Did it make me sick to see all the Cowboys fans in our house yesterday? Absolutely. Did it make me sick that they beat us to win the NFC East? Absolutely. But yesterday was the only time in my life that I can remember wanting to lose to the Cowboys. And trusting it will be the last! To secure the #2 slot of draft picks for the best chance of franchise altering trajectory is huge and in the big picture, way more important than this game vs. the despised Cowboys. (Looking forward to seeing the Lions get their revenge @ Dallas in the playoffs!)
If you have been paying attention since the Josh Harris Group took over, there has been so much to like from the jump. Though I was hopeful we may have a good season b/c of the change (very wrong about predicting 11 wins!), it was never about the season on the field. No matter what happened, nothing was going to dampen my optimism with this ownership group. And it shouldn’t for other Washington fans either. Taking over in late July (on my birthday!) gave them no chance to make any moves prior to the season. They communicated that it would be a sit back and evaluate kind of season. And in spite of many fans who wanted Rivera fired before the season ended, Harris stayed true to his word: giving Ron Rivera the full season, no matter what. Which I also think was smart as staying with him when things started unraveling actually gave us the better chance to lose out and get this #2 pick!
And now, we finally get to see what we have long anticipated: the Josh Harris Group ready for their first offseason, with many moves and exciting things upcoming.
As expected, Ron Rivera was let go this morning. Harris put out a very impressive, classy statement, communicating his gratitude for Rivera, and vision for the future.
And Rivera put out a great statement as well. No, this wasn't Danny firing Zorn at 4:30AM- after making him wait around for 2 hours- immediately after the team got back from their game. This was all class and respect, from both sides.
As I have said many times: I don’t think there is a head coach- perhaps ever- that I can think of who has had to deal with more adversity and organizational challenges than Ron Rivera. Cancer. COVID. Team name changes. Investigations. Allegations. Media onslaught. Snyder. Ownership changes. You name it. Yet through it all, he fought. He was determined, and relentless in his efforts to stay the course, not give up, not give in. And do his best. And I will forever respect him and be grateful for what he did here.
Remember what we often saw and grew sick of in years past? Dan and Vinny or Dan and Bruce running around rogue with no smart plan to chase and lure HC candidates? In stark contrast, Harris is demonstrating so much more brilliance and competence, by first surrounding himself with a team of advisors- including the well-respected Bob Myers who was the elite GM of the NBA 4X champ Warriors- to help evaluate who these next hires should be.
This is what smart, forward thinking good organizations do! Not only is it impressive how quickly they have assembled a team, and are jumping into this well thought of plan in lining up multiple interviews. But they have also done it without any leaks along the way!
Now we get to see how this exciting process unfolds and who is hired. For the first time in decades- before Snyder- we are about ready to see a true, successful structure: an actual GM who has true control of football operations (possibly a team president over him), and then a HC who the GM hires, who should have full control over the roster moves, in healthy tandem with the GM, assembling and having full control over the roster.
Why have I been so excited about this offseason?
- Harris Group gets to finally start making their moves with their people.
- We get a complete overhaul from Snyder's previous connections.
- We get a new GM, and possibly team president as well.
- We get a new HC
- We have a surplus of high draft capital: #2 overall round picks, 2- 2nd round picks, 2- 3rd round picks (5 picks in top 100!), and many others!
- We have about 90M of salary cap space!
- We may get a team name rebrand announcement!
- We may get RFK stadium announcement!
Yes, if you are paying close attention, there are many reasons to be excited about the future of the Washington, Burgundy & Gold, NFL football team. We just got to experience our version of "The process" in this 2023 on field season! Time to buy now friends.
This is indeed a new day. The future is NOW!