Does Josh Harris want to model the Commanders after the Ravens?

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris has a plan. In just under three weeks, Harris will likely make significant changes to the organization he and his fellow owners purchased for over $6 billion in July.

The Commanders are expected to move on from head coach Ron Rivera and general manager Martin Mayhew upon the season’s conclusion. Harris, who also owns the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, has already begun making changes to the organization.

In October, the Commanders hired Eugene Shen to head the organization’s analytics department. Shen reportedly was involved in the compensation for the trades of defensive ends Chase Young and Montez Sweat at the NFL trade deadline.

In a new column from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, he mentions what he heard about Harris’ intentions at the NFL owners meetings last week and which NFL franchise Harris might want to model the Commanders after.

No surprise, it was the Baltimore Ravens.

Here’s this from Breer:

We’re all learning on the fly about Commanders owner Josh Harris, who was accompanied by one of his limited partners, Mitchell Rales, at this week’s league meetings in Dallas. And one thing I learned down in Texas over the last few days could at least color how the next couple of months go with the new owners and their team — Harris likes how the Commanders’ beltway rivals from Baltimore do business.

Here’s more from Breer on Shen’s hiring and the thought process behind it:

Seven weeks ago, Washington brought Eugene Shen aboard as its new senior vice president of football strategy, poaching him back from the world of finance, a world to which he’d returned in 2022 after serving as the Jaguars’ vice president of football analytics, and the Dolphins’ director of analytics between ’19 and ’22. For five years before that, Shen cut his NFL teeth helping to run analytics for the always innovative, always forward-thinking Ravens, who have gone so far as to build their own proprietary analytics systems.

That the hire was made before Harris made decisions on the futures of GM Martin Mayhew, top football exec Marty Hurney or coach Ron Rivera is notable for a couple of reasons. First, it’s an indication of how he sees the role—as one that would be there regardless of who the GM or head coach was. Second, it opens the possibility that Shen could have significant input in the next round of hires, whenever they’re made.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome spent 16 years as Baltimore’s general manager until he stepped aside in 2019 for a different role in the organization. At that time, the Ravens promoted Newsome’s top assistant, Eric DeCosta, to the GM position.

Does that mean Harris would hire someone from the Ravens as either a director of football operations or a general manager? Perhaps, because Baltimore has multiple talented executives who will likely be due for promotions.

Of course, it could also mean that Harris just likes how Baltimore is set up. No team has had a better front office structure over a long period of time than the Ravens, Eagles and 49ers. It would make sense for Harris to target an executive from any of these teams as Washington’s next GM.

Regardless of who Harris hires, Washington fans should be excited. The Commanders will finally resemble a stable organization that is built the correct way, with a GM making football decisions, which includes hiring the coach. That doesn’t mean Washington will win, but it does mean the process will finally be correct.