ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera was noticeably upbeat when he met the media on the eve of this year's training camp. He is no longer burdened with answering for every misstep the franchise has made either on or off the field.
With a new ownership group in place, Rivera's sole focus is now on football.
"You can already feel the impact (of new ownership)," Rivera said. "A lot of it has to do with the reaction of the fan base. I think our guys have also felt it."
"It's exciting," Rivera said with a broad smile. "I'm fired up about the opportunity."
Tuesday was a report day for the veterans on the roster.
Rookies have been here for the last four days getting acclimated to NFL life.
This team is still something of a work in progress because there could only be so much done with ownership in limbo.
"We stayed focused on trying to put together the best team we could," Rivera explained. "We knew it would be a matter of time (for new ownership) and when that time came, we wanted to have everything in place."
"We had a good spring and a good rookie camp the last three days so we're excited about where we are."
Rivera enters the fourth year of his five-year contract, having won a division title but only producing an overall record of 22-27-1.
They are picked by many to finish last in the NFC East.
Rivera has as much to prove to his new bosses as his new players have to prove to him.
They start doing it together on Wednesday.
"I think we're a good, young football team," Rivera said. "With some key veterans at some key positions, now is the opportunity to go. And I do want to prove some stuff."
"We've been too close the last couple of years," Rivera continued. "We get into a really good run, and now is the time to sustain it. Just proving that these are the guys, these are the coaches, that I'm the right guy to continue to help this organization go forward."
The Commanders have assembled temporary grandstands around their main practice fields for the days when fans are allowed in to watch practice.
Thursday is the first day fans will be in attendance, and the team is expecting 10,000 to show up for this weekend's "Back Together Saturday."
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