9 dark horse candidates for the Commanders next head coach in 2024

Commanders could hire Marcus Brady

• Offensive Assistant | Philadelphia Eagles

Marcus Brady came from the Canadian League, where he played and coached for 15 years before Frank Reich brought him to the Indianapolis Colts in 2018. His climb up the coaching ladder was stalled when the team struggled - which also led to the head coach being removed in favor of placing inexperienced former center Jeff Saturday at the helm.

Brady was quickly snapped up by Philadelphia Eagles head coach Nick Sirianni, who had known him from their time in Indianapolis. It’s hard to unravel what happened with the Colts, and teams may be skeptical where the coach is concerned for a while longer.

However, he catches my eye because Josh Harris’ first real hire when he assumed ownership of the New Jersey Devils was John Hynes. There was a brief Adam Oates/Scott Stevens era that preceded this appointment, but that was the equivalent of Jim Irsay hiring Saturday last year. Hardly seems like it even happened at this point.

Hynes’ background was as a coach for USA Hockey and then in the AHL before hitting the NHL. That’s not totally off the beaten path, but it is a little bit different.

I can see how Brady’s background in Canada might be a selling point to a new owner like Harris if he goes away from Ron Rivera very soon. As strange as it might sound.