The Head Coach

Everybody, pretty much, loves the hiring of Adam Peters as General Manager of the Washington Commanders.

Getting a Head Coach on board is a little trickier. I guess you can glean a little bit of the style you can expect from the Commanders under Peters by reviewing the 49ers. One would hope Peters brings a running game over from the West Coast. And a tough defense. You want to just say copy San Francisco. 

But really it starts getting a little clearer the minute they hire a Head Coach and keeps getting clarified as that Coach picks his staff. That's not the end of the intrigue about what exactly Peters is going to do. Free Agency and the Draft will be here before you know it. By September, we should know the general direction Peters wants to take the team. It will be his first roster and maybe not the definitive Adam Peters Roster but it should have a leaning one way or the other.

There is not long to wait. Soon the Super Bowl will be done. And the fun for Washington fans will begin in earnest. It already has for roster geeks. The problem is, though there is not long to wait, a lot can happen during that short time, up to and including the bottom falling out in the Ben Johnson/Mike Macdonald quest.

The young coach motif seems a sure bet since having a GM in the first place usually indicates the Head Coach doesn't have the experience to be the GM. The structure seems to disallow the veteran coach.

It makes a sort of new car sense. You don't get the mechanical problems of the used car. Jim Harbaugh and Bill Belichick would seem a little high maintenance. Although both those guys have a lot of influence in the football world. Harbaugh could still impact the Washington job if Macdonald ascends to the post. Macdonald was his D-Coordinator in Michigan.

I like Jim Harbaugh. I think Belichick is looking for his retirement home. I think Eric Bieniemy is a very strong candidate. I know the talk. His good cop/bad cop doesn't set well with everybody. Neither did Lombardi's. Nor Parcells. The only question I'd have is what he would do on defense. Knowing EB, he probably has some ideas.

If it had been me, I'd have hired Harbaugh right off the bat. But it's not. 

Let's see what Peters has in mind.

Harris is a Lucky Guy

Josh Harris started his era off right on Monday. The parting of the ways with Ron Rivera will be a blessing for both sides. 

Rivera is ready for his next phase. He has turned his misfortune in D.C. into a pot of gold for Harris. This is easily the most opportune offseason Washington has faced since the hiring of Bobby Beathard. Rivera has put the team in position.

The Commanders have money. They have draft picks. They have transformational capacity. How they proceed will be fun to watch. 

Can they win right off the bat? Yes. Can they win right off the bat AND five years down the road? Yes. The former has mainly to do with good coaching. The latter with getting a good GM/front office in place.

There are a lot of good candidates out there for both positions. Harris has picks and money. It is a good time to have picks and money. The timing couldn't be better for Josh in that respect.

I'm personally enamored with joining the Harbaugh Football Family. Wooing Jim Harbaugh to town would save some valuable time. He just won a National Title with Michigan. He could join the rarefied air of Jimmy Johnson and Pete Carroll and win both a Natty and a Lombardi. He had the best O-Line in college ball. He is not allergic to running the ball. And his defense was a swarm of sharks.

The Commanders would be a well-coached ball club.

Harbaugh getting hired would get a jump on the rest of the field. The NFL is a horse race. Getting the post position would be excellent.

Not getting Harbaugh my second choice would be Mike Harbaugh, er, uh, Mike Macdonald (looks like the D is a d which means he's a Highlander), the young guy from the Ravens who is a frequent dinner guest of the Harbaughs.

It is good coaching that will put butts in seats in 2024. That's essential because franchises can be moved if not enough gluteal maximises show up.

Foundation repair is the business of the Front Office.