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With the 2021 NFL Awards being announced on Saturday, one individual deserves to be recognized more than anyone. The NFL Coach of the Year Award needs to go to Ron Rivera, the head coach of the Washington Football Team.
Rivera went through an obstacle course all season long in 2020. Beyond the team's difficulties on and off the field, Rivera successfully battled cancer.
The quarterback situation in Washington alone should win him the award. The team went back and forth all season long at the most important position in the game. It started with Dwayne Haskins Jr. before Kyle Allen and Alex Smith took turns as the starter. Once Alex Smith went down with an injury, Washington turned to Taylor Heinicke.
No matter who the Washington Football Team started at quarterback, Ron Rivera still showed up to win football games. Here's an extensive look at Rivera's 2020 NFL season, which demonstrates his candidacy for the Coach of the Year Award.
Ron Rivera's 2020-2021 NFL Season as Washington's head coach
When Ron Rivera was named head coach of the Washington Football Team, he instantly brought great leadership to a franchise that desperately needed it. From day one, the Washington players bought in with Rivera at the helm. They wanted to play for him because he is an outstanding coach on and off the field.
Before the 2020-2021 NFL season started, Rivera broke the news that he was diagnosed with cancer. Rivera made it clear that he was still going to coach the Washington Football Team in this past season. There were times when Rivera completed treatment for his cancer at halftime and finished coaching the game the same day. It's a remarkable story.
Washington's players gathered around Rivera and played for him all season long. As a result, the relationship between Rivera and his players grew stronger. Washington's players were not playing for themselves. They were playing for their head coach, Ron Rivera.
Why Ron Rivera should leave the 2021 NFL Awards as the Coach of the Year
At one point in the 2020-2021 NFL season, Washington found itself at the bottom of the NFC East division with a 1-5 record. But the team's season turned around with a huge 25-3 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Washington lost two straight games this win, so the team's record fell to 2-7. At this point, Washington was on its third quarterback of the season. Many fans thought the team's season was all but over.
But Rivera persevered. He kept fighting cancer, and he continued to fight for his team. Washington ripped off four straight wins against the Bengals, Cowboys, 49ers, and the previously undefeated Steelers. Just like that, Ron Rivera led Washington back into the race for the NFC East.
The Seattle Seahawks snapped this winning streak in Week 15. But Washington was sitting at the top of the NFC East with a 6-8 record. Washington failed to clinch a playoff spot in Week 16, and so its Week 17 meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles became the biggest game of the season. Just seven weeks after the Washington Football Team had a 2-7 record, it was playing for a playoff spot with a 6-9 record.
Led by Ron Rivera, Washington did the unthinkable and defeated the Philadelphia Eagles to clinch the NFC East and a home playoff game. Washington won the division in a season that was full of challenging circumstances.
In the NFL Wild Card Round, Washington started a backup quarterback and it only lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by eight points. Rivera's heart, determination, and loyalty to his players led the Washington Football Team to the 2021 NFL playoffs. He came into the season wanting to change the culture in Washington, and he managed to do that while he battled cancer.
They say that it's not the size of the dog, it's the size of the fight in dog that makes individuals great. Ron Rivera showed all season long that he had a lot of fight every single day. Leading Washington to the playoffs without a true starting quarterback and a young, talented defense should make Rivera the NFL Coach of the Year.
