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.

[CommanderInTheRye]

Hh

Billionaire Magic Johnson Reveals Plan to Overtake the Cowboys & Eagles and Discusses Dan Quinn’s Hiring as Commanders’ HC

Published 03/22/2024, 10:57 PM EDT

By

BHWYA SRIYA

 

 

 

 

Gg

 

It’s the year 1979, and the LA Lakers chose Magic Johnson as the 1st overall pick in the NBA Draft. Since donning the team’s colors in his rookie season, he established himself as a force, a leader. And when it came to playing, he was never a backup. And don’t they say, ‘Talent recognizes talent’? Well, that’s precisely the dynamic between Johnson and Dan Quinn.

 

Dan Quinn found his new home in February 2024 after he became the Washington Commanders’ 31st head coach. In the search for a new coach, names like Ben Johnson, Mike Macdonald, and Raheem Morris came up alongside Quinn. However, the 53-year-old was never the backup plan. Now that he’s officially joined the Commanders, co-owner and billionaire Magic Johnson believes a historical era for the franchise has begun.

 

Magic Johnson feels a cohesive team will be the backbone of the Commanders’ success

 

The Washington Commanders versus the Dallas Cowboys. It’s an NFL rivalry that Sports Illustrated once called “one of the greatest in sports.” As for the Philadelphia Eagles, their rivalry with the Commanders isn’t any less fierce. With Dan Quinn on board the Washington side and amidst the offseason positivity, Magic Johnson revealed his belief in the franchise to overtake their divisional rivals.

 

In an interview with WUSA9, the former basketball player expressed his excitement for the upcoming season. Praising Quinn, he said, “We’re excited because Coach Quinn has been a head coach in the league before. He took the Falcons to the Super Bowl. He’s done an amazing job with the Cowboys [as their defensive coordinator].”

 

Johnson added, “So we know that he knows how to coach. We need an outstanding leader, and we got one in Coach Quinn. Now he’s put together an amazing staff. So it’s up to us to do a good job and free agency and in the draft and just build it, take steps. You got two teams in our division that we’re trying to catch and that’s the Cowboys and the Eagles. And so we got to take steps to do that and build our team the right way.”

 

After the Commanders hired him, Dan Quinn hired respectable names in the NFL to help the franchise achieve just what Johnson laid out. The new defensive coordinator, Joe Whitt Jr., followed him from the Cowboys. Together, they’d won the NFC East Division title in 2023. The new offensive coordinator, Kliff Kingsbury, jumped ship from the Arizona Cardinals. With other notable names like Bobby Johnson and Larry Izzo, the confidence was evident in Johnson’s voice.

 

For the Lakers legend, there was no better person than Dan Quinn for the job. Given last season’s performance, where the Commanders ended last in the NFC East, the team will be looking to bounce back. The 4-13 record isn’t something the Commanders will overlook as they take on their competitors.

 

Meanwhile, after being let go as the head coach of the Falcons four years ago, Quinn was with the Cowboys from 2021 to 2023. Feeling confident in his abilities, he knew it was time to lead a team once more. But the question is: Will he be able to live up to Magic Johnson’s expectations?

 

How can Dan Quinn make good on his second chance?

 

 

After being fired from the first stint as an NFL head coach, Dan Quinn got a rare second chance to become a head coach once again. Quinn undoubtedly left no stone unturned to acquire the right blend of experience and youth to make a strong start to this second chance. Now, he has the faith and support of Magic Johnson.

Quinn had previously won a Super Bowl as the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks. Returning to a defensive coordinator role with the Cowboys in 2021, Quinn gained valuable experience. During his time with the Cowboys, they excelled in creating turnovers and putting pressure on quarterbacks. Quinn transformed their defense from a zone scheme to one focused on man coverage.

 

Now, as the head coach of the Commanders, fans hope Quinn can work his magic and improve their defense, which struggled in several critical areas during the 2023 season, as they stood “dead last in the entire NFL in scoring defense (30.5 points per game), total defense (388.9 total yards per game), passing touchdowns allowed (39) and passer rating (105.7).”

 

.

Nn

 

[Riggo#44]

22 hours ago, CommanderInTheRye said:

For those who have never had the pleasure of being a "hooker" and are unfamiliar with rugby rules this is what we can expect to be legal, or a penalty beginning next season

I played prop in college. I supported our hookers

[CommanderInTheRye]

1 minute ago, Riggo#44 said:

I played prop in college. I supported our hookers

 

I was a pimp in college and I supported our hookers too. 🤪

 

Seriously, I'm impressed. You must be a big guy, if you were a prop.

 

Rugby is a real man's sport I absolutely love it. 

 

Big fan of The NZ All Blacks.

