3 critical ways Commanders must follow Texans' rebuilding blueprint

After winning four games and having one of the worst offenses and defenses in the entire league, the Washington Commanders have done a full reset. The new ownership group led by Josh Harris brought in Dan Quinn as head coach and Adam Peters as general manager. This was the first stepping stone towards a hopefully bright future.

Out with the old, in with the new. The situation the Commanders find themselves in is similar to the Houston Texans after the 2020 season. After firing Bill O'Brien, who served as head coach and general manager, the team brought in Nick Caserio from the New England Patriots to lead their front office. Getting a bit of Ron Rivera PTSD just writing that last line.

Caserio, like Peters, came from one of the top franchises in the NFL. He had a hand in building one of the most successful rosters in the league and being a part of a perennial winning organization. Does that guarantee success? Of course not, but it's not a bad starting point.

Both Caserio and Peters are also part of the new wave of general managers who heavily leverage analytics in their decision-making. That is a key point often overlooked among fans and analysts alike.

So, can Peters and the Commanders emulate the model the Texans have leveraged to go from a bottom-tier franchise to a team that gave the Baltimore Ravens a run for their money in the playoffs? It might not happen right away, as Houston went 7-26-1 in Caserio's first two years before securing a 10-7 record and winning a playoff game in 2023.

Peters is starting with a similarly poor hand, with the previous regime not leaving many building blocks. Never mind the fact that the stench of Dan Snyder's tenure hasn't fully dissipated.

Let's take a look at how Houston was able to turn around their franchise.