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:54.680
<v Speaker 1>you go out and you get Carson. What is that

0:04:54.760 --> 0:04:57.520
<v Speaker 1>next step? What is the next priority to be able

0:04:57.520 --> 0:04:59.760
<v Speaker 1>to address here? Well, I think the biggest thing, Julie,

0:04:59.800 --> 0:05:03.520
<v Speaker 1>is to make sure we have the offensive people in place.

0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:05.760
<v Speaker 1>Can we protect him? Do We got to make sure

0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:07.680
<v Speaker 1>that that offensive line is four to fight and we're

0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:09.240
<v Speaker 1>going to continue to look at that to make sure

0:05:09.240 --> 0:05:11.800
<v Speaker 1>we do have the right pieces in place. Didn't this

0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:15.160
<v Speaker 1>about the playmakers? Do we have enough playmakers around him?

0:05:15.400 --> 0:05:17.520
<v Speaker 1>You know? Will those guys coming back from injury be

0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.680
<v Speaker 1>ready to play for us once we get into the

0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.320
<v Speaker 1>into training camp and then get into the regular season.

0:05:22.360 --> 0:05:23.839
<v Speaker 1>So we've got to look at all those things to

0:05:23.880 --> 0:05:28.440
<v Speaker 1>make sure that that fits our offensive attitude, our offensive philosophy,

0:05:28.680 --> 0:05:31.159
<v Speaker 1>and our offensive scheme. You have the draft coming up,

0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:32.920
<v Speaker 1>eleventh overall pick, and I've been out to a couple

0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:36.039
<v Speaker 1>of Pro Bowls as well. I imagine free agency and

0:05:36.040 --> 0:05:37.880
<v Speaker 1>those moves again are shifting what you might want to

0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.200
<v Speaker 1>do in the draft where are you in your plans

0:05:40.200 --> 0:05:41.479
<v Speaker 1>and kind of knowing what you want to do with

0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:43.960
<v Speaker 1>that spot in the six picks you have overall, Well,

0:05:44.000 --> 0:05:46.360
<v Speaker 1>the biggest thing as we've gone through all these pro

0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.800
<v Speaker 1>days is really getting a closer look at some of

0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:53.719
<v Speaker 1>the guys that we've targeted, and quite honestly that several

0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:55.320
<v Speaker 1>have gone to There's been a couple of guys that

0:05:55.320 --> 0:05:57.400
<v Speaker 1>have stood out that we did have some questions about

0:05:57.440 --> 0:05:59.680
<v Speaker 1>and feel really good about. So and we're not done.

0:06:00.040 --> 0:06:01.560
<v Speaker 1>I'm going to hit the road again once we we

0:06:01.760 --> 0:06:05.040
<v Speaker 1>we finish up here tomorrow, I'm gonna take a couple

0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:06.880
<v Speaker 1>of days and then we'll be hitting the road again.

0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:09.680
<v Speaker 1>You said three to five years to change the culture,

0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.200
<v Speaker 1>you're now entering year three. Where are you from where

0:06:12.240 --> 0:06:14.640
<v Speaker 1>you anticipated and expected this team to be? Well initially

0:06:14.680 --> 0:06:17.280
<v Speaker 1>are Initially when we finished seas, Julia I was a

0:06:17.279 --> 0:06:19.720
<v Speaker 1>little concerned obviously because we hadn't had a quarterback question

0:06:19.760 --> 0:06:23.080
<v Speaker 1>answered yet. Coming out of this past week, feeling pretty

0:06:23.080 --> 0:06:25.359
<v Speaker 1>good about where we are, feel very comfortable, very confident,

0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:27.640
<v Speaker 1>and who Carson Wentz is and who we believe he

0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.920
<v Speaker 1>can be for us. So we're pretty excited about that. So,

0:06:30.520 --> 0:06:34.479
<v Speaker 1>um am I where I believe we can be now

0:06:34.520 --> 0:06:37.680
<v Speaker 1>I do. I feel pretty comfortable, pretty confident. We've just

0:06:37.720 --> 0:06:39.520
<v Speaker 1>got to make sure we make some really good decisions

0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.839
<v Speaker 1>in the next month and a half and going forward,

0:06:42.240 --> 0:06:45.039
<v Speaker 1>wish are the absolute best. It's uh, you're doing all

0:06:45.080 --> 0:06:47.560
<v Speaker 1>the work. We just sit back and watch, looking forward

0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:49.040
<v Speaker 1>to see where this team does go in year three

0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:51.040
<v Speaker 1>with you, so hopefully you get to enjoy a little

0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:53.920
<v Speaker 1>bit of West Palm Beach. Almost not all meetings locked inside.

0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:56.000
<v Speaker 1>No they're not. They're not, Julie, But thank you all right,

0:06:56.000 --> 0:06:59.160
<v Speaker 1>thanks co for my full conversation with Coach Rivera. Be

0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.600
<v Speaker 1>sure to tune into Washington Football Today weeknights, five thirty

0:07:02.640 --> 0:07:06.120
<v Speaker 1>and ten pm on NBC Sports Washington. And while you're

0:07:06.160 --> 0:07:07.800
<v Speaker 1>at it, be sure to follow us on all of

0:07:07.839 --> 0:07:19.360
<v Speaker 1>the Commander's social media platforms for the latest on the team.