[Birdlives]

23 hours ago, CommanderInTheRye said:

 

 

@Birdlives

 

I've been meaning to ask you this, but never got around to it.

 

Are you by chance a jazz fan?

 

I saw Charley Parker play at Birdland back in my youth.

I’ve been here 20 years and you’re the first person to ask. Most people think I’m an eagles fan. And you must be 100 because Parker died in 55’ that’s amazing and I’m jealous.

[RVAskins]

5 hours ago, CommanderInTheRye said:

Dan Quinn got a rare second chance to become a head coach once again.

Ummmm....I don't agree with that statement. Coaches, even head coaches get second chances all the time. Sometimes I wonder, what was the owner thinking, but not in this case. DQ was the right call.

Edited March 24 by RVAskins

[CommanderInTheRye]

4 hours ago, Birdlives said:

I’ve been here 20 years and you’re the first person to ask. Most people think I’m an eagles fan. And you must be 100 because Parker died in 55’ that’s amazing and I’m jealous.

 

 

"...you must be 100..."

 

Not quite, but sometimes I sure feel like it. lol

 

"....Parker died in 55’ that’s amazing and I’m jealous."

 

I was born about 11 months before Pearl Harbor. My mother worked two jobs and I would spend my summers as a youth either in South Carolina with her sister's family or in NY with her brother's family.

 

My uncle in NY worked  as a self employed janitor cleaning buildings, including Birdland. One day he surprised me and my cousin and took us to see Bird play. 

 

The place was packed  standing room only. I remember there was a line of people outside just wanting to catch a glimpse of the greatest saxophone player in history. Everybody was having fun.

 

I don't remember the year but I couldn't have been much more than 12 or 13 years old, which had to be illegal, but nobody cared. We stood and listened from backstage.

 

I don't recall what songs he played or hiw long it lasted. I just remember the excitement of it all, the energy, it felt good inside, it felt alive, it was so damn vibrant.

 

A seminal, unforgettable  moment in my life. 

 

EDIT:

 

I forgot the most important thing. I love your forum name and yes, he does live on!

 

 

Edited March 24 by CommanderInTheRye

[Nomadskin11]

48 minutes ago, CommanderInTheRye said:

 

 

"...you must be 100..."

 

Not quite, but sometimes I sure feel like it. lol

 

"....Parker died in 55’ that’s amazing and I’m jealous."

 

I was born about 11 months before Pearl Harbor. My mother worked two jobs and I would spend my summers as a youth either in South Carolina with her sister's family or in NY with her brother's family.

 

My uncle in NY worked  as a self employed janitor cleaning buildings, including Birdland. One day he surprised me and my cousin and took us to see Bird play. 

 

The place was packed  standing room only. I remember there was a line of people outside just wanting to catch a glimpse of the greatest saxophone player in history. Everybody was having fun.

 

I don't remember the year but I couldn't have been much more than 12 or 13 years old, which had to be illegal, but nobody cared. We stood and listened from backstage.

 

I don't recall what songs he played or hiw long it lasted. I just remember the excitement of it all, the energy, it felt good inside, it felt alive, it was so damn vibrant.

 

A seminal, unforgettable  moment in my life. 

 

EDIT:

 

I forgot the most important thing. I love your forum name and yes, he does live on!

 

 

 

 

An amazing story, wonderfully told. I could feel the energy you were feeling both within the actual event and in the retelling. I am grateful for moments like this in our beloved and joyfully nutty ES.

 

Thank you for sharing. 

[CommanderInTheRye]

6 hours ago, RVAskins said:

"...coach, Dan Quinn got a rare second chance to become a head coach once again..."

 

 

Ummmm....I don't agree with that statement. Coaches, even head coaches get second chances all the time. Sometimes I wonder, what was the owner thinking, but not in this case. DQ was the right call.

 

 

You do know, of course, that I didn't make the statement (hilighted in bold above) that you responded to. 

 

It was a quote  from an article I reposted.

 

I just wanted to clarify, on the off chance that you anticipated a response from me.

 

For the record I agree with you whole heartedly-- the best thing that Harris has done this off season is hire Peters and Quinn.

 

I believe this is the first year of a new Redskins Renaissance.

[youngestson]

14 hours ago, Riggo#44 said:

I played prop in college. I supported our hookers

We hookers thank you.

[MartinC]

15 hours ago, Riggo#44 said:

I played prop in college. I supported our hookers

I’m proud of myself for avoiding the obvious joke here. Played some Rugby League (13 men) back in the day - scrum half. 

[88Comrade2000]

The plan to overtake our division rivals isn’t Magic or Josh; it’s the people they hired to do the job.

 

Let them do their job and hopefully it works out. If not, then the owners can make a change and try again at hiring people who will do that.

