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.

[klwilkins1977]

I think it's a mistake for yall to look past Howell like he did NOTHING positive on the field last year.

 

He put a some negatives on tape last year... BUT he had some great games too.  There is some there, THERE. There is a helluva lot of meat left on the bone. We all know EB did him 0 favors with that pass-happy offense.  What is Howell with a more balanced offense?  What is Howell with some pass catching TEs?  What is Howell with schemes that actually get WRs open?

 

Howell has holes in his game... namely holding the ball too long.  Remember he played in a so-called version of an Air Raid in college too. He flourished in that offense.  Why wouldn't the new regime at least kick the tires and see if there's some tread left?  He's only played 1 season. 

 

With all of the questions surrounding the top QB guys, why not roll it back with a guy who already has the locker room's respect and give him a chance with a cogent offensive staff, and use that #2 for a Tackle, or trade back for more picks?  

 

It's not sexy, but Howell has earned, imo, the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt. Being thrown to wolves, so to speak, has either primed him for greater success or... he's shell-shocked and done. I'm betting on the former.

 

Stop discounting Howell. It's not so far-fetched that DQ and KK will find enough to run it back... especially with the upgraded playbook and personnel coming.

[OtisDriftwood25]

4 minutes ago, klwilkins1977 said:

I think it's a mistake for yall to look past Howell like he did NOTHING positive on the field last year.

 

He put a some negatives on tape last year... BUT he had some great games too.  There is some there, THERE. There is a helluva lot of meat left on the bone. We all know EB did him 0 favors with that pass-happy offense.  What is Howell with a more balanced offense?  What is Howell with some pass catching TEs?  What is Howell with schemes that actually get WRs open?

 

Howell has holes in his game... namely holding the ball too long.  Remember he played in a so-called version of an Air Raid in college too. He flourished in that offense.  Why wouldn't the new regime at least kick the tires and see if there's some tread left?  He's only played 1 season. 

 

With all of the questions surrounding the top QB guys, why not roll it back with a guy who already has the locker room's respect and give him a chance with a cogent offensive staff, and use that #2 for a Tackle, or trade back for more picks?  

 

It's not sexy, but Howell has earned, imo, the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt. Being thrown to wolves, so to speak, has either primed him for greater success or... he's shell-shocked and done. I'm betting on the former.

 

Stop discounting Howell. It's not so far-fetched that DQ and KK will find enough to run it back... especially with the upgraded playbook and personnel coming.

We have smart NFL people making the decision. Quinn and Whitt Jr had to scheme against him 3 times. 

[Koolblue13]

9 minutes ago, klwilkins1977 said:

I think it's a mistake for yall to look past Howell like he did NOTHING positive on the field last year.

 

He put a some negatives on tape last year... BUT he had some great games too.  There is some there, THERE. There is a helluva lot of meat left on the bone. We all know EB did him 0 favors with that pass-happy offense.  What is Howell with a more balanced offense?  What is Howell with some pass catching TEs?  What is Howell with schemes that actually get WRs open?

 

Howell has holes in his game... namely holding the ball too long.  Remember he played in a so-called version of an Air Raid in college too. He flourished in that offense.  Why wouldn't the new regime at least kick the tires and see if there's some tread left?  He's only played 1 season. 

 

With all of the questions surrounding the top QB guys, why not roll it back with a guy who already has the locker room's respect and give him a chance with a cogent offensive staff, and use that #2 for a Tackle, or trade back for more picks?  

 

It's not sexy, but Howell has earned, imo, the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt. Being thrown to wolves, so to speak, has either primed him for greater success or... he's shell-shocked and done. I'm betting on the former.

 

Stop discounting Howell. It's not so far-fetched that DQ and KK will find enough to run it back... especially with the upgraded playbook and personnel coming.

You took a break from down thumbing every other post for this? 

[Skinsinparadise]

16 minutes ago, klwilkins1977 said:

I think it's a mistake for yall to look past Howell like he did NOTHING positive on the field last year.

 

He put a some negatives on tape last year... BUT he had some great games too.  There is some there, THERE. There is a helluva lot of meat left on the bone. We all know EB did him 0 favors with that pass-happy offense.  What is Howell with a more balanced offense?  What is Howell with some pass catching TEs?  What is Howell with schemes that actually get WRs open?

 

Howell has holes in his game... namely holding the ball too long.  Remember he played in a so-called version of an Air Raid in college too. He flourished in that offense.  Why wouldn't the new regime at least kick the tires and see if there's some tread left?  He's only played 1 season. 

