Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera recently announced that he was diagnosed with lymph node cancer. It appears he and the team have since laid out a backup plan for the 2020 NFL season.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio will take over as head coach if Rivera is unable to proceed:

The hope for Washington coach Ron Rivera is to coach — uninterrupted — thru the 2020 season as he receives treatment for squamous cell carcinoma. If he has to go to Plan B, I’m told DC Jack Del Rio would assume head coach duties. Del Rio has more than a decade of HC experience.

Rivera's intention to continue coaching while receiving treatment may come as a surprise considering the risks involved with the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Although the NFL and NFLPA has established strict protocols for teams to follow through training camp and into the regular season, the Washington Redskins head coach can still be considered a high-risk case due to his condition.

Regardless, it is clear that Rivera is adamant about pushing through in his first season with Washington. It is no secret that this team has largely been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons this offseason—like its ongoing name change away from “Redskins”—however, there was sill optimism about a potential resurgence in the 2020 campaign.

Del Rio had been on a hiatus from the league after he was fired as head coach of the then-Oakland Raiders at the end of the 2017 campaign. He joined the Washington franchise this offseason as its defensive coordinator. The onus will now fall on him to be prepared to take over in the event that Rivera cannot coach.