Tag: Bruce Allen

When will Adam Peters and Dan Quinn speak at the 2024 NFL combine?

When will Adam Peters and Dan Quinn speak at the NFL combine?

Adam Peters took over as the new general manager of the Washington Commanders last month. Peters went straight to work looking for Washington’s new head coach and hired Dan Quinn.

Since then, Quinn has completed his coaching staff while the entire organization remains busy doing current player evaluations ahead of free agency.

But before the Commanders get to free agency, there is the NFL combine. The combine begins Monday in Indianapolis and is the unofficial kickoff to the offseason. While all 32 NFL teams are represented at the combine to evaluate draft prospects, it’s also where we begin to hear a lot of free-agent chatter.

The Commanders have already had a busy offseason, and it’s just getting started. Washington has the most salary cap space heading into free agency and holds the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Additionally, the Commanders hold six picks in the top 103 selections.

Every year, the combine, the GM, and the head coach have a media session with reporters. Not every team participates, but most do. When Bruce Allen was in Washington, he declined, leaving Jay Gruden to speak on Washington’s behalf.

However, the Commanders’ new regime will speak next week.

On Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. ET, Peters will speak to the media. On Wednesday, Quinn gets his turn to talk at 1:00 p.m. ET.

While Peters and Quinn likely won’t reveal much, it’s refreshing for fans and media alike to hear the franchise’s top football decision-makers speaking — and about football.

Commanders named ‘worst landing spot’ for QB Kirk Cousins

Cousins is a free agent, but a fit with Washington doesn’t make sense.

The Washington Commanders need a solution at quarterback. No team has more salary cap space this offseason than Washington. And there happens to be a prominent free-agent quarterback who is expected to be available in March.

If you guessed Kirk Cousins, you would be correct.

Wait, Kirk Cousins and Washington? Could that even be possible?

The answer is yes. Cousins wanted out of Washington after six seasons in the burgundy gold. A fourth-round pick out of Michigan State in 2012 — the same draft when Washington chose Robert Griffin at No. 2 overall — and he would overtake Griffin, appearing in 62 games for Washington, with 57 starts.

The team would apply the franchise tag to Cousins twice, and the quarterback would say all the right things about wanting to remain in Washington. However, there was no way he would stay with Daniel Snyder owning the team and Bruce Allen as general manager.

In case you haven’t heard, Allen is long gone, and Snyder no longer owns the team. That would make a reunion at least possible.

Cousins set numerous franchise records that he still holds today. He was having a phenomenal 2023 season until an Achilles injury ended his season. Outside of that injury, Cousins had only missed two starts in the previous eight seasons.

Yes, the Commanders need a quarterback, and the bad blood Cousins likely held for those in power before is gone. But a reunion doesn’t make sense for multiple reasons.

One, Cousins will be 36 in 2024. His window to win is closing while Washington is rebuilding under new GM Adam Peters. The Commanders hold the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft, where they will likely select their quarterback of the future.

Bleacher Report recently previewed some veteran quarterbacks who could be on the move in 2024. Kirk Cousins was tops on the list. Alex Ballentine named Cousins’ best landing spot (remaining in Minnesota) and his worst landing spot: Washington.

He explained:

The Commanders have the opportunity to draft a franchise-altering quarterback with the No. 2 overall pick. It’s a great chance at a clean slate for an organization that is looking to put the days of Dan Snyder behind them and forge ahead under Josh Harris’ ownership.

So while it could be tempting to use their league-leading $84.3 million in cap space to sign Cousins and have an elite mentor for their new rookie signal-caller, it would be bad for all parties involved.

First, it would be a clear downgrade in terms of weapons. All due respect to Terry McLaurin, but he isn’t Justin Jefferson, and Jahan Dotson isn’t Jordan Addison.

Beyond that, it would just set up an awkward situation. The biggest upside to both Caleb Williams and Drake Maye is that either is a Day 1 starter. They both have incredibly high ceilings, but neither will need the ramp-up time to become a starter.

