Which Washington Commanders news stories are hitting the headlines as optimism grows around the franchise's current direction under Adam Peters?
All eyes were on the Washington Commanders as new general manager Adam Peters sat down in front of the media for his introductory press conference on Wednesday afternoon. The impression he left was substantial. After decades of misery and personnel failure, it seems like this storied franchise is finally in the best possible hands for future prosperity.
Talk is cheap, of course. But Peters made his intentions clear - the Commanders are going to go about their business differently and with conviction. Something that's been a long time coming and represents the dawning of a new era under Josh Harris' ownership group.
As expected, there was a lot to unpack. The stories causing debate include Peters' ambitions, Harris' obvious delight, the prospect of Brian Griese joining the staff, and the Commanders getting their long-awaited interview with Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson.
Let's delve into each topic in more detail.
Commanders secure Ben Johnson interview
The Washington Commanders are doing their due diligence by interviewing prospective head coaching candidates. According to multiple reports, their primary target is Ben Johnson. However, general manager Adam Peters highlighted the desire to find a true leader of men regardless of whether they possess an offensive or defensive background.
Johnson will have his pick of teams after catching the eye once again this season as the Detroit Lions play-calling guru. The Commanders will make a strong pitch for his services during their virtual meeting on Friday. From the outside looking in, this looks like a hard project to turn down.
The Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks are also going to interview Johnson later this week. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold, but the offensive coordinator looks more than ready for a top job after spurning advances last year.
Commanders GM Adam Peters' mindset
Adam Peters is a winner. He's achieved success wherever he's been. Now, the Washington Commanders will benefit from his front-office expertise in pursuit of making this storied franchise a leading contender.
Peters provided some immediate clues on how he plans to take the organization forward. He's convinced this is the best possible destination from a personal standpoint, but the new general manager also revealed that the right leadership across the board is all it might take to get things trending upward based on comments via the team's website.
"Everything is exactly what a person in my seat would want. A great ownership group, a great fanbase, the ability to start new with a new head coach, all of those things were so appealing to me that going through this process, it was very clear to me at a very early time, right when I met with Josh, this is where I wanted to be. This is not a total rebuild. This is a wonderful group of people here that just needs leadership. That's what I think is the biggest thing, is we need leadership and an aligned vision. I don't think there's wholesale change needed. I just think we need leadership here and that's what we're here to bring."Adam Peters via Commanders.com
This sort of vision is exactly what Josh Harris' ownership group was looking for. It's also going to make Washington an enticing job for any head coach looking to make a name for themselves. After some indifferent hirings during Dan Snyder's reign of terror, it seems as if the new regime is going for home-run hits to make the entire NFL sit up and start looking at the Commanders differently.
Commanders urged to consider Brian Griese
The Washington Commanders have yet to hire their next head coach. That hasn't stopped speculation about who could come in for the coordinator positions once the new hire is confirmed. Something that could occur in the next week now that general manager Adam Peters is in the building ready to work.
Hogs Haven recently touted the prospect of Brian Griese becoming Washington's new offensive coordinator. All signs point to Eric Bieniemy departing the franchise after just one season - especially considering the lack of head coaching interest internally or around the league. In this scenario, Peters goes back to the San Francisco 49ers for a coach held in the highest regard by Kyle Shanahan.
"If Washington goes current OC with its head coach pick, the team will likely need someone under him adept at grooming young quarterbacks. Someone who can put both the team’s newly drafted play caller and Sam Howell on the path to success. [Brian] Griese only recently got into coaching, starting as the 49ers QB coach in 2022. It turns out, he wasn’t necessarily looking to become a coach, but was personally courted by Kyle Shanahan in early 2022, after having mentioned interest in the position to Kyle’s father Mike. He’s surely a quantity that new GM, Adam Peters, is familiar with, and an understudy of Shanahan - who calls plays for the 49ers’ offense. 49ers’ fans seem to be grappling with the reality that Griese could potentially leave this off-season, and they raise the reasonable point that, if San Francisco wanted to, they could promote Griese to OC themselves. "KyleSmith4GM via SB Nation
This is all hearsay until the head coach is confirmed. Griese looks like the sort of up-and-comer worthy of consideration, but some dominos need to fall before attention turns to other coaching positions in Washington.
Commanders owner Josh Harris' delight
Josh Harris knew that big changes were needed after watching the Washington Commanders endure another woeful campaign. Four wins and complete freefall over the second half of 2023 meant plans could begin long before Ron Rivera's eventual fate was sealed. This allowed the ownership group - together with recent hires Bob Myers and Rick Spielman - to hit the ground running once their on-field engagements concluded.
Getting Adam Peters was a major coup for the Commanders. He was a hot commodity. He's got proven roster-building capabilities with perennial contenders. More importantly, the new general manager believes in the ambitious plans Harris' ownership group put forward.
Harris couldn't hide his delight about securing Peters' services based on comments via Ben Standig of The Athletic. The majority partner believes at long last, the Commanders have the right man in place to lead their football operations and establish the sort of winning culture that's been sorely lacking.
"We set out to find a leader, someone who could take this franchise to the next level and build an elite team that consistently competes for championships. In Adam, I think we have the right leader. He’s a winner. He’s made an incredible impact everywhere he’s been."Josh Harris via The Athletic
Everyone knew Harris was looking to make big splashes aplenty this offseason. There is a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead, but the billionaire is off to the best possible start.