It’s late July in the Washington D.C. area.
You know what that means. It means it’s 1000 degrees outside. Despite the fact that telecommuting is at a record high, the roads in the DMV are congested.
And, yes, it’s time for a generation of Washington Commanders fans to embark on another season of stories about the Joe Gibbs era.
Commanders fans are always reaching back. They have been since Daniel Snyder bought the team and burned the organization to the ground.
But, this July is different. No… it’s still roasting hot and traffic still sucks but the Snyder era ended prematurely due to his own doings.
We aren’t going to rehash his transgressions but I do have a question about the current ownership group.
How long do you think the honeymoon will last?
Washington fans are suffering from NFL PTSD caused by the Snyder years. Anything that Josh Harris and his group of investors do that reminds fans of that era, will set off a beaten-down fan base.
Buying a round a beers at a local establishment is one thing, showing you’re not equipped to run the Washington Commanders organization is another.
That means the Harris Group needs to get things right.
It must start with hiring a competent front office and allowing them to do their job. That will be followed closely by hiring a coach that can lead this team deep into the playoffs and identifying a quarterback that can do so.
Notice I said “quarterback” and not “franchise quarterback”. Franchise quarterbacks don’t grow on trees but an organization can get away with having a solid quarterback if the pieces around him fit.
Right now, that’s where Washington is.
As those pieces are being put into place, a new stadium deal must be solidified.
That’s an item that the Harris Group cannot get wrong. Unlike coaches and quarterbacks, a bad stadium location can’t be quickly fixed.
In the DMV, that means there must be public transportation that goes to the stadium along with plenty of parking.
Oh, and Metro can’t hold the fans, hostage, by closing before night games end.
And, yeah, there will probably be a conversation about changing the name… again.
There’s a lot the Harris Group must get right so we aren’t having Snyder-esque questions by year 5.
For now, everything feels different but for how long?