 

With all of the questions surrounding the top QB guys, why not roll it back with a guy who already has the locker room's respect and give him a chance with a cogent offensive staff, and use that #2 for a Tackle, or trade back for more picks?  

 

It's not sexy, but Howell has earned, imo, the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt. Being thrown to wolves, so to speak, has either primed him for greater success or... he's shell-shocked and done. I'm betting on the former.

 

Stop discounting Howell. It's not so far-fetched that DQ and KK will find enough to run it back... especially with the upgraded playbook and personnel coming.

 

I was one of the more positive people here about Howell.  I agree he still has a chance.  As for him being a franchise QB, I'd bet against him.  But as to a high end backup or a starter in that 20-25 range I'd bet on him.

 

But for a team who is almost never picking #2 let alone doing so when we need a QB in arguably one of the better QB drafts to just pass it over would be wild and VERY unusual.  If they ever did a 30-30 about this team on the QB spot, which is something this team deserves as to all the mishaps -- we made so many legendary bad moves at the spot -- passing on Maye or Daniels and they become franchise QBs would be the lead story.  Heck even with a potential get out of jail card, the team still didn't take it.  

 

You say its not far fetched.  I think its very far fetched. They'd be putting their job on the line from the jump.  As much as I touted Peters as a hire, i'll be the first calling for him to be fired if he passed over a QB and it blew up in his face.  It's a fatal unforgiveable mistake.   But I'll say it won't be far fetched as far as rhetroic leading up to the draft.  The coaches have to say they are happy with Howell as the guy during the draft process.  You got to buck up your guy and leave some mystery to the league as to what you do next.  Just like the Cardinals did with Rosen the draft they took Murray and I bet the Bears will do with Fields before the pick Caleb.

 

As to questions about these QBs.  The leaks from scouts-personnel guys have been very praiseworthy of this class.  You'll always have outlier takes every draft.  As far as fans here we never 100% love any draft prospect.  Herbert was beaten up on.   I am old enough to recall some fans having angst that RG3 would be taken by the Colts and we'd be stuck with Andrew Luck.  I recall bringing up Mahomes once and being made fun of.  We will never have a QB prospect here or on twitter, etc that everyone embraces.  It's not in our DNA.  There are too many opinions to not have some diversity of takes.   And there is too much fear about getting a QB wrong, to not hear about that fear every draft.  Comes with the turf.

Edited February 5 by Skinsinparadise

[Andre The Giant]

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/02/05/takeaways-bye-week-commanders-dan-quinn-search
 

Breer with a very detailed inside look at the HC search.

[NOLA2DC]

42 minutes ago, klwilkins1977 said:

I think it's a mistake for yall to look past Howell like he did NOTHING positive on the field last year.

 

He put a some negatives on tape last year... BUT he had some great games too.  There is some there, THERE. There is a helluva lot of meat left on the bone. We all know EB did him 0 favors with that pass-happy offense.  What is Howell with a more balanced offense?  What is Howell with some pass catching TEs?  What is Howell with schemes that actually get WRs open?

 

Howell has holes in his game... namely holding the ball too long.  Remember he played in a so-called version of an Air Raid in college too. He flourished in that offense.  Why wouldn't the new regime at least kick the tires and see if there's some tread left?  He's only played 1 season. 

 

With all of the questions surrounding the top QB guys, why not roll it back with a guy who already has the locker room's respect and give him a chance with a cogent offensive staff, and use that #2 for a Tackle, or trade back for more picks?  

 

It's not sexy, but Howell has earned, imo, the opportunity to be given the benefit of the doubt. Being thrown to wolves, so to speak, has either primed him for greater success or... he's shell-shocked and done. I'm betting on the former.

 

Stop discounting Howell. It's not so far-fetched that DQ and KK will find enough to run it back... especially with the upgraded playbook and personnel coming.

Howell does have some positive qualities, but he's not an old vet. Once they select Maye or Daniels, the clock starts ticking. Quinn may try to go slow and let Howell start at first, but I doubt the plan is for Sam to go the whole year. However, I do think letting some rooks sit can be very beneficial.   

Edited February 5 by NOLA2DC
typo

[Skinsinparadise]

7 minutes ago, Andre The Giant said:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/02/05/takeaways-bye-week-commanders-dan-quinn-search
 

Breer with a very detailed inside look at the HC search.

 

Dan Quinn won the job in Washington. Now that he is officially the Commanders head coach, that may seem like an unnecessary thing to write. But after the week the organization had, it’s worth saying—because the team’s search was done with open minds and clean intentions. Once the Commanders got Quinn on the phone to offer him the job, it didn’t take long for the coach to bolster their feelings on the match.

