Rivera: Redskins changing name before season 'would be awesome'

Washington Redskins head coach Ron Rivera wants to see the franchise settle on a new nickname sooner rather than later.

"If we get it done in time for the season, it would be awesome," he told The Washington Post's Les Carpenter on Saturday.

Washington announced Friday that it will launch a review of the team's moniker, which has been repeatedly criticized as highly offensive to Native Americans.

The team's statement came one day after multiple corporate sponsors formally requested a name change, including FedEx, which owns the naming rights to the franchise's stadium.

Nike also removed all of Washington's merchandise from its online store and reportedly won't restore it until the team has a new name.

The coach admitted he never used to consider the team's nickname to be derogatory.

"It was hard to fathom that it was in any way a racist thing, to be honest with you," he said. "Now, putting it in perspective, there's been a change."

Commissioner Roger Goodell said Friday that he's had "ongoing discussions" with team owner Dan Snyder and is supportive of the review.

Rivera revealed that he and Snyder discussed potential new nicknames for the franchise, but did not reveal any.

We came up with a couple of names - two of them I really like," he said.

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