The Washington Commanders are at a crossroads. The recent dismissal of head coach Ron Rivera marks the beginning of what could be an absolute transformation of how the franchise is run. This is the first chance for new owner Josh Harris and his partners to truly put their stamp on the team.
There are a ton of moving parts, but the real possibility is the Commanders will begin the 2024 season with a new head of football operations, a new head coach. The scene at the Miami Dolphins’ 45-15 dissection of the Washington Commanders was telling. The coaching matchup of McDaniel vs. Ron Rivera at FedEx Field was essentially unfair. One could teach the football version of differential calculus; the other struggles with basic addition. One masters three-dimensional chess; the other wrestles with tic-tac-toe.
The mismatch on the field was obvious. This has got to be loads of fun for McDaniel, the Yale-educated, 40-year-old football savant who has at his disposal the talented Tagovailoa, the blazing Hill, third-year wideout Jaylen Waddle — Tagovailoa’s old teammate at Alabama — and a two-headed running back monster in Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane. That combination is now 9-3 and averaging 32 points per game, just a smidgen behind Dallas for the top spot in the NFL.
The ideal combination might be a young, inventive, offensive-minded head coach and a defensive coordinator who has seen it all. The reboot must, of course, include a new person to run the personnel department because it’s fair to look at the roster Rivera has built and wonder what current players will be part of a winning program in the future.
The Commanders are at a pivotal point in their history. The decisions made in the coming months will shape the future of the franchise. It’s a time of change, but also a time of opportunity.
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Barry Svrluga – The Washington Post
It doesn’t matter who coaches the Commanders now. It matters who’s next.
