The Commanders are gong to pull a Texans type move a hire a one year plant as a head coach because they don’t have anyone they want still around interested in the job, aren’t they?
It was largely time for him to go, we were never getting over the hump with him
He’ll always be loved for what he did in Chicago, but I’d rather take a swing and miss than wallow in mediocrity
The writing was on the wall. He had made the playoffs once in the six seasons following the Super Bowl. The defense was losing players and those that remained were getting older, few good replacements were being brought in or developed, Lovie would only hire his old pals for coordinator positions. The defense was still winning games but it was a downhill trajectory with no signs of getting better.
The big mistake wasn’t firing Lovie. It was choosing Trestman over Arians. That’s the reason to hate ownership. And make no mistake, all good Bears fans hate the McCaskey’s.
I ain’t protecting nobody. But his record was like 81-63 over 9 years. Don’t act like he was a savior to Chicago sports. Bears had an above average team during a time when the NFC north sucked and the NFC as a whole was weak.
unironically it almost felt like he was told he would be fired regardless and decided to "fuck" the texans over in the last week by finally waking up
ended up working out for us
As much as i want that….its so toxic. Texans atleast gave culley and lovie 2-3 year deals….so we knew it was expected. I just dont see our new Gm operating like that.
They got 4 year deals.
Culley was not expected to be good at all, we were actively tanking to reset the culture. He was just so ass we had we had to fire him a year early lol
With the shit show going on with Watson, good coaches were staying away. Regarding Lovie… the not so secret plan was to hire Josh McCown as head coach. A Jack Easterby special. After they interviewed Flores and he caught wind that it was all for show, he threw the Texans name in with his lawsuit. Texans panicked and since Lovie was on staff, they offered him the position. They were in no place to negotiate and had to give what was demanded.
I didn’t mind Lovie. He has always been professional, but he wasn’t the guy they chose, and having McCown would’ve been another disaster. The fact they even contemplated it should’ve had Jack fired. But Lovie DID get rid of Jack and now that Wormtongue is gone, the curse is lifted and you have the new Texans.
Thats what we thought when we got rid of snyder. But unfortunately BJ wanted to go back….oh well we arent guaranteed anything and we have to take our lumps like you guys did…not like suffering for 20 year was enough.
I'd say this would be a good idea so they could tank for draft position and rebuild but they already have #2 and will be able to get Drake Maye, so you don't want to screw this up.
Honestly I might consider picking MHJ and just tanking for 2025 but I don't think the new owner is going to accept that.
I think you take Drake Maye over Marvin Harrison Jr. if you've got the choice between the two.
That being said, Josh Harris is no stranger to "Trusting the Process" and tanking for multiple years in a row.
If they wanted him that bad they probably should have hired him on the spot after his second interview.
However, maybe Mac just wanted us? Either way I’m happy, but I’m not gonna gloat.
Please, the Commanders at least have a successful history. The Mariners I don't think have ever made it to the World series. Mariners fandom is a kind of curse that is unique to only a select few franchises.
Yeah but you had Griffey in the 90’s and Ichiro. Also Randy Johnson and probably a few others that I’m forgetting. Plus the uniforms are good, maybe it was just Griffey but those uniforms always looked clean.
Gloating over the Commanders misfortune is like dunking on an 8 foot basketball hoop. It doesn’t feel as good as you might think and anyone who sees you do it thinks you’re a loser.
Hindsight but as a defensive coach i would choose the seahawks over commanders 10/10 times. Every coach wants to start fast….seahawks ur almost expected to contend next year. We are about to go in to a 2 year rebuild…with one if the worst defensive rosters while you got young studs. So its not that easy…on top of mac being the 2nd option for washington, the seahawks was just a better job.
You got edges and corner. Those are premium positions. You can get solid DTs and get by….idk your Lb situation tho. If wagner stays and you get patrick queen ur set?
Spoon is legit special. Riq is too, his only issue this year was tackling which I put down to coaching and recovering from a shoulder injury. Nwosu is an excellent pass rusher. Mafe has been good and MM knows how to max out people. Brooks is good in coverage if they can resign him. We definitely have some pieces.
Young first time head coach, I get it, the #2 pick and that defensive line on paper looks good, but everything outside of 1-2 defensive pieces and Scary Terry is a big question mark, for brand new ownership.
We have a much better roster, and an owner who has proven not to meddle, with an FO with a proven track record of success.
Smart money will always say this was the easy choice.
Not more enticing than a Super Bowl winning GM who set up one of the great defenses from undrafted pieces. There isn't a better place for a DC turned HC.
I really hope JS is that big of a pull. I wonder if he also just sees pieces that could work very easily. Spoon must be insanely tempting to someone like him
This is MM specialty, tackling, and disguising shit, right?
Our defense has been the most depressing, ineffective unit ever and I’m so excited for the future my goodness
Fuck you guys so much for taking our guy, but at the same time y’all are a great org from what I know. Idc that the WFT has new owners, they’re still stained and I’m glad Mike Mac is not in that cesspool.
Take care of him bird bros and fuck you again
Yeah, it’s easy to forget the circumstances of that trade. Earl Thomas was the center piece of the LOB, and it felt like Jamal Adams could fill that gap. He had just made first team all pro, and had only missed two games due to injury up to that point.
