Moving Towards our Future Front Office and Coaching Hires. All the Way to the Water Boy - Adam Peters Hired as GM! The Mighty Quinn is HC Kliff Kingsbury as OC. Joe Whitt jr at DC.

[HigSkin]

As much as I can't stand JJ and his Cowboys, one thing they've been is patient - coaches, QB, young players, etc. 

 

Not sure we have the fanbase to support that but whoever Harris hires is going to need time to rebuild this thing.

[profusion]

1 minute ago, HigSkin said:

As much as I can't stand JJ and his Cowboys, one thing they've been is patient - coaches, QB, young players, etc. 

 

Not sure we have the fanbase to support that but whoever Harris hires is going to need time to rebuild this thing.

 

Rebuilds can be shockingly quick in the NFL. Doesn't have to be five years or whatever. 

 

This offseason is so critical--getting the right GM and HC out of the gate. The rest follows.

[Thinking Skins]

I brought this up earlier and the idea kinda got poo pooed but Sheehan brought it up to start his show today. Not necessarily in the same respect I was saying (Marty Hurney as our GM) but he was saying Marty as a potential advisor for Harris for finding the future GM and went on to remind us of all the links to Hurney and the former Skins and why they are reasons they Harris may like him. 

 

Josh Harris is 59. Marty Hurney is 67. That's a age gap but they're similar in age. I don't know how much weight Harris would put into those Athletic surveys or the fact that he likes analytics. I do know that Hurney is the one who found Howell and supposedly found Herbert but we didn't draft him. So that's something for them to talk about. 

 

I know back in October @Conn was calling him a Ron guy and saying that's why this wasn't going to work. Now if Marty is doing what I was thinking of then, either staying aboard, or helping to choose the next guy to just help Harris know what to look for in a guy because it is a crap shoot and I'm fearful we get a Bill O Brian, but not the coach version - just the GM who traded all the picks away. or even Scott Pioli who was deemed this next hot thing back when he was hired by the Chiefs. Then they went 23 and 41 over the next 4 years. 

 

Hopefully Harris is getting some good advice from a lot of people because this is a very important hire and I really hope this is not an Ernie Grunfield hire. 

[srtman04]

33 minutes ago, Thinking Skins said:

Hopefully Harris is getting some good advice from a lot of people because this is a very important hire and I really hope this is not an Ernie Grunfield hire. 

 

Yep, the most pivotal and important hire this franchise will have to take the next step forward.   It NEEDS to start at the TOP,  then everything else flows naturally after that.  

[Skinsinparadise]

For the first time in decades, though, the team may actually be a desired landing spot for prospective head coaches and executives.

“From an outside perspective, Washington is the best job now that Dan Snyder doesn’t own it,” said one agent who represents a number of NFL coaches and spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss potential hiring decisions.

Harris is not Snyder, and that alone has made the Commanders an appealing destination. But Washington is also loaded with draft picks, including five in the first three rounds in 2024, and is projected to have a good deal of salary cap space. What’s more: It might have a quarterback.

“We want to have elite teams that consistently compete for championships,” Harris said last month. “You need a little luck to win championships a lot of times. But to get there, you need all the best people. That sort of approach, I think, allows us to get the best people.”

 

The impact of the Commanders’ ownership change was immediate. Six days after Harris closed on his purchase of the team, thousands flocked to training camp; a year earlier, fan turnout had been minimal. Washington has sold out all six of its home games this season after ranking last in average home attendance last season, and it signed 13 new sponsorship deals — including one with Anheuser-Busch, the beer company that severed ties with the team in 2022.

 

Harris’s track record of rebuilds includes the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, and based on his history, it’s plausible the Commanders will look to hire a new general manager to oversee their football operations and a new head coach before shifting focus to the business operations.

 

 

....Based on Over the Cap’s $242 million salary cap projection for 2024, the Commanders will have about $64 million in effective cap space, which accounts for the team’s draft class and top 51 contracts. Only the Tennessee Titans are expected to have more.

While that may seem like plenty now, Washington has plenty of roster needs: at least a couple of pass rushers, help at linebacker and in the secondary, a reconfigured offensive line, perhaps a tight end (or two), additions to the running backs and wide receiving corps and at least a backup quarterback.

The to-do list is long, but should the Commanders indeed move on from Rivera and redo the front office, the next coach will have the resources to reshape the team — and an owner who seems inclined to invest.

“What we want to do is create a culture in Washington where players around the NFL say, ‘This is where we want to play,’ ” Harris said. “… We want to create a culture in Washington where the best and the brightest executives — business, coaches, front office, everyone, marketing people — they say, ‘We want to be at this place.’ ”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2023/12/11/commanders-nfl-hiring-coach-gm/

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

44 minutes ago, Thinking Skins said:

I brought this up earlier and the idea kinda got poo pooed but Sheehan brought it up to start his show today. Not necessarily in the same respect I was saying (Marty Hurney as our GM) but he was saying Marty as a potential advisor for Harris for finding the future GM and went on to remind us of all the links to Hurney and the former Skins and why they are reasons they Harris may like him. 

