NFL Rumors: Ron Rivera to Be Fired as Commanders HC on Black Monday After 4 Years

The Washington Commanders are reportedly expected to fire head coach Ron Rivera on Monday.

Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Commanders are expected to move on after four seasons as new majority owner Josh Harris looks to make his stamp on the franchise.

Rivera is 26-39-1 overall as the Commanders' head coach coming into Sunday's season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.

While Harris is expected to make a splash in revamping Washington's leadership as the franchise continues to erase the culture set by former owner Daniel Snyder, the Commanders are not expected to pursue New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. The Patriots and Belichick are widely expected to part ways after more than two decades together in the coming days.

The Commanders won the NFC East in Rivera's first season with a 7-9 record and have not posted a winning record during his tenure. The franchise has not been above .500 since 2006 and has not won 10 games since 2012.

Rivera, who came to Washington in 2020 after being fired by the Carolina Panthers after nine seasons, is 102-102-2 as a head coach. With the Cowboys installed as massive favorites on Sunday and Rivera unlikely to garner much interest in the head-coaching market this offseason, the 62-year-old may end his coaching career just one game below .500.

Harris led a group of investors who purchased the Commanders for $6.05 billion earlier this year.

The new ownership group is yet to make any noticeable overhauls aside from adding stability, but that will almost certainly change this offseason. Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew will be on the outs, and Jon Keim of ESPN reported Harris wants to "outside the box" in building his organization.

That could mean hiring a data-driven decision-maker, as Harris did in Daryl Morey with the Philadelphia 76ers, or finding another way to push the envelope. Regardless, it's likely Harris will take a top-down approach in his next move, deciding on a lead football executive before landing on a coach.