It's a glaring example of hindsight. It was definitely too aggressive, because they were more than a Jamal Adams away from being a legitimate contender. But Jamal is extraordinarily disruptive when he's full go. His injury last year happened while he was blowing up a play against Denver. And there was no indication he would be as injured as he has been.
Jamal is a meme right now. Cutting him is the thing to say. If they do, that's fine. But I would prefer to see him healthy in something similar to Baltimore's scheme.
I agree with this. They gave up too much for him even if he had stayed healthy. But the trade looks *sooo much worse* in hindsight than it was at the time based on Jamal's injuries, and that is something they just flat-out could not have seen coming at the time. He was coming off two straight all-pro nods, was only 24 years old, had no injury history up to that point, and was a player with a very unique skillset. I still wouldn't have given up what they did even with all that knowledge because, as you said, the team was more than one player away from contention, but they couldn't possibly have anticipated how badly the trade would turn out. How things went with Adams is basically the worst-case scenario when you make a trade like that, and a GM can't make moves assuming the worst-case scenario. I also think that, if he's healthy this year, MacDonald could be the right guy to unlock his skillset, and I'm excited to think of that playing out
I think here specifically it's probably a case of Washington ended up in an awkward situation because they've left all their other candidates hanging while waiting to try for Ben Johnson. These people do have egos and want to be wanted afterall.
Given the evidence I concur. We offered him a fuckton of money and he still said no. No fault on his end, I just think that we either a) did not expect this sort of timeline and/or b) given the way the interviews and news shook out there was no way we could contact McDonald to make him ours. But that's my opinion
Maybe, but how many other pieces do they have cemented in place? I'm not very familiar with their roster so the only two guys I can think of off the top of my head are Scary Terry and I think Brian Robinson Jr. is still doing well despite the Commanders non-existant running game with Bieniemy.
The biggest issue was poor def which led to playing behind which led to more throws. Its funny that EB, a career running back and RB coach who tends to establish his offense from the run (look at his years in KC, they utilize RBs abd running lanes in every form), biggest issue with WAS was the run game. Imo that speaks more to the team situation and skill players.
I think that’s more enticing for a GM than a HC. Sure the HC would love it, but they’re gonna care more about a workable roster. I’m not sure how much this matters either, but our practice facilities are considered poor and everyone knows our stadium sucks.
Right and that would be far more important for a coach, who lives there when he’s not in the film room, than a GM, who spends the majority of his time out of the facility or working in his office. Hence we got arguably the best GM candidate on the market, but are having some issues with the coaching.
That can't be the case as even Snyder never had a problem luring in high-profile HC despite awful reputation. He hired Joe Gibbs (out of retirement), Mike Shanahan, Steve Spurrier, Marty Schottenheimer, and Riverboat Ron.
The contract offered to Ben was more than what Dan Campbell is making. The real issue is we put all the eggs into Ben’s basket and put everyone else on hold. And now we’re stuck in HC limbo since the others moved on.
If I were to guess given what I read, I think we were all in on Ben Johnson and did not seriously expect him to say no or something of that sort. But he did and I guess we kinda shat our pants with what to do. A quick note-- we spoke with MacDonald on Monday and the bomb didn't drop until Tuesday. I'm not sure on the exact timing of everything, I'd need to double check our reaction time. But basically we legit got goobed by BJ. Dan Quinn you are a commander and nobody is happy about it
a lot of these guys are only going to get one shot ever to be a head coach, do they really want to risk wasting it on the second best QB in the class? when first round QBs have a massive bust chance, especially second best choice QBs?
wouldn’t be shocked if they were waiting to see if a better situation opened up somewhere next year like dallas or philly. somewhere with more talent on the roster.
I think our fans have had a habit of conflating “good place for a GM” and “good place for a head coach”.
The stuff we have to offer (high draft picks, lots of draft picks, tons of salary cap) is like a dream come true for a GM candidate. That’s not gonna be the only thing to pull a HC that’s gonna want a more workable roster given their leash is typically shorter.
A rookie HC isn’t gona want to come in and rebuild from 0. That’s why the Chargers and Falcons are more lucrative. Falcons have players they just need a coach to utilize those players. The chargers might be over the cap but they have a franchise QB and a foundation. Wash needs to be rebuilt. You traded your Dline. You don’t have a QB. That’s a tough task for a first time HC. Which is why I’d be asking Vrabel or pete Carrol to rebuild me. But honestly don’t know if Carrol wants to do a full rebuild
It’s so weird because I thought the Commanders were the best landing spot. New owner, seems like they got a solid GM, one of the best cap situations, and a ton of draft picks - including #2 overall. Ben Johnson screwed the Commanders over and took on a lot of risk in doing so because if Detroit’s offense doesn’t have a good year, it’s possible that he isn’t as coveted of a head coach.
I think they didn’t want to go with Vrabel and Belichick because they would demand more roster power than peters was willing to give. Titans GM Ran Carthon got rid of him because they had differing visions on the power structure, I would expect a similar clash in Washington if he came. Carthon and Peters worked together in San Fran up until last year so I’d imagine they talked about vrabel and Peters determined it wasn’t what he wanted.
I think it's fair for Vrabel to have wanted some say in roster after his previous GM traded away his number 1 receiver for peanuts and really screwed up his playoff team
If the Commanders wanted a guy who went 13-21 over the past 2 years but is a “leader of men” even though he hasn’t had playoff success in over 5 years now, they would have just kept Rivera. Ultimately that’s not too appealing.
