Thursday, July 20, 2023, marked the official end of the Daniel Snyder ownership era of the Washington Redskins/Football Team/Commanders.
He hired ten head coaches in his 24 NFL seasons as owner. He played general manager rather than actually hiring general managers to do the job. He interfered in some drafts and signed free agents he wanted, overruling coaches and scouts who had labored tirelessly.
Snyder’s experienced general manager suddenly resigned in July 1999, just prior to training camp. Snyder had just taken over ownership in May. It was a red flag of what was to come.
The winning percentage for Snyder was only .427. His teams won only two playoff games in Snyder’s 24 seasons, and one of those came in Snyder’s first season (1999) when he had taken ownership in May.
Thursday afternoon, the NFL determined this was not going to be a day to celebrate its new owner, Josh Harris. They made it clear they also wanted to publicly wash their hands of Daniel Snyder.
The NFL also chose to declare the findings of the Mary Jo White report today. White reported the Commanders withheld approximately $11M in revenue that should have been shared with other teams, that Snyder had sexually harassed a former female employee, and the Commanders failed to fully cooperate with her investigation.
NFL released the findings of the independent investigation conducted by former U.S. Attorney and SEC Chair Mary Jo White into allegations of misconduct and financial improprieties made by former employees of the Washington Commanders. The NFL statement: pic.twitter.com/lLQeJTr566
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 20, 2023
Welcome to the Commanders, Josh Harris.
You come at a time that your predecessor could not have lowered the bar much more. His arrogance, his losing record, and his lack of caring for employees and fans have resulted in a severe plunging of fan attendance and revenue of team merchandise.
In one sense, you have a huge challenge in taking over a mess on the business side as well. The number of errors, even in recent years, has been well documented.
Yet, on the other side of the coin, this is a huge opportunity for you, Mr. Harris. You have the opening to set a new vision, create an enjoyable workplace culture, and bring winning on the field back to a once proud and hugely successful franchise.
You can set the direction and expectations of how all employees are to treat one another. You can bring great change to the organization by not merely making rules but also setting a positive example, not the smugness we saw previously.
The fanbase has been through an awful lot these 24 seasons. Perhaps you can launch your ownership era by giving the hometown fans something back for a change.
Again, welcome, Mr Harris. We wish you success in your future endeavors with this franchise.