[Wyvern]

Some of Magic Johnson's interview reinforced my opinion, that Washington is in more of a "rebuild" rather than a "reload.". So as for the more optimistic view that GM Peters hinted at (by not willing to call it a rebuild) earlier this season -- I think fans should be taking that with a grain of salt, as they develop their expectations for the team's results (W/L, playoffs, etc.) in 2024.

 

Its still early, but from what I've seen there's been a well thought out approach to "retooling" the Washington product for the 2024 season, but even so, I'm only hoping for the franchise's 2024 results to be acknowledged as evidence that Washington was "fiercely competitive, and clearly showing great promise ahead of them."

 

Perhaps you think my expectations were too low -- why not expect Washington to go deep into the playoffs?  Perhaps it's because I feel Washington has so many unanswered questions going into the 2024 season, and unlike the Texans who made it into the playoffs with a new QB, Washington's situation is different. (Washington's coaching staff was only assembled a 40 days ago, there might be much turnover from Washington's 2023 roster, the team will need to get used to a new roles, and new systems, and frankly, the NFC-East is tougher division than Houston's division was in 2023.)

 

Hey, I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised -- but considering this was a 4-13 team that underwent a huge amount of change -- and that even talented college rookies need time to adjust to the NFL level -- I'm not expecting any "deep into the playoffs" result in 2024.  I'll be very happy, to stay the course during the early bumps while Washington starts to gel, and hoping that by the end of the 2024 season,  it shows Washington as unified team of fiercely competitive fighters, with its rookies showing great promise, and that Washington fans and all NFL folks (especially the next wave of free agents) understand that the Washington franchise is now,  ... for real!

 

What are your expectations of the Washington franchise in 2024?

 

Edited March 24 by Wyvern

[88Comrade2000]

20 minutes ago, Wyvern said:

Some of Magic Johnson's interview reinforced my opinion, that Washington is in more of a "rebuild" rather than a "reload.". So as for the more optimistic view that GM Peters hinted at (by not willing to call it a rebuild) earlier this season -- I think fans should be taking that with a grain of salt, as they develop their expectations for the team's results (W/L, playoffs, etc.) in 2024.

 

Its still early, but from what I've seen there's been a well thought out approach to "retooling" the Washington product for the 2024 season, but even so, I'm only hoping for the franchise's 2024 results to be acknowledged as evidence that Washington was "fiercely competitive, and clearly showing great promise ahead of them."

 

Perhaps you think my expectations were too low -- why not expect Washington to go deep into the playoffs?  Perhaps it's because I feel Washington has so many unanswered questions going into the 2024 season, and unlike the Texans who made it into the playoffs with a new QB, Washington's situation is different. (Washington's coaching staff was only assembled a 40 days ago, there might be much turnover from Washington's 2023 roster, the team will need to get used to a new roles, and new systems, and frankly, the NFC-East is tougher division than Houston's division was in 2023.)

 

Hey, I'm hoping I'll be pleasantly surprised -- but considering this was a 4-13 team that underwent a huge amount of change -- and that even talented college rookies need time to adjust to the NFL level -- I'm not expecting any "deep into the playoffs" result in 2024.  I'll be very happy, to stay the course during the early bumps while Washington starts to gel, and hoping that by the end of the 2024 season,  it shows Washington as unified team of fiercely competitive fighters, with its rookies showing great promise, and that Washington fans and all NFL folks (especially the next wave of free agents) understand that the Washington franchise is now,  ... for real!

 

 

 

If a playoff appearance happens in 24, great.  I’m not expecting it and expect only 6-8 wins.  Ron left the team bare. The reason for so much turnover already, the new team didn’t like what Ron left them. It’s going take 3 years to fully build a team that can contend for titles.

 

 

I wouldn’t compare us to Houston. They were competing with Colts, a team in a similar situation for playoffs. Jags crashed down the stretch and Titans sucked.  Houston has a killer schedule in 24, and will find it tough to make playoffs.

 

Washington is in a division with 2 playoff teams and just one year removed from 3 playoff teams..

[Warhead36]

Its absolutely a rebuild but that doesn't mean we can't compete early on. If we get the right QB in place we could win 9 games this year.

[RVAskins]

11 hours ago, CommanderInTheRye said:

You do know, of course, that I didn't make the statement (hilighted in bold above) that you responded to. 

 

It was a quote  from an article I reposted.

Oh, I know that quote wasn't from you. I was just stating that I don't agree with the person that wrote that. I hope and think, good times are ahead for us.

[Wyvern]

I hope you're right Warhead.  But even though Washington enjoys a last place schedule in 2024, it may still need to do decently in the NFC East (say, splitting 3-3) for a having decent chance at 9 wins. 

 

Now I'll grant, that a competent Washington c-o-u-l-d sweep the NFC South, but going against the very tough AFC North might not yield them many wins.  So, let's assume 4-4 from those match-ups.

