The Washington Commanders are entering a new era after decades of dysfunction, mediocrity and drama under former owner Dan Snyder.
In July of 2023, just before the start of last season, the NFL owners unanimously approved the sale of the Commanders for a record $6.05 billion – with the attached condition of a $60 million fine for Snyder – during a special league meeting in Minneapolis on Thursday. An in-depth investigation into sexual allegations and financial coverups that directly took money from other teams pockets led the other NFL owners to vote and Snyder was forced to sell the team.
Shortly after, an ownership group led by savvy businessman Josh Harris —who is a proven and respected sports owner with success after buying the Philadelphia 76ers NBA team and Flyers NHL team — purchased the Washington Commanders. NBA legend Magic Johnson is also part of the ownership group.
From the moment they took over, there was a new energy about the future of the franchise.
Harris and company showed flashes of a culture change when the sale was finalized right around the time training camp began. One small, but notable move, was his decision to install bleachers at the Washington Commanders headquarters so fans didn’t have to stand to watch training camp practices. Ahead of this season, there have been multiple renovations to the stadium and team headquarters, with an obvious effort to remember the team’s rich history. The Commanders are retiring Darrell Green’s No. 28 number and have announced they are building an actual statue for Sean Taylor.
Harris and company didn’t waste anytime changing the culture, but the on-field product was the next point of emphasis.
He fired head coach Ron Rivera on the first day of the offseason. Though the former Washington Commanders coach is well respected throughout the league and by his players, he didn’t put together a winning season in four years as head coach. Mediocrity became the norm.
Hours after Rivera was let go, Harris unveiled a detailed strategic plan to conduct the search for the perfect general manager/head of football operations who would then help the ownership group select its next head coach. Finally, Washington looked and operated like an actual smart, successful franchise.
And after interviewing several of the top GM/talent evaluators according to league experts, the Washington Commanders landed arguably the best candidate available Adam Peters has served as the right-hand man for John Lynch with the San Francisco 49ers since 2017, and is widely regarded as one of the top talent evaluators in the NFL. He’s turned down multiple interview requests in the past, and despite multiple interview requests from other teams this cycle,
Peters took the job and headed up a committee that included Harris to find the team’s next coach. They decided on Dan Quinn, who has brought a winning acumen and player-friendly approach to the Commanders. With the No. 2 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, Washington selected former Heisman winning QB Jayden Daniels — and since the day he arrived in D.C. — he’s looked like the future franchise signal caller this team has been trying to find for years.
Harris still has a long way to go to rebuild the Washington NFL team back into what it once was, and one of the biggest points of debate has come around the current name.
Washington Commanders Owner Josh Harris Owner Says They Will Not Bring Back Old Name
“We have been very clear, for obvious reasons the old name can’t come back. Now we’re focused on things that unify the team around our football team and unify the city around our football team so our first objective is we got to start winning football games. We need everyone supporting the team and not things that might drive people apart. Secondly, obviously you know we’re trying to find a new home, and again unify the city around that is important .
And you know the name is one of those things that has a lot of opinions, But II can’t say I’ve certainly not forgotten. I grew up here so I understand it.
We’re gonna do things that bring us back to our heritage, honoring our past, you saw the gold pants, those are easy things to do. We doing research and we’re thinking about it but like right now we’re prioritizing the things that we’ve talked about and and then that’s kind of ration for it.