 

 

And so three years after the Atlanta Falcons fired Quinn, and following consecutive offseasons where he pulled his own name from coaching searches to return to Dallas, the Commanders’ thorough, winding process is complete, four weeks after it started.

Things have changed since Josh Harris took over last summer in place of disgraced ex-owner Dan Snyder. But one thing that stayed the same: There always seems to be a lot of intrigue with this particular franchise. The team’s latest coaching search, which followed an expedited search for a new head of football ops (landing on new GM Adam Peters) was certainly interesting. Here are the details …

• Peters was hired Jan. 12, when Washington was just getting its coaching search off the ground. But because of the rules governing the two bye teams, the Commanders had to get moving on Baltimore Ravens assistants Mike Macdonald and Anthony Weaver, so Peters missed their first cracks at the job—those interviews were on Jan. 11.

• That left Quinn, Detroit Lions coordinators Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, Houston Texans OC Bobby Slowik, Los Angeles Rams DC Raheem Morris, and internal candidate Eric Bieniemy for the first round of interviews. Those were done over Zoom into the weekend of the division playoffs. Harris, Peters, Martin Mayhew, and consultants Bob Myers and Rick Spielman were part of those (with Myers and Harris in for the first hour of them, and the other three there throughout).

 

While those interviews were going on, the five graded each of the candidates in a number of categories: leadership, intelligence, communication, ability to build a staff, honesty and integrity, and consistency of personality.

• Quinn, it seemed, scored highly in every category and was different in that he’d been a head coach before. (Morris was the only other candidate who could say that.) In the first interview, Quinn took the group through the 360-degree review he did of his time as Falcons head coach; he told Washington he’d even hired people to do a deep dive into what he’d done right and wrong. Quinn explained how he’d taken the information he got back to heart and worked on it, showing real self-awareness and humility.

• After the group compared notes, and without a set number of people they planned to invite back as finalists, the five decided they liked all seven external candidates enough to invite them back for second interviews. After some schedule shifting and moving, the team met with Morris and Slowik in Miami before the conference title games and, eventually, had Weaver and Macdonald set for Monday in Baltimore. Quinn was set for Tuesday morning in D.C., while Glenn and the group were set to fly to Detroit to interview Glenn and Johnson that afternoon, to best accommodate the coaches who were working the conference title games.

 

The format for the second interviews was also a little different. They’d start with Peters, Spielman and Mayhew, then hit a break, then go two hours with Myers and Harris joining in, before finishing up with Peters getting one-on-one time with the candidate.

• Morris arrived in Florida for his second interview with the Commanders on Jan. 23—knocking that one out of the park—then flew to Atlanta and Carolina for second interviews with the Falcons and Panthers. Just as he got home to Los Angeles, the Falcons offered him their job. Morris’s camp relayed that to Peters, who wound up telling them that, at that point, he wanted to stay true to the process, with five interviews left. Morris took the Atlanta job.

• Over the weekend, Peters went back through his background work. His former Niners colleagues Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, Paraag Marathe and Jed York had been generous with their time in vetting candidates, and Shanahan and York had seen Quinn up close at opposite ends of the spectrum: York watched Quinn in his first NFL job, as the San Francisco 49ers’ DL coach from 2001–04, and Shanahan worked for him when Quinn was head coach in Atlanta. What struck Peters was the consistency in what everyone said.

• And the polling that Peters, Spielman, and Mayhew did canvassing NFL contacts, from Dallas and Atlanta, and all those people in San Francisco who’d worked for Quinn with the Falcons, was just as consistent. But he wasn’t the only candidate who’d hit for that sort of average, which is why the group went into last week with an open mind—and a still wide-open search. As such, perception that Johnson was the heavy favorite rankled them, especially when it made some candidates leery about staying in the race.

• Quinn’s interview at the Four Seasons in Georgetown kicked off at 7:30 a.m., and Peters, Spielman and Mayhew saw a coach shot of a cannon—feeling Quinn’s passion for his work, his excitement about the Commanders job in particular, and how the mutual connections between the football folks in the room created a natural chemistry. When Peters and Quinn went one-on-one, the GM marked down that this was someone he’d want to work with.

• Washington’s party of five then boarded for Detroit, and found out over the in-flight WiFi on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Johnson had pulled out of their search. Minutes later, a text that the Lions OC sent at 12:45 p.m. to inform the team of his decision came through. So after landing in Michigan, the group had one interview to do at a Detroit-area hotel rather than two. Glenn acquitted himself nicely, and Washington once again had more to think about.