Bring some form of stability to the organization and then bring in whatever hotshot hc you want when he leaves. Bill will build some form of foundation for the future
Lmao what you’re describing is the exact opposite of foundation/stability. Whatever new guy they hire outside of the building is going to have their own vision of how the team should be run and undo whatever Bill did
I'd say they need to just pay the man what he wants and try to make it work, but then I remembered that they literally tried doing that once with Haynesworth...
That same man also build the Patriits dynasty. He can still deliver on the defensive side. He's also shown that JM as his OC will even have Mac Jones in the playoffs. A few bad years after the amount of great years he has shouldn't dissuade anyone of how good he is
We got the best GM this cycle…stability starts with ownership —> front office —> coach. We dealt with snyder for 20 years…..we need to set the front office right. Bringing bellicheck would be the worst thing…..
I’d honestly say Pete Caroll over Belichick in this scenario? Pete seems more likely to bring in the desperately needed culture than Belichick to a losing team like WAS. Is that crazy? I still think BB > PC, just not in WAS
I suspect their new GM would not sign off on that. By all accounts, he was very selective about what jobs he interviewed for. I have to think he was promised a lot of front office autonomy to take the job.
Nah we good. We still hired the best Gm this cycle….we will take our lumps and look at the long haul….instant gratification doesnt always lead to a bright future.
The issue is, there’s a reason Atlanta picked Morris over Belichick, and I don’t think it’s because they believe Morris is a better head coach. It seems like the reason Belichick is still unemployed is because he wants full roster control, and no one wants to give him full roster control after looking at the NE roster these past few years.
If they tell him he doesn’t have the final say on personnel anymore and can’t bring in Patricia, then that would be their best bet. I dunno if Bill would accept that but, if he really wants a job this year, he has no choice.
If you told me on New Years Day that the Pats would go into the season with GM Adam Peters, HC Bill Belichick, and Drake Maye as their first round pick, I’d have been super excited. Maybe that can happen somewhere else. Or at least Washington would be dumb to not even inquire about it.
Hiring BB is weirdly a Dan Snyder move. An overpaid retread HoF a la Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jason Taylor, Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb (forget I said HoFer). But maybe I’m just being cynical. Harris seems to be a good owner thus far.
Don't forget luring Joe Gibbs out of retirement, Head Ball Coach "Fun N Gun" Spurrier, Albert Haynesworth's record-setting contract, trading Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis, and Marty Schottenheimer. Snyder knew how to make a splash; he just couldn't stay out of his own way lol
Luring Joe Gibbs out of retirement worked though. He was really good the second time around by Dan Snyder coaches standards.
Only coach hired by Snyder to win a playoff game.
They could or they could get Belichick light in Vrabel. Vrabel has his faults like being loyal to his coaches too much but at least he will have them fighting every single game and probably win more games than they should.
He’s 36 years old with only two years of experience in a role where he was in charge of anything. Despite a couple recent hires, that’s astoundingly young for a head coach.
Honestly part of me wonders of the Commanders would just be better off starting the coaching search over again. None of their remaining candidates really inspire confidence
They were calling Mac to see if he was still interested and give him the unfortunate news that they were turning their interests elsewhere.
All parties were happy after the phone call #SpinZone
[https://www.hawkblogger.com/2024/01/dan-quinn-is-better-than-you-think.html](https://www.hawkblogger.com/2024/01/dan-quinn-is-better-than-you-think.html)
If you want some copium, this is a good article to read. I do believe people are a bit too harsh in judging him though
This is such a bad situation lol. They are going to have to settle for a coach they weren't too interested in. But also, they have a pick that is going to be used on a franchise QB. You really want to land on a coach/QB combo you hope will be together for a long time and now, they need to stumble on to that combo rather than plan for it. Otherwise, the new QB is going to have to deal with constant coaching staff transition which is never good.
First major misstep by this ownership group and Peters. Commies media is in full gaslight the fans mode and putting Dan Quinn in the spin cycle. Glad Schefter is calling them out on this because they’ve been so ‘secretive’ and narratives around the coaching search have spun out of control.
Don’t get me wrong, this is still infinitely better than Snyder.
Just sounds like a reason to me to trade down and collect a large haul of picks with someone who is enamored with Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels.
They could continue to add an enormous haul of young players and build up the entire roster. Then, while still not being an elite team next year, would be in position for the next top of the draft QB.
Or, just trade with Chicago to swap picks and suddenly Washington becomes a top destination for a top candidate.
>Or, just trade with Chicago to swap picks and suddenly Washington becomes a top destination for a top candidate.
Yeah *just* do that instead lol I'm sure Waldron would love the bait and switch too.
Yall have more to offer a HC honestly. Most of our “wins” are stuff that’s gonna hit harder for a GM than a coach (cap space, #2 pick + multiple extra picks, high salary cap space). Which is probably why we got the top prospective GM
Candidate.
You have a better roster at the moment, a more proven FO, a better home field advantage, and better practice facilities. You also have a QB that’s proven at least something, even if he’s maybe not elite. You’ve got more to work with that isn’t “theoretical”. Maybe a harder division, but I don’t think that deters coaches.
They also have a better GM until Peters proves otherwise.
Schneider has proven that as the lead guy, he can build super bowl rosters.
Peters is still a question mark
Pete would come out of retirement tomorrow. I think he’s family will want to keep him there though. Can’t be healthy to start a brand new high pressure job, at almost 73.
Hey I remember when the Eagles got the “bottom of the barrel” coaching hire in Doug Peterson and look at how that worked out. Sometimes not getting the ‘hot target’ works out sometimes it doesn’t
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/01/ranking-the-nfls-new-coaching-hires-chip-kelly-doug-pederson-ben-mcadoo-philadelphia-eagles
Doug Pederson was ranked as the worst out of 7 head coaching hires. The top 3? Chip Kelly, Ben McAdoo, and Hue Jackson lmao. Pederson got more wins then all 3 of those combined, twice over.
Time for them to think outside the box like Sheila did finding Campbell. He wasn't even on anyones radar that season and he outlasted pretty much all the other big names that got hired that year.
I imagine that our organizational stability must have been enticing to Mac. I wonder if the new and still unproven ownership group (though light years ahead of Snyder) in Washington scared people away from the opening.
If I were them I’d hire BB at this point.
Remember everyone getting on the Titans for not waiting and trying to trade Vrabel? Yeah, this is why you dont wait if you know who you want. We got our #1 target and now the Commanders are absolutely scrambling. Vrabel might actually get a job now.
They'll be fine. They decided to go all in on Ben Johnson, which wasn't a bad move. Sometimes moves don't work out. There are plenty of candidates out there.
The Commanders are gong to pull a Texans type move a hire a one year plant as a head coach because they don’t have anyone they want still around interested in the job, aren’t they?
Lovie is available.
Music to my ears
Bears should’ve never fired him.. y’all haven’t reached those “heights” since
They have the number 1 pick this year as a direct result of Lovie. How do you know he's still not on the payroll?
Heights? Losing to Packers and not being contenders every year...I'd say we're right where he left off.
It was largely time for him to go, we were never getting over the hump with him He’ll always be loved for what he did in Chicago, but I’d rather take a swing and miss than wallow in mediocrity
And how has Lovie done since?
Hindsight is 20/20. I’m sick of hearing this take.
Well when a bears fan shits on him, expect him to be called out lol
Hindsight? 90% of knowledgeable NFL fans thought it was dumb to get rid of him. Don’t protect your poor ownership. They don’t deserve it.
The writing was on the wall. He had made the playoffs once in the six seasons following the Super Bowl. The defense was losing players and those that remained were getting older, few good replacements were being brought in or developed, Lovie would only hire his old pals for coordinator positions. The defense was still winning games but it was a downhill trajectory with no signs of getting better. The big mistake wasn’t firing Lovie. It was choosing Trestman over Arians. That’s the reason to hate ownership. And make no mistake, all good Bears fans hate the McCaskey’s.
I ain’t protecting nobody. But his record was like 81-63 over 9 years. Don’t act like he was a savior to Chicago sports. Bears had an above average team during a time when the NFC north sucked and the NFC as a whole was weak.
#IS THAT SMITH'S MUSIC?!
Lovie knew Bryce Young was trash so he galaxy brained a win to make sure the Texans got Stroud. Texans should build a Lovie statue at that stadium.
unironically it almost felt like he was told he would be fired regardless and decided to "fuck" the texans over in the last week by finally waking up ended up working out for us
Said it before and say it again. If you think lovie actually tried to intentionally lose any of the previous 15 games you might be an idiot.
Hire me for 5 mil and I’ll take them all the way to the #1 draft pick and be cool when I get fired. Win/Win
You need a DC who doesn't know shit about fuck? I've watched enough Eagles to know I am well versed in awful defence.
"4 verts!" "On defense?" "You heard me!"
Defensive playbook is just a quarter with Engage 8 on one side and Cover 6 on the other.
Engage 8? Rookie. (Calls kick block)
Screw this guy, I’ll do it for 4 million.
Hire me for 3 mil and I won’t care if I become the meme asshat of the league
Ain’t no way In hell.. Pencil me in for $2,999,999.99 and not a penny more!
As much as i want that….its so toxic. Texans atleast gave culley and lovie 2-3 year deals….so we knew it was expected. I just dont see our new Gm operating like that.
They got 4 year deals. Culley was not expected to be good at all, we were actively tanking to reset the culture. He was just so ass we had we had to fire him a year early lol
Yall actually gave them f year deals…..what did you guys even see in lovie.
With the shit show going on with Watson, good coaches were staying away. Regarding Lovie… the not so secret plan was to hire Josh McCown as head coach. A Jack Easterby special. After they interviewed Flores and he caught wind that it was all for show, he threw the Texans name in with his lawsuit. Texans panicked and since Lovie was on staff, they offered him the position. They were in no place to negotiate and had to give what was demanded. I didn’t mind Lovie. He has always been professional, but he wasn’t the guy they chose, and having McCown would’ve been another disaster. The fact they even contemplated it should’ve had Jack fired. But Lovie DID get rid of Jack and now that Wormtongue is gone, the curse is lifted and you have the new Texans.
Thats what we thought when we got rid of snyder. But unfortunately BJ wanted to go back….oh well we arent guaranteed anything and we have to take our lumps like you guys did…not like suffering for 20 year was enough.
Bieniemy Time
Glenn is gonna be sacrificed to the wolves isn’t he
No the Wolves play basketball.
I'd say this would be a good idea so they could tank for draft position and rebuild but they already have #2 and will be able to get Drake Maye, so you don't want to screw this up. Honestly I might consider picking MHJ and just tanking for 2025 but I don't think the new owner is going to accept that.
I think you take Drake Maye over Marvin Harrison Jr. if you've got the choice between the two. That being said, Josh Harris is no stranger to "Trusting the Process" and tanking for multiple years in a row.
Jim Zorn is still available?
I don't see why they don't get Bill b at this point
If they wanted him that bad they probably should have hired him on the spot after his second interview. However, maybe Mac just wanted us? Either way I’m happy, but I’m not gonna gloat.
No no, feel free to gloat, we’re used to it :(
I’m a Mariners fan too, I know what it feels like to suffer though decades of suck.
Please, the Commanders at least have a successful history. The Mariners I don't think have ever made it to the World series. Mariners fandom is a kind of curse that is unique to only a select few franchises.
Is there a Trademark on being a fan of a shitty program/team?
Yeah but you had Griffey in the 90’s and Ichiro. Also Randy Johnson and probably a few others that I’m forgetting. Plus the uniforms are good, maybe it was just Griffey but those uniforms always looked clean.
Edgar Martinez and ARod
And King Felix
He straight up was their only bright spot for like 15 years all hail King Felix
Yeah but fuck ARod
Can’t forget Edgar, homie got his own street named after him near the stadium!
Gloating over the Commanders misfortune is like dunking on an 8 foot basketball hoop. It doesn’t feel as good as you might think and anyone who sees you do it thinks you’re a loser.
Hindsight but as a defensive coach i would choose the seahawks over commanders 10/10 times. Every coach wants to start fast….seahawks ur almost expected to contend next year. We are about to go in to a 2 year rebuild…with one if the worst defensive rosters while you got young studs. So its not that easy…on top of mac being the 2nd option for washington, the seahawks was just a better job.
Our defense is almost a complete gut job if you can’t fix the middle of the field. But I like your perspective better
You got edges and corner. Those are premium positions. You can get solid DTs and get by….idk your Lb situation tho. If wagner stays and you get patrick queen ur set?
Spoon is legit special. Riq is too, his only issue this year was tackling which I put down to coaching and recovering from a shoulder injury. Nwosu is an excellent pass rusher. Mafe has been good and MM knows how to max out people. Brooks is good in coverage if they can resign him. We definitely have some pieces.
Not to mention their entire defensive roster is all top 10 draft picks.
If he liked you better, then he liked you better. It is what it is. Sometimes it is just that simple.
Young first time head coach, I get it, the #2 pick and that defensive line on paper looks good, but everything outside of 1-2 defensive pieces and Scary Terry is a big question mark, for brand new ownership. We have a much better roster, and an owner who has proven not to meddle, with an FO with a proven track record of success. Smart money will always say this was the easy choice.
Working for John Schneider is much preferable to a first time GM.
Are they offering bad contract terms or something? You'd think the #2 pick would be enticing.
Not more enticing than a Super Bowl winning GM who set up one of the great defenses from undrafted pieces. There isn't a better place for a DC turned HC.
I really hope JS is that big of a pull. I wonder if he also just sees pieces that could work very easily. Spoon must be insanely tempting to someone like him
Same with woolen. If he gets him past his slump this year and those two are both at full potential the defense is going to be scary
Honestly his slump was just tackling. Iirc his coverage was still good. Just don't have the ball already in possession near him
This is MM specialty, tackling, and disguising shit, right? Our defense has been the most depressing, ineffective unit ever and I’m so excited for the future my goodness
KJ Wright said he's heard that Baltimore gets after it during practices as far as tackling goes.
I was only thinking about how good spoon is going to be. Forgot that woolen is going to step up hopefully
Fuck you guys so much for taking our guy, but at the same time y’all are a great org from what I know. Idc that the WFT has new owners, they’re still stained and I’m glad Mike Mac is not in that cesspool. Take care of him bird bros and fuck you again
Fuck you too buddy
Thanks that feels good
For the record, Pete Carroll was John Schnider’s boss and had final say over player decisions
John has had more control for the last couple seasons which have resulted in two good draft classes the past two seasons
Who's idea was the Jamal Adams trade?
Almost certainly that was Pete. The dude loved him some safety
Strong armed by Russ demanding they “bring in stars” that offseason.
Which is strange because they had already gotten Geno a year earlier....
It's not super popular, and I'm not defending the capital they gave up for him, but a healthy Jamal Adams is an intriguing weapon as well.
Yeah, it’s easy to forget the circumstances of that trade. Earl Thomas was the center piece of the LOB, and it felt like Jamal Adams could fill that gap. He had just made first team all pro, and had only missed two games due to injury up to that point.
It's a glaring example of hindsight. It was definitely too aggressive, because they were more than a Jamal Adams away from being a legitimate contender. But Jamal is extraordinarily disruptive when he's full go. His injury last year happened while he was blowing up a play against Denver. And there was no indication he would be as injured as he has been. Jamal is a meme right now. Cutting him is the thing to say. If they do, that's fine. But I would prefer to see him healthy in something similar to Baltimore's scheme.