Let me get this straight, Sheehan is pitching that Harris is looking to Hurney to find replacements for the Marties?

 

Why on earth would Josh need Marty Hurney to help him find a new GM?  Why would Hurney want to help him do that?

 

Im so confused why this is even a thing to talk about in any capacity.

 

 

[FootballZombie]

2 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

Typically new GMs don't hire/fire scouts until after the draft. Its too late in the process so they have to use last year's guys who have already done the leg work.

 

I don't see why we can't hire a good amount of new scouts b4 the draft, as long as your pulling from the already employed pool. New scouts would simply bring their previous experience with this upcoming draft class with them. They are not exactly starting from scratch. It would only expand our current database of knowledge.

 

Doubly-that if there are specific early targets you want heavily evaluated.

If you had interest in (purely for example people) Maye, and you know the Giants have been going full-court-press on the guy, swiping a guy off their staff could greatly increase your understanding of the player.

[Warhead36]

19 minutes ago, FootballZombie said:

 

I don't see why we can't hire a good amount of new scouts b4 the draft, as long as your pulling from the already employed pool. New scouts would simply bring their previous experience with this upcoming draft class with them. They are not exactly starting from scratch. It would only expand our current database of knowledge.

 

Doubly-that if there are specific early targets you want heavily evaluated.

If you had interest in (purely for example people) Maye, and you know the Giants have been going full-court-press on the guy, swiping a guy off their staff could greatly increase your understanding of the player.

I'm working under the assumption that new scouts wouldn't have done any legwork on this upcoming class. I mean unless you're talking about poaching guys from other teams but I don't know how that works, and even then they'll have done scouting work for those teams, not ours, and again I have no idea how that dynamic works.

[Skinsinparadise]

47 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Let me get this straight, Sheehan is pitching that Harris is looking to Hurney to find replacements for the Marties?

 

Why on earth would Josh need Marty Hurney to help him find a new GM?  Why would Hurney want to help him do that?

 

Im so confused why this is even a thing to talk about in any capacity.

 

 

 

I listened to that.  Sheehan didn't know if Hurney would have any role one way or another, he flat out said it that way.  What he said was in that building Hurney has been a dude Josh has liked and listened to on some things.  Sheehan speculated about hey maybe he'd ask Hurney for his thoughts about the next FO -- he goes Hurney is 67 so I gather his point wiht that is he might retire but leave with some suggestions.    But on that Sheehan was just spit balling.

 

Heck I've heard that Harris gets along well with Ron, too.  But i also here of course Ron is as good as gone.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Skinsinparadise

[88Comrade2000]

4 hours ago, RWJ said:

 🔺RED ALERT🔺 via Nicki Jhabvala article about 2 hours ago, 12/11/23 about Harris in the past hiring a coach before GM.  It's his team.  I'd like to see GM before coach but that's just me.  Link below and in particular to point the text in Italic, quoted and bolded! 

 

This NFL hiring cycle, the Commanders could be a hot ticket (msn.com)

 

"Ideally, the GM hire would come first, and the new executive would have input in hiring a coach and be aligned with the team’s direction. But Harris has hired in the opposite order, too, as he did with the 76ers in 2020, when he brought in Coach Doc Rivers about a month before team president Daryl Morey."

He does that, he won’t get a quality Gm. No good Gm is taking a job where the coach is already hired.

[Thinking Skins]

Just now, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I listened to that.  Sheehan didn't know if Hurney would have any role one way or another, he flat out said it that way.  What he said was in that building Hurney has been a dude Josh has liked and listened to on some things.  Sheehan speculated about hey maybe he'd ask Hurney for his thoughts -- he goes Hurney is 67 so I gather his point is he might retire but leave with some suggestions.  

 

Heck I've heard that Harris gets along well with Ron, too.  But i also here of course Ron is as good as gone.

Yeah I was saying it was just speculation by Sheehan, but I'm saying that he's more informed than I am. Back in October I was just putting a straw in the air to see where the wind was blowing. Now it seems like at least one other person has at least that same vibe (or maybe he read my post). That's all I'm saying. Just that its not a naive idea as it was so easily dismissed in the QB thread 2 months ago. 

[88Comrade2000]

1 hour ago, Renegade7 said:

 

Dallas seems to more often then not have a lot talent this century, but rarely does that translate into anything in the playoffs.

 

They finally got to second round last year, but if they lose to Detroit in a couple weeks there's really nothing different about them to me.

Lions are step below; Dallas will win. 

[Renegade7]

1 minute ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

Lions are step below; Dallas will win. 

 

Both are madly inconsistent, can see one win in regular season and other win if they meet in the playoffs

[Skinsinparadise]

16 minutes ago, Thinking Skins said:

Yeah I was saying it was just speculation by Sheehan, but I'm saying that he's more informed than I am. Back in October I was just putting a straw in the air to see where the wind was blowing. Now it seems like at least one other person has at least that same vibe (or maybe he read my post). That's all I'm saying. Just that its not a naive idea as it was so easily dismissed in the QB thread 2 months ago. 