 

If so, then it comes down to getting 2 wins from the games vs the Bears, Titans and Cards -- and those teams may have improved themselves since last season.  (And that was assuming  Washington goes 3-3 in the NFC-East; if it turns out to be 2-4, then Washington would need to sweep the Bears, Titans, and Cards.

 

 

[Warhead36]

8 minutes ago, Wyvern said:

I hope you're right Warhead.  But even though Washington enjoys a last place schedule in 2024, it may still need to do decently in the NFC East (say, splitting 3-3) for a having decent chance at 9 wins. 

 

Now I'll grant, that a competent Washington c-o-u-l-d sweep the NFC South, but going against the very tough AFC North might not yield them many wins.  So, let's assume 4-4 from those match-ups.

 

If so, then it comes down to getting 2 wins from the games vs the Bears, Titans and Cards -- and those teams may have improved themselves since last season.  (And that was assuming  Washington goes 3-3 in the NFC-East; if it turns out to be 2-4, then Washington would need to sweep the Bears, Titans, and Cards.

 

 

I mean I'm not expecting it. I think we'll finish around 7-10 but be playing real good football by season's end. But ultimately we don't know what's gonna happen. I mean for chrissakes this team lost to Justin Fields and Tommy Devito last year. 

[Est.1974]

3 hours ago, Wyvern said:

Magic Johnson's interview reinforced my opinion, that Washington is in more of a "rebuild" rather than a "reload.".

17 free agent signings, and counting, was a bit of a clue as well.

[Wyvern]

@Est.1974 Exactly!  But I remember one of his earlier interviews when GM Peters rejected to say that what was going on, was a "rebuild" -- and that led me to believe he was going to re-sign more of Washington's  first-string players who were hitting free agency, and just address the more obvious weaknesses like the O-Line, and the LB corps.  That's before Fuller and Samuel were allowed to leave, and then more departures such as trading Howell and letting Curl sign elsewhere. 

 

Moreover, I'm now getting the sense that the front office is going to move on from (or quickly replace) a lot of Rivera's second and third stringers too.  But even with an aggressive UDFA signing effort plus a lot of waiver wire pickups, that kind of roster overhaul/turnover can often take up to two years, not one. 

 

So, even if/when Washington drafts new QB at #2 (or at #1 or #3) I'm tamping down my expectations for 2024.

[dunfer]

Everything is day 1. Top to bottom rebuild. will we suck next year? tbd

 

Seeing players and coaches sign up with DQ and not just "send their love" makes me appreciate that BJ blew us off. I want to see what DQ can do for years

Edited March 24 by dunfer

[CommanderInTheRye]

8 hours ago, MartinC said:

I’m proud of myself for avoiding the obvious joke here. Played some Rugby League (13 men) back in the day - scrum half. 

 

No worries @MartinC in your absence I took the bait, and stood in capably for you. 🙂

 

After all, we each have our assigned parts to perform, in this black comedic venture, we call life.

 

And as anyone whose studied Shakespeare knows, the fool is a choice role indeed.

 

Cheers!

 

 

[clskinsfan]

8 hours ago, 88Comrade2000 said:

The plan to overtake our division rivals isn’t Magic or Josh; it’s the people they hired to do the job.

 

Let them do their job and hopefully it works out. If not, then the owners can make a change and try again at hiring people who will do that.

Harris showed patience with Rivera. He could have easily fired him during the season and no one would have bashed him for it. I think he will do the same with coaches he hires. Need to be patient enough for them to build their culture.

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

 

 

[redskinss]

1 hour ago, Wyvern said:

@Est.1974 Exactly!  But I remember one of his earlier interviews when GM Peters rejected to say that what was going on, was a "rebuild" -- and that led me to believe he was going to re-sign more of Washington's  first-string players who were hitting free agency, and just address the more obvious weaknesses like the O-Line, and the LB corps.  That's before Fuller and Samuel were allowed to leave, and then more departures such as trading Howell and letting Curl sign elsewhere. 

 

Moreover, I'm now getting the sense that the front office is going to move on from (or quickly replace) a lot of Rivera's second and third stringers too.  But even with an aggressive UDFA signing effort plus a lot of waiver wire pickups, that kind of roster overhaul/turnover can often take up to two years, not one. 

 

So, even if/when Washington drafts new QB at #2 (or at #1 or #3) I'm tamping down my expectations for 2024.

 

I think it's more about the stigma of the word rebuild.

Rebuild is kind of associated with sucking for a few years pretty much intentionally so as to Rebuild the roster as quickly as possible. 

They're using the word recalibrate because they have no intention of tanking or even losing, though that may be what happens while they turn the roster over despite their best efforts to win.