When Ron Rivera saw a recent NFL Players Association survey had Washington ranked as the worst in the league for working conditions, the Commanders coach started calling his players.
After all, the union said it based the results of the report card on feedback from 1,300 players who were only asked to grade their own team. And so when the Commanders got four Fs and two Ds in six of the eight categories, Rivera wanted answers.
The ensuing conversations didn’t necessarily mesh with the tone of the NFLPA’s survey.
“When I’ve talked to players and listened to them, it’s [the] opposite,” Rivera told The Washington Times.
Rivera disagrees with much of the survey’s conclusions — he calls the team’s weight room, which received a C+ from the NFLPA, and training room (F-) “more than adequate.”
But, obviously, there’s always room for improvement — and Rivera and the team set about making changes.
President Jason Wright said the Commanders will hire a new assistant trainer before training camp to address staffing concerns, on top of the hires they made last year when they brought in trainer Al Bellamy to replace Ryan Vermillion and added assistant trainer Lindsay Gately in October. The new trainer would give the team an extra full-time staffer compared to what Rivera had in his first year in 2020. Wright said there’s been additional maintenance work done in the training room to make sure whirlpool temperatures are more consistent, as well as expanding capacity for underwater treadmills.
The team also freed up space in the cafeteria by moving the offensive line’s meeting room (yes, the team previously used a divider in the cafeteria to create a makeshift room) to a space that was previously used by accounting outside of Wright’s office. And Wright said they plan to hold conversations with players to gauge whether there’s a need for daycare on game days at FedEx Field, as well as travel preferences.
Wright and Rivera acknowledged there are “constraints” due to the size of the team’s Ashburn headquarters. Enlarging the locker room, criticized as cramped in the survey, could only realistically be addressed by the construction of a new building, for instance.
But the two insisted they would listen to the feedback and urged players to come forward with any problem.
“When it first came out, we all had serious concern,” Wright said of the union’s survey. “We know we’re on the cusp of something very special here. Ron has built a roster that’s ready to compete.”
But Rivera said he doesn’t think the survey has had any impact on the team’s ability to add pieces to that roster. The Commanders have had an active start to this year’s free agency, signing two offensive linemen in Andrew Wylie and Nick Gates and linebacker Cody Barton, re-signing cornerback Danny Johnson and claiming cornerback Cam Dantzler off waivers from Minnesota.
There also appears to be little correlation between a team’s on-the-field success and the teams that received high grades from the union. Four of the 10 best-rated teams missed the playoffs entirely, for instance, while the Super Bowl participants ranked 14 (Eagles) and 29th (Chiefs) respectively.
The Super Bowl-winning Kansas City Chiefs, too, earned a D or an F in five of the eight categories.
“I’ll take their scores and that trophy,” Wright laughed. “I’ll tell you that much.”
But there were parts of the report card that particularly caught the team’s attention. Rivera said it was “very discouraging” to read the Commanders had received an F for the treatment of families, which tied for last in the league. The survey noted that the Commanders were one of 11 teams to not offer daycare at their stadium.
Rivera and Wright both said the franchise is committed to supporting players and their families. Rivera noted that the team hosts multiple holiday parties in Ashburn, while Wright pointed out that the team has a director of wellness and clinical services who provides marriage and couples counseling for players and their partners. Wright added that the team installed a family room last preseason at FedEx Field to help players’ families “get away from the noise.”
Still, Wright said “it’s time to listen” to see what else can be done. Wright said the team could make some tweaks in travel, another category in which the Commanders earned a failing grade.
Just 22% of players felt they had enough room to spread out, and Washington was one of six teams to require young players to share rooms on the road. The Commanders are also, according to the survey, one of seven teams that did not offer first-class seats to players.
Wright said that assertion is wrong: The Commanders offered first-class to players, but the team’s brass was told the group initially preferred to be in the back of the plane to connect. When some players did eventually ask to sit in first class last season, Rivera said those changes were made, adding there are only so many first-class seats available.
As far as roommates on the road, it boils down to a difference in philosophy. Wright said veterans on the team suggested younger players room together to “earn their keep,” adding that’s how he and Rivera were raised in the league. “Maybe, it’s an antiquated view, but it’s what our guys still espouse,” Wright said.
“But that’s an example of one of those things where, look if we go to the guys and they say, ‘Hey, you know what, we thought about it and we liked what he had before … but let’s give it to them now,’ that’s something we can do,” Wright added. “Those are things we can easily do.”
One factor outside Rivera and Wright’s control is the possibility of new ownership coming in with their own rules. Owner Dan Snyder is exploring a sale of the franchise, and Wright acknowledged that “any ownership group can have their own strategy.”
The NFLPA wrote that Washington’s “locker room does not have confidence that club owner Dan Snyder is willing to invest to upgrade the facilities, as player responses rank him 31st in this category.”
New owner or not, Wright and Rivera say there are needs — including a new facility — that eventually must be addressed.
“Our plan is to do a new facility,” Rivera said. “But until then, let’s make the best of it. If you’ve got a situation or a circumstance that you would like to change, come to us. We’re here to listen, to figure it out so we can correct it and make it as pleasant an experience as it can be.”
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
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