The Washington Redskins changing their team name appears to be a matter of when, not if.
Head coach Ron Rivera said he and owner Daniel Snyder have been discussing the matter for more than a month and is hopeful his team will have a new name before the beginning of the 2020 season.
“If we get it done in time for the season, it would be awesome,” Rivera said Saturday, per The Washington Post.
The Redskins announced Friday they will undergo a "thorough review" of their name, with NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reporting a change was likely. Washington has discussed the move with the league in recent weeks, during which time Rivera said he and Snyder have talked about replacements.
Rivera, who was hired in late December, said his "eyes are wide open" after researching the name's origin and believes a change should be made. He didn't divulge any possibilities but mentioned respecting Native American culture and honoring the military as important criteria.
“We want to do this in a positive way,” Rivera said. "We came up with a couple of names -- two of them I really like."
Push for a new name has existed for decades. It hit a fever pitch this past week as a group of 87 investment firms and shareholders reportedly signed three separate letters to Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo to terminate relationships with the team unless it changed its name. FedEx subsequently requested a change and Nike stopped selling Redskins merchandise online.
The team's statement Friday declaring that it's considering a name change immediately drew support from Commissioner Roger Goodell, Nike, PepsiCo and NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith.