Washington is following the path of another Ron Rivera-coached team toward an unusual playoff berth Sam Fortier, The Washington Post Dec. 12, 2020 FacebookTwitterEmail Washington Football Team Coach Ron Rivera has seen a similar path to the one Washington is on before, in Carolina.Washington Post photo by Jonathan Newton. Every week on set, as the season got worse and worse, Eugene Robinson wondered if something might change. It was fall 2014 and he was co-hosting a TV show that analyzed game film with Carolina Panthers coach Ron Rivera. The Panthers had high expectations - they'd won the NFC South the year before - but now they were in free fall amid a six-game losing streak. Rumors were swirling about Rivera's job.