Commanders news: Dan Quinn, Kliff Kingsbury, Magic Johnson and hirings
By Dean Jones
Magic Johnson's influence
Kliff Kingsbury made a sharp U-turn to become the Washington Commanders offensive coordinator. It looked for all the smart money as if the former Arizona Cardinals head coach was heading for the Las Vegas Raiders. But a contract dispute was enough for the deal to stall.
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the influence of Magic Johnson was felt. The Commanders' limited ownership partner had a huge part to play in Kingsbury's decision. Something that could be predicated on the offensive coordinator having a leading say in which quarterback is taken at No. 2 overall in the draft based on comments via Yahoo Sports.
"When you a defensive coach like Dan Quinn, the No. 1 question is ‘Who is going to be your offensive coordinator? This is as big as it gets for the Washington Commanders. To look at the flip that happened when he was with the Raiders, my understanding is Magic Johnson, who is a limited partner with the Commanders, was actually the one to step in and kind of pull Kliff Kingsbury back and go, ‘You know what if this deal with the Raiders isn’t perfect, maybe there’s a home for you in Washington.'"
- Ian Rapoport via Yahoo Sports
Whether the decision to hire Kingsbury or not remains to be seen. However, this situation is another prime example of how Johnson can help lure coaches and free agents to the Commanders this offseason and way into the future.
That's not a bad ace to have up your sleeve.