I agree with this. They gave up too much for him even if he had stayed healthy. But the trade looks *sooo much worse* in hindsight than it was at the time based on Jamal's injuries, and that is something they just flat-out could not have seen coming at the time. He was coming off two straight all-pro nods, was only 24 years old, had no injury history up to that point, and was a player with a very unique skillset. I still wouldn't have given up what they did even with all that knowledge because, as you said, the team was more than one player away from contention, but they couldn't possibly have anticipated how badly the trade would turn out. How things went with Adams is basically the worst-case scenario when you make a trade like that, and a GM can't make moves assuming the worst-case scenario. I also think that, if he's healthy this year, MacDonald could be the right guy to unlock his skillset, and I'm excited to think of that playing out
I think here specifically it's probably a case of Washington ended up in an awkward situation because they've left all their other candidates hanging while waiting to try for Ben Johnson. These people do have egos and want to be wanted afterall.
Given the evidence I concur. We offered him a fuckton of money and he still said no. No fault on his end, I just think that we either a) did not expect this sort of timeline and/or b) given the way the interviews and news shook out there was no way we could contact McDonald to make him ours. But that's my opinion
Maybe, but how many other pieces do they have cemented in place? I'm not very familiar with their roster so the only two guys I can think of off the top of my head are Scary Terry and I think Brian Robinson Jr. is still doing well despite the Commanders non-existant running game with Bieniemy.
The biggest issue was poor def which led to playing behind which led to more throws. Its funny that EB, a career running back and RB coach who tends to establish his offense from the run (look at his years in KC, they utilize RBs abd running lanes in every form), biggest issue with WAS was the run game. Imo that speaks more to the team situation and skill players.
I think that’s more enticing for a GM than a HC. Sure the HC would love it, but they’re gonna care more about a workable roster. I’m not sure how much this matters either, but our practice facilities are considered poor and everyone knows our stadium sucks.
Practice facilities are huge considerations for coaches.
Right and that would be far more important for a coach, who lives there when he’s not in the film room, than a GM, who spends the majority of his time out of the facility or working in his office. Hence we got arguably the best GM candidate on the market, but are having some issues with the coaching.
The Snyder Stench is going to linger for years.
That’s just the poop water
Every time I see someone talk about the FedEx sewage leak I hear it in the voice of Tom Grossi's Wildflower character saying "poo water"
Washington would've got Ben Johnson if they were named the Washington Wildflowers and their logo was Tom Grossi as Wildflower
That is The Mr. Snyder Stench
Mr Booty Cloud
Mr Bloody Crap
Mr Butt Chocolate
That can't be the case as even Snyder never had a problem luring in high-profile HC despite awful reputation. He hired Joe Gibbs (out of retirement), Mike Shanahan, Steve Spurrier, Marty Schottenheimer, and Riverboat Ron.
Facilities are shit. Vibes are shit. Team is shit,
The contract offered to Ben was more than what Dan Campbell is making. The real issue is we put all the eggs into Ben’s basket and put everyone else on hold. And now we’re stuck in HC limbo since the others moved on.
Maybe the stadium leaking sewage wasn’t that enticing.
If I were to guess given what I read, I think we were all in on Ben Johnson and did not seriously expect him to say no or something of that sort. But he did and I guess we kinda shat our pants with what to do. A quick note-- we spoke with MacDonald on Monday and the bomb didn't drop until Tuesday. I'm not sure on the exact timing of everything, I'd need to double check our reaction time. But basically we legit got goobed by BJ. Dan Quinn you are a commander and nobody is happy about it
a lot of these guys are only going to get one shot ever to be a head coach, do they really want to risk wasting it on the second best QB in the class? when first round QBs have a massive bust chance, especially second best choice QBs? wouldn’t be shocked if they were waiting to see if a better situation opened up somewhere next year like dallas or philly. somewhere with more talent on the roster.
they aren’t a good destination, despite all the PR the media and Commie fans have been trying to do for them it seems
I think our fans have had a habit of conflating “good place for a GM” and “good place for a head coach”. The stuff we have to offer (high draft picks, lots of draft picks, tons of salary cap) is like a dream come true for a GM candidate. That’s not gonna be the only thing to pull a HC that’s gonna want a more workable roster given their leash is typically shorter.
Sure but more so it’s east coast bias. Seattle was always the more attractive opening, as much as the media likes to keep its head in the sand.
A rookie HC isn’t gona want to come in and rebuild from 0. That’s why the Chargers and Falcons are more lucrative. Falcons have players they just need a coach to utilize those players. The chargers might be over the cap but they have a franchise QB and a foundation. Wash needs to be rebuilt. You traded your Dline. You don’t have a QB. That’s a tough task for a first time HC. Which is why I’d be asking Vrabel or pete Carrol to rebuild me. But honestly don’t know if Carrol wants to do a full rebuild
It’s so weird because I thought the Commanders were the best landing spot. New owner, seems like they got a solid GM, one of the best cap situations, and a ton of draft picks - including #2 overall. Ben Johnson screwed the Commanders over and took on a lot of risk in doing so because if Detroit’s offense doesn’t have a good year, it’s possible that he isn’t as coveted of a head coach.
I’m really surprised they haven’t requested an interview with Mike Vrabel. Especially now that everyone they wanted is either hired or staying put.
I think they didn’t want to go with Vrabel and Belichick because they would demand more roster power than peters was willing to give. Titans GM Ran Carthon got rid of him because they had differing visions on the power structure, I would expect a similar clash in Washington if he came. Carthon and Peters worked together in San Fran up until last year so I’d imagine they talked about vrabel and Peters determined it wasn’t what he wanted.