 

I missed it, what's the idea realting to Hurney, that's he's an advisor for the new GM hire?

[Warhead36]

15 minutes ago, Renegade7 said:

 

Both are madly inconsistent, can see one win in regular season and other win if they meet in the playoffs

Dallas has been pretty consistent this year. They've destroyed every bad team they've played except for Arizona.

[Renegade7]

3 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

Dallas has been pretty consistent this year. They've destroyed every bad team they've played except for Arizona.

 

Along with splitting with Philly, barely beating the Rams and getting clown pounded by the 49ers.  They are hit or miss against winning teams and have three in a row they can't run from coming up next.

[skinzplay]

8 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I missed it, what's the idea realting to Hurney, that's he's an advisor for the new GM hire?

 

One of the things Keim emphasized several months back during many of the JW debacles was that the team prez could've easily avoided those missteps if he had simply taken the time to talk with knowledgeable people in the bldg. Hurney was the dude he was principally talking about.

 

As for Harris and the process for hiring a new GM, it can't hurt to have a few sounding boards. My guess, however, is that the input of those advising the ownership group carries more weight than Hurney's opinion. I do think, though, that with stadium and community-related issues, Hurney could be gold. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Feels to me though like Hurney is specifically tied to Ron, for he wouldn’t even be here if not for him.  Seems odd to have discussions about who’s next with the current staff.

[skinzplay]

Hurney is local, his first job in the league was with us (he was a Keim-like guy covering the Skins before working for the team). He also learned a lot under Bobby Beathard when he was with the Chargers. He's got Redskins blood and institutional memory, something a lackey like JW doesn't have.

Edited December 11, 2023 by skinzplay

[HigSkin]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

I missed it, what's the idea realting to Hurney, that's he's an advisor for the new GM hire?

 

Yea, I heard this maybe even on another podcast, could have been Finlay but anyway also someone through out Colbert.  BUT, that was definitely in advisory roles of understanding and finding the right GM.  It may have been that TM guy who is convinced there's someone in Harris's ear.  I thought it might be Gibbs since they are close and it could be lots of different people as Harris learns stuff but who knows.

[Skinsinparadise]

43 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Feels to me though like Hurney is specifically tied to Ron, for he wouldn’t even be here if not for him.  Seems odd to have discussions about who’s next with the current staff.

 

It's a good point I doubt they'd have had any conversations like that yet.  Heck and Sheehan didn't say that Hurney would have that type of clout.  He simply said that Hurney and Harris have a good relationship with Hurney being a sounding board it sounds like.

 

I'd guess no way Harris is having any other conversation with the current staff aside from what's currently going on.

 

Hurney might have a little extra clout considering I've heard multiple times that Howell was Hurney's baby, his call.  Since Ron seems to want to convince Harris and this fan base no other decison he has made matters and everything is just about Howell -- then that makes Hurney especially relevant.

 

Also as some pointed out.  Hurney was in DC during the glory years as a reporter and worked with Beathard.  Some of those issues including RFK -- Hurney would have some insight about. 

[Redwards]

3 hours ago, HigSkin said:

As much as I can't stand JJ and his Cowboys, one thing they've been is patient - coaches, QB, young players, etc. 

 

Not sure we have the fanbase to support that but whoever Harris hires is going to need time to rebuild this thing.

Our fanbase gets the major short end of the stick when it comes to not having patience.  

 

I'd argue that this fanbase has some of the most patient fans in the sport.  But the absolute avalanche of horrors they've been subjected to for nearly 30 years (most of which, this organization was never engaged in a true rebuild but, rather, putting fingers in the dike) has made them impatient for further bull**** actions from the FO disguised as efforts to win.

 

Give this fanbase a clear line of command (no pun intended) in the Front Office, competent and talented minds with a real plan of action that they are allowed to implement, and this fanbase in large will have zero problem being patient letting it cook.  Hell, it's what this fanbase has been begging for but never received under Dan.  

[Thinking Skins]

38 minutes ago, skinzplay said:

Hurney is local, his first job in the league was with us (he was a Keim-like guy covering the Skins before working for the team). He also learned a lot under Bobby Beathard when he was with the Chargers. He's got Redskins blood and institutional memory, something a lackey like JW doesn't have.

 

 

This 

 

Plus, I think that he is a good person to talk to because I doubt he is looking for a role as a GM right now. At the same time, the roles you mention, plus his years of experience gives him a lot of connections across the league. On one hand this is player agents who he worked deals with, but also former GMs and assistant GMs who he once hired and gave interns to or scouts who are now in positions across the league. People who he talked to at league meetings. He can tell Harris who is intelligent and who is going to BS him. Who is the VInny Cerrato at these meetings. 

 

I just think there is knowledge he can give if we accept that he is not just a lump of coal. 

[Skinsinparadise]

To Sheehan's point he knows Harris prefers RFK

 

 

 

[FootballZombie]

I don't think its a coincidence that we hear more about wanting to get the RFK site right when season ticket renewals start.

 

Nice bit-o gamesmanship going on there.