Washington Redskins: Ron Rivera, Chase Young are franchise changers

The Washington Redskins are done with Jay Gruden and Bruce Allen. Ron Rivera and Chase Young would be franchise-altering pickups in the 2020 offseason.

Although his time with the Carolina Panthers was up, Ron Rivera is a culture-setting type of head coach and that is exactly what the Washington Redskins need.

The Redskins fired team president Bruce Allen, who had been running the squad with Dan Snyder since 2010. The Redskins have had some ups and downs in the last decade, but mostly downs and they have gone down in a heaping pile of expensive free agents, high draft picks, and unmet expectations.

After firing Jay Gruden midseason, the Redskins finally heard the cries of their faithful fan base and let go of Allen as well, another huge step in the right direction for changing the culture of this team.

The next step? Hiring Ron Rivera, who was fired midseason by the Carolina Panthers.

Rivera, certainly not the problem in Carolina, is unquestionably the biggest prize of the 2020 coaching circuit, so much so that the Redskins are going to lock him in before the new year even comes about.

The move to hire Rivera is an exceptional one on its own, but paired with the firing of Allen?

That’s music to Redskins fans’ ears.

Rivera was an awesome defensive coordinator in Chicago with the Bears and then in San Diego with the Chargers before he became head coach of the Panthers back in 2011. The Panthers drafted Cam Newton in Rivera’s first year there and they have been a very tough team in the NFC including an NFC Champion (2015) when Newton is able to stay healthy.

First things first — Washington’s defense is going to be upgraded substantially just by the presence of Rivera, a linebacker/linebackers coach by trade who has become a mastermind of stopping offenses and developing talent defensively.

Most importantly for Washington, Rivera is a guy players love to play for and coaches love to work for.

He’s coming into a great situation with the Redskins if you ask me, an outsider, where he will have the second overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, a possible franchise quarterback in Dwayne Haskins, and plenty of talent to work with on both sides of the ball.

I’m getting ahead of myself here, but I don’t think anyone is under any illusion at this point that the Cincinnati Bengals are taking anyone but LSU quarterback Joe Burrow, which means that Ohio State defensive end Chase Young is going to be sitting there at number two overall for the Redskins.

Washington could certainly decide they need an offensive tackle more than they need Young, but Young is the best player in the draft, and getting that kind of piece can help turn this franchise around rather rapidly.

Young had such a dominant season at Ohio State in 2019 that many were saying he should be considered a Heisman finalist. He finished the year with 46 total tackles, 16.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, and a whopping seven forced fumbles.

He looked like a man among boys no matter who Ohio State was playing and he had that kind of production while missing some time with a suspension.

Young is the best edge prospect to come out of the college ranks in a really long time. The last player with his combination of size, speed, power, athleticism, and advanced technique was probably Jadeveon Clowney in 2014, but Clowney had some injury concerns coming in that have hurt him a bit in the pros.

I also think Young is a bit more dynamic off the edge even than Clowney, whose physical dominance won him more reps than his advanced technique, which is the opposite with Young. Young wins with great technique — a variety of moves, very strong hands, length, and great instincts as an edge player — as much as he does with his physical abilities.

If all the Redskins did this offseason was:

• Fire Bruce Allen,
• Hire Ron Rivera, and
• Draft Chase Young

That would be a pretty great offseason, right?

Washington already has their young quarterback in place. They now seemingly have the top free agent head coaching candidate in place.

All that’s left is waiting for the opportunity to draft Chase Young, the best player in the 2020 NFL Draft, and the Redskins will be in business immediately next season.