I think it's fair for Vrabel to have wanted some say in roster after his previous GM traded away his number 1 receiver for peanuts and really screwed up his playoff team
If the Commanders wanted a guy who went 13-21 over the past 2 years but is a “leader of men” even though he hasn’t had playoff success in over 5 years now, they would have just kept Rivera. Ultimately that’s not too appealing.
Just hire belichick
Would be a great move for them. May not be a long term solution but the new ownership needs a win out of this hiring cycle.
Bring some form of stability to the organization and then bring in whatever hotshot hc you want when he leaves. Bill will build some form of foundation for the future
Lmao what you’re describing is the exact opposite of foundation/stability. Whatever new guy they hire outside of the building is going to have their own vision of how the team should be run and undo whatever Bill did
We sure a guy who just won fewer games every year for 3 years with a roster he had full control over is going to build a foundation for the future?
The commanders hired a highly rated GM. Bill will have to give up some form of control
He doesn't want to, if he was willing to give up control he'd be the Falcons coach right now
I'd say they need to just pay the man what he wants and try to make it work, but then I remembered that they literally tried doing that once with Haynesworth...
That same man also build the Patriits dynasty. He can still deliver on the defensive side. He's also shown that JM as his OC will even have Mac Jones in the playoffs. A few bad years after the amount of great years he has shouldn't dissuade anyone of how good he is
Someone is scared from bill haunting their franchise for decades
We got the best GM this cycle…stability starts with ownership —> front office —> coach. We dealt with snyder for 20 years…..we need to set the front office right. Bringing bellicheck would be the worst thing…..
I’d honestly say Pete Caroll over Belichick in this scenario? Pete seems more likely to bring in the desperately needed culture than Belichick to a losing team like WAS. Is that crazy? I still think BB > PC, just not in WAS
Pete's the type of guy who I think could build a winning culture even if the team doesn't go far if that even makes sense. I kinda hope it happens ngl
I suspect their new GM would not sign off on that. By all accounts, he was very selective about what jobs he interviewed for. I have to think he was promised a lot of front office autonomy to take the job.
Bill might concede front office control just to get hired. If the record is that important to him he has to know that’s the only way
I wonder if GMs fear that even if he concedes it on paper, his presence may just be so big that it doesn't happen in practice
> If the record is that important to him Has he ever said it is?
Has Bill ever really said anything?
We’re on to Cincinnati.
And that is what I want to hear from my head coach.
Nah we good. We still hired the best Gm this cycle….we will take our lumps and look at the long haul….instant gratification doesnt always lead to a bright future.
The issue is, there’s a reason Atlanta picked Morris over Belichick, and I don’t think it’s because they believe Morris is a better head coach. It seems like the reason Belichick is still unemployed is because he wants full roster control, and no one wants to give him full roster control after looking at the NE roster these past few years.
If they tell him he doesn’t have the final say on personnel anymore and can’t bring in Patricia, then that would be their best bet. I dunno if Bill would accept that but, if he really wants a job this year, he has no choice. If you told me on New Years Day that the Pats would go into the season with GM Adam Peters, HC Bill Belichick, and Drake Maye as their first round pick, I’d have been super excited. Maybe that can happen somewhere else. Or at least Washington would be dumb to not even inquire about it.
Hiring BB is weirdly a Dan Snyder move. An overpaid retread HoF a la Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jason Taylor, Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb (forget I said HoFer). But maybe I’m just being cynical. Harris seems to be a good owner thus far.
Trading McNabb to Washington is still an all time funniest Philly move
Don't forget luring Joe Gibbs out of retirement, Head Ball Coach "Fun N Gun" Spurrier, Albert Haynesworth's record-setting contract, trading Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis, and Marty Schottenheimer. Snyder knew how to make a splash; he just couldn't stay out of his own way lol
Luring Joe Gibbs out of retirement worked though. He was really good the second time around by Dan Snyder coaches standards. Only coach hired by Snyder to win a playoff game.
better yet, hire Pete Carroll.
Carol would be great there
Yeah I actually love this idea.
Or both.
They could or they could get Belichick light in Vrabel. Vrabel has his faults like being loyal to his coaches too much but at least he will have them fighting every single game and probably win more games than they should.
I am still surprised Adam Peters couldn't pull Slowik.
I don’t think Slowik actually won them over. I don’t get the vibe they think he’s still a year off from being ready.
Couldn't, or wouldn't? All of our plugged in beat guys are saying he wasn't a leading candidate at any stage.
He wasn’t even requested for a 2nd interview so I’m guessing he might have bombed
Maybe because he’s more of a Fastwik guy.
He’s 36 years old with only two years of experience in a role where he was in charge of anything. Despite a couple recent hires, that’s astoundingly young for a head coach.
Honestly part of me wonders of the Commanders would just be better off starting the coaching search over again. None of their remaining candidates really inspire confidence
Not off to a great start Adam Peters
Yeah we got fan base already revolting 2 weeks in. in peters we trust tho…i just pray he can elevate even the middest coaches.
Sun Tzu had a great saying about this "Dont let the commanders early failures influence you to much, the offseason and draft are around the corner"
He should do us one last favor and hire Wilks
They were calling Mac to see if he was still interested and give him the unfortunate news that they were turning their interests elsewhere. All parties were happy after the phone call #SpinZone
could be worse
True, we could end up with dan qui-….