• Spielman, Mayhew and Peters flew from Detroit to Mobile, Ala., for Senior Bowl practices with two candidates in mind: Macdonald and Quinn. They debriefed and resolved to sleep on it. On Wednesday, Macdonald arrived in Seattle for a second interview (that turned out to be more of a coronation) and simplified things for the Commanders.

• On Wednesday night, Peters, who got his start in New England, called former Patriots coach Bill Belichick to touch base. After that call, he reached out to Quinn to offer him the job.

And so now Washington moves forward with Quinn and Peters, new ownership, a new structure, the second pick in the 2024 draft and a lot of work to do.

Edited February 5 by Skinsinparadise

[HigSkin]

9 minutes ago, Andre The Giant said:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/02/05/takeaways-bye-week-commanders-dan-quinn-search
 

Breer with a very detailed inside look at the HC search.

 

Very good read on the entire process!

 

 

Edited February 5 by HigSkin

[SkinsNatsFan]

Recognizing that Howell is a solid asset, already on the roster, with Kingsbury as OC, the Air Raid offense Howell is very familiar with, and an excellent GM to overhaul the roster where needed, doesn't exclude taking a QB this year. It just points out that there appears to be, for the first time in a long time, a potential for a strong QB room for Washington. Kingsbury and whichever QB of the top three they choose, paired with Howell is a great situation to be in.

[Skinsinparadise]

3 minutes ago, HigSkin said:

 

Very good read on the entire process!

 

 

 

thanks it happens to me, I post something and someone does it a second before me. 😎

 

It looks like the Belichick part of this is Peters called him. 

1 minute ago, SkinsNatsFan said:

Recognizing that Howell is a solid asset, already on the roster, with Kingsbury as OC, the Air Raid offense Howell is very familiar with, and an excellent GM to overhaul the roster where needed, doesn't exclude taking a QB this year. It just points out that there appears to be, for the first time in a long time, a potential for a strong QB room for Washington. Kingsbury and whichever QB of the top three they choose, paired with Howell is a great situation to be in.

 

That's the other part of this for Howell. They don't have to discard him.  If he's a really good QB, you got a Brees-Rivers situation and then deal one.  The Eagles with McNabb and Kolb, etc.

Edited February 5 by Skinsinparadise

[DWinzit]

Everything I read on Quinn makes me more comfortable with his hire.

 

Peters and crew had a good process that did have uncontrollable glitches. 

 

While I admit I hoped for a MacDonald HC/Weaver DC or a Morris HC more, I am very content with Quinn and like Whitt.

 

The Kingsbury hire is still settling with me but I know it could have been much worse

[MartinC]

2 minutes ago, NOLA2DC said:

Howell does have some positive qualities, but he's not an old vet. Once they select Maye or Daniels, the clock starts ticking. Qyinn may try to go slow and let Howell start at first, but I doubt the plan is for Sam to go the whole year. However, I do think letting some rooks can be very beneficial.   

It’s odds on we start whoever we pick immediately. Sam’s going to be a backup and it’s not impossible we bring in a vet as backup and Sam’s the #3.

 

I don’t think his career is over by any means. He did some very good things in the first half of the season. But he collapsed second half of the season. He’s got a lot to work on and a job to prove to a new coaching staff he can be trusted as the primary backup let alone thinking about starting him.

[FuriousD]

26 minutes ago, Andre The Giant said:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/02/05/takeaways-bye-week-commanders-dan-quinn-search
 

Breer with a very detailed inside look at the HC search.

Some people on here are not going to like this article! They will doubtless make efforts to discredit it as it doesn’t fit their narrative that the hiring of DQ amounts to table scraps once the best choices were gone. Sucks to be them 

Edited February 5 by FuriousD

[MisterPinstripe]

Interesting that Morris seemed to prefer us to the Falcons, came back to us after getting the offer to see if we would hire him. Though maybe just a money leverage play. Really interesting and telling read. 

 

Also, Johnson complaining about the "basketball guys"? They were in their for 1 hour of the 4 hours he interviewed. 

[Skinsinparadise]

30 minutes ago, OtisDriftwood25 said:

We have smart NFL people making the decision. Quinn and Whitt Jr had to scheme against him 3 times. 

 

It's a good point they should know Howell very well

[ThatNFLChick]

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

Schrager who I gather is friends with Klingsbury talking about it just now, more or less saying don't count per se on this means a trade up for Caleb, he doesn't rule it out but mentions the appeal of Maye-Daniels who he says are great prospects -- to quote him "awesome prospects"  better than any prospect in last year's draft and the year before that.   I gather if Schrager is excited about them Klingsbury might be.  It's clear that they talked.  Schrager was the one who broke the story.

 

He also said Klingsbury bailed on the Raiders not for financial reasons.  Likes the fit in Washington. He knows Peters and Quinn very well.

 

Much better position in Washington for a QB than it is with the Raiders.  So I am gather if Schrager is saying it, Klingsbury might be thining the same.

 

Rewatching it, it didn't really play down the idea that they could trade up for Caleb but the Bears have to be willing to do it and Maye and Daniels are exciting prospects, too.

Edited February 5 by Skinsinparadise

[Riggo#44]

I think this part is the biggest difference between Quinn and Rivera:

Quote

 In the first interview, Quinn took the group through the 360-degree review he did of his time as Falcons head coach; he told Washington he’d even hired people to do a deep dive into what he’d done right and wrong. Quinn explained how he’d taken the information he got back to heart and worked on it, showing real self-awareness and humility.

 

[Warhead36]

Thats a really good article about the process of hiring Quinn. This FO knows how to conduct itself and is going to build a rock solid foundation for years to come.

Just now, Skinsinparadise said:

 

Schrager who I gather is friends with Klingsbury talking about it just now, more or less saying don't count per say on this means a trade up for Caleb, he doesn't rule it out but mentions the appeal of Maye-Daniels

Theyre all blue chippers who fit the offense well

[FrFan]

11 minutes ago, MisterPinstripe said:

Interesting that Morris seemed to prefer us to the Falcons, came back to us after getting the offer to see if we would hire him. Though maybe just a money leverage play. Really interesting and telling read. 

 

Also, Johnson complaining about the "basketball guys"? They were in their for 1 hour of the 4 hours he interviewed. 

"basketball guys who were too confident in their football opinions". Allright, I didn't know Peters was a basketball guy ! Sounds arrogant and disrespectful from someone who's been choking on interviews for the past couple of years. Be aware of karma Ben.

Edited February 5 by FrFan

[Warhead36]

#basketballguys absolutely needs to be a thing this year

[Going Commando]

12 minutes ago, Andre The Giant said:

https://www.si.com/nfl/2024/02/05/takeaways-bye-week-commanders-dan-quinn-search
 

Breer with a very detailed inside look at the HC search.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

So Harris and Myers were only in the room for an hour during the first round of candidate interviews, while Peters, Mayhew, and Spielman led the process.  And this was enough to spook Ben Johnson that we had know-nothing basketball running the team.

 

I've tried to be charitable to him since I had talked myself into thinking he'd be a great coach here, but that guy conducted himself like a pure, unadulterated clown.  It sounds like the top three candidates in the process were MacDonald, Quinn, and Morris.  Morris gave the team a chance to match Atlanta's offer and they essentially told him to take the ATL job as they were still waiting for second interviews on Quinn and the Detroit and Baltimore candidates.  He does and Johnson pulled out of the search, so they ended up settling between MacDonald and Quinn.  Then Seattle makes the decision for them by hiring MacDonald.

 

I'm glad it worked out the way that it did.  I think Quinn will end up being a better fit here than MacDonald would have been.  Sounds like MacDonald was a great candidate too, but I didn't have a lot of FOMO with him because his lack of experience made me uncomfortable.  I think it was important that our FO conducted this search via a consistent and fair process, and that Peters identified the candidate that he most wanted to work together with.  And I think it's very important that Quinn demonstrated an authentic passion for being here.  This is the kind of job you have to want to do more than anything else in your life.

 

It's also cool that Belichick and Shanahan rubber stamped the hiring of Quinn to Peters when he reached out to them for advice.  They think he's a great coach, and they would know.

[Chris 44]

8 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

 

He also said Klingsbury bailed on the Raiders not for financial reasons.  Likes the fit in Washington. He knows Peters and Quinn very well.

Yeah I think the "money" issue is usually overblown. I think if two organizations are in the same ball park other factors will come in to play that override the money. Using money as an excuse is easier than going into detail about why you prefer a certain job over the other.

[Skinsinparadise]

13 minutes ago, Riggo#44 said:

I think this part is the biggest difference between Quinn and Rivera:

 

 

Hoffman talked about this last week.  Knowing what he's heard about both coaches.  Quinn is very self aware and is always evolving.  Changing his scheme, changing his approach as the NFL changes.   Rivera on the other hand seems stuck in the past and isnt the most self aware dude.

[Riggo#44]

Another thing I love about Peters. He wasn't going to panic and make a bad decision.

Quote

Morris’s camp relayed that to Peters, who wound up telling them that, at that point, he wanted to stay true to the process, with five interviews left.