Ron Rivera plans to keep coaching Washington, even amid difficulties from cancer treatment

Rivera missed parts of two days last week after undergoing a chemotherapy session and daily proton therapy treatment. He coached the entirety of his team’s loss to Baltimore Ravens on Sunday but was visibly weakened by the treatment. He received two bags of intravenous fluids before the game to help him stay hydrated; during the game, director of football operations Paul Kelly regularly brought him cups of Gatorade.

Rivera sat on the bench to rest during TV timeouts, and at halftime he walked off the field while leaning on the shoulder of a PR staffer.

Rivera said after the game that he had both good moments and times when he struggled. That evening he went to bed around 8 p.m. and, following an interview with “Good Morning America” on Monday, he fit a couple of naps in between periods of work.

“I’ll be honest with you: Last week really kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” he said. “I was kind of expecting it, but I didn’t realize just how hard sometimes it can get you. It got me pretty good. It speaks to the courage of the folks that have gone through this. There’s a lot of people that have dealt with it and have come out on the other end for the better. That’s what we’re working toward.”

Rivera, who announced in August that he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma in a lymph node in his neck, has three weeks of treatment left, including one more cycle of chemotherapy.

Although the cancer was said to be caught early and is considered treatable, the regimen can be grueling. According to Neil Gross, the director of clinical research in the department of head and neck surgery at MD Anderson Cancer Center, it’s common for patients to lose weight during treatment, partly because the proton therapy, which is a more targeted form of radiation, zaps the taste buds so nothing tastes as it should. And for some patients, the most difficult time is the week after the treatment regimen ends.

“So it’s not like they go seven weeks and they’re suddenly feeling good,” Gross said. “They’re at their worst at the seven-week period, and then it usually takes two or three months for the symptoms to subside and patients start to feel normal. But their energy level, if they lose a lot of weight, can be really diminished.

“Everyone’s different, and I imagine he has a lot of support around. So I imagine he can get through, but it’ll take a lot of help.”

Rivera said the most difficult aspect of balancing his treatment with coaching is simply being away from the players and coaches at times.

“That’s what eats at me, personally, because my job is to work with our guys directly,” he said.

Rivera remains closely involved in the day-to-day as Washington continues to try to rebuild its roster and culture. But circumstances this year because of the novel coronavirus pandemic have made the challenge even tougher.

The team was scheduled to try out a number of free agents Monday but canceled the workouts for precautionary reasons in light of the outbreak among members of the Tennessee Titans and the NFL’s decision to postpone the New England Patriots-Kansas City Chiefs game to Monday night after members of both teams tested positive for the coronavirus, including Patriots starting quarterback Cam Newton.

“We said: ‘Let’s take a break. Let’s take a step backward and let’s review the process and let’s talk to the league, also.’ We will have discussions with the league about this,” Rivera said. “We just want to make sure and get it right, so we did that. … Unfortunately, we had to turn some guys away, and we truly do apologize to those young men.”

When asked Monday about quarterback Dwayne Haskins’s play in the loss to Baltimore, Rivera reiterated much of what he said after the game and in the weeks prior. Yes, Haskins had positive moments, but the team needs to see continued growth.

“There were some things that were positive. Obviously, he made some good throws. He threw the long one to Terry [McLaurin] at the end of the game. It was inconsequential at that point, but again, doing the things he needs to do and showing the growth — that’s what we’re looking for. It’s a tough situation. We’re looking at our circumstances right now as a football team. We’re in a very interesting situation right now.”

Haskins posted career highs in completions (32), pass attempts (45) and passing yards (314) in the loss. He was also sacked three times and failed Rivera’s test on a key fourth-down attempt early in the fourth quarter, throwing to a receiver well shy of the end zone for a short gain.

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