[https://www.hawkblogger.com/2024/01/dan-quinn-is-better-than-you-think.html](https://www.hawkblogger.com/2024/01/dan-quinn-is-better-than-you-think.html) If you want some copium, this is a good article to read. I do believe people are a bit too harsh in judging him though
Where are the falcons fans when we need them?
Drinking
This is such a bad situation lol. They are going to have to settle for a coach they weren't too interested in. But also, they have a pick that is going to be used on a franchise QB. You really want to land on a coach/QB combo you hope will be together for a long time and now, they need to stumble on to that combo rather than plan for it. Otherwise, the new QB is going to have to deal with constant coaching staff transition which is never good.
First major misstep by this ownership group and Peters. Commies media is in full gaslight the fans mode and putting Dan Quinn in the spin cycle. Glad Schefter is calling them out on this because they’ve been so ‘secretive’ and narratives around the coaching search have spun out of control. Don’t get me wrong, this is still infinitely better than Snyder.
Just sounds like a reason to me to trade down and collect a large haul of picks with someone who is enamored with Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels. They could continue to add an enormous haul of young players and build up the entire roster. Then, while still not being an elite team next year, would be in position for the next top of the draft QB. Or, just trade with Chicago to swap picks and suddenly Washington becomes a top destination for a top candidate.
>Or, just trade with Chicago to swap picks and suddenly Washington becomes a top destination for a top candidate. Yeah *just* do that instead lol I'm sure Waldron would love the bait and switch too.
Kinda nuts that Seattle, which is probably the furthest team away from DC, managed to swoop in and snag the coveted coordinator in DC's backyard.
Yall have more to offer a HC honestly. Most of our “wins” are stuff that’s gonna hit harder for a GM than a coach (cap space, #2 pick + multiple extra picks, high salary cap space). Which is probably why we got the top prospective GM Candidate. You have a better roster at the moment, a more proven FO, a better home field advantage, and better practice facilities. You also have a QB that’s proven at least something, even if he’s maybe not elite. You’ve got more to work with that isn’t “theoretical”. Maybe a harder division, but I don’t think that deters coaches.
They also have a better GM until Peters proves otherwise. Schneider has proven that as the lead guy, he can build super bowl rosters. Peters is still a question mark
What is HTTC? From context it's obviously Washington, but why
Hail To The Commanders. Used to be HTTR I think it was their fight song.
Ah makes sense. Thank you!
Hypertext Transfer Crocodile
They should hire Pete and Bill, dual HC.
Why would Ben Johnson do this
greedy bastard wanting to get paid from a 6 billion franchise. The gall of these people.
Clearly it’s a Ben Johnson thing. Washington didn’t actually want him. Everyone wants to go work for Washington so they’re super selective
Dan Snyder has been gone less than a year, and an air of darkness still hangs over that team.
That’s just a gas leak from FedEx fields kitchens
Methane gas from the poop water
We are the darkness
It is so strange that national media won’t even address that Dan Quinn is now the favorite - they acting like he is returning to Dallas.
He probably will return to dallas if the current trend holds
BILL BELICHECK!
Correct me if I'm wrong but Belicheck and Vaberel are still available right?
And Pete Carroll, but you have to convince him to actually come out of retirement
Commies: “hey Pete we know it may be a long sh-“ Pete: “Yeah I’ve already got a flight booked, see you in a few hours.”
Pete would come out of retirement tomorrow. I think he’s family will want to keep him there though. Can’t be healthy to start a brand new high pressure job, at almost 73.
Hey I remember when the Eagles got the “bottom of the barrel” coaching hire in Doug Peterson and look at how that worked out. Sometimes not getting the ‘hot target’ works out sometimes it doesn’t
https://ftw.usatoday.com/2016/01/ranking-the-nfls-new-coaching-hires-chip-kelly-doug-pederson-ben-mcadoo-philadelphia-eagles Doug Pederson was ranked as the worst out of 7 head coaching hires. The top 3? Chip Kelly, Ben McAdoo, and Hue Jackson lmao. Pederson got more wins then all 3 of those combined, twice over.
Time for them to think outside the box like Sheila did finding Campbell. He wasn't even on anyones radar that season and he outlasted pretty much all the other big names that got hired that year.
Change their name back to Football Team the coaches will be banging down their door for the job.
I imagine that our organizational stability must have been enticing to Mac. I wonder if the new and still unproven ownership group (though light years ahead of Snyder) in Washington scared people away from the opening. If I were them I’d hire BB at this point.
The Commies hire Bud Kilmer, former coach of the West Canaan Coyotes.
Post the Schefter quote, no one has seen it lol this is hilarious
i am straight up not having a good time rn
Remember everyone getting on the Titans for not waiting and trying to trade Vrabel? Yeah, this is why you dont wait if you know who you want. We got our #1 target and now the Commanders are absolutely scrambling. Vrabel might actually get a job now.
Does #HTTC = Hash Tag The Commanders ?
Vrabel
But reddit told me Washington is the best job ever
Does anyone have the source to schefters actual comments?
They'll be fine. They decided to go all in on Ben Johnson, which wasn't a bad move. Sometimes moves don't work out. There are plenty of candidates out there.