That’s essentially the truth, outside of the awkwardness. Outside of fans who still despise Cousins for some unknown reasons, the awkwardness wouldn’t be an issue. The fit just doesn’t make sense.

The Commanders are building for the future, while Cousins wants to win now. If you’re banking on a reunion between the two sides, you’ll likely be disappointed.

The Commanders are suddenly attracting quality candidates

Times are changing in Washington.

Washington has not attracted a general manager type since Scot McCloughan in 2015.

Then, the franchise aired McCloughan’s dirty laundry and got rid of him. It was the final straw across the league. Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen would not be able to hire those in high demand.

Following Joe Gibbs’ retirement after the 2007 season, Snyder couldn’t get any candidate to take the job. The previous owner had already gone out and foolishly hired Jim Zorn as his offensive coordinator on Jan. 26, 2008. This meant whoever would be the head coach could not hire his own coordinator. What was Snyder thinking?!

After a couple of weeks of rejections and making no progress, the former owner gave up and proceeded on Feb. 9 to promote Zorn (who had never been an NFL coordinator) to be the Redskins head coach.

One foolish move by the former owner was followed by another foolish move by the former owner.

When the former owner fired Jay Gruden, he hired Ron Rivera, who, while with the Carolina Panthers, had actually only achieved three winning seasons. Yet, one of them brought an NFC Championship. The former owner hired Rivera to be not only his coach but his head of player personnel as well.

“Coach-centric” became the oft-used term in Washington.

Was anyone else going to hire Rivera and give him complete control? Even later, the last two seasons witnessed Rivera offering far more for Carson Wentz than anyone else. Then, he not only hired Eric Bieniemy but also handed over the offense to him and gave him the role of Assistant Head Coach. All while, Bieniemy had no one else pursuing his services.

Ah, it is a new era in Washington with the current owner, Josh Harris. The franchise received all sorts of applicants for the general manager job and was also able to hire the guy they wanted, Adam Peters.

Next week, Peters, Harris and his advisors group will embark on hiring the next Washington Commanders head coach.

Things are trending upward, as the franchise will have several top head coaching candidates hoping to be hired by Washington.

There is an old saying, “Everything rises and falls on leadership.”

Josh Harris and his leadership group have suddenly transformed the perception around the league of what it means to work for the Washington Commanders.

It’s been 25 years since Commanders had a GM with power

Washington will have a real GM for the first time since Charley Casserly.

The Commanders have not had a legitimate general manager since Charley Casserly.

Casserly was the Assistant General Manager serving under Bobby Beathard in the 1980s as Washington won two Super Bowls. When Beathard departed, Casserly was promoted to General Manager, and two seasons later, Washington won its third Super Bowl with Coach Joe Gibbs.

However, when previous owner Dan Snyder took the reigns in 1999, Casserly shocked us all, suddenly resigning just prior to the 1999 training camp. It should have raised flags for all of us.

Since that time, Snyder and Vinny Cerrato ran the team, making personnel decisions, and they beget Bruce Allen and then Ron Rivera.

These are times for Washington fans to raise their hopes, believing this owner, Josh Harris, is going to hire a new general manager who will rebuild this roster, draft well in the draft, and spend wisely in free agency.

Yes, whoever is chosen will make poor draft choices and sign unproductive free agents. They are human; they will err.

Yet, shouldn’t there be an encouraged fan base, knowing there have been so many years the once proud franchise has been without good leadership at the top of its football operations?

Ron Rivera was a nice guy, a good guy. He is not to be trashed. He is not to be slandered. Yet, he was ineffective, not producing a winning season in his four seasons. The franchise does need a major overhaul on the football side of the building.

Merely thinking this organization may include not only a coach who thinks what is best for “this” season but will also possess a GM who is thinking, “What is best for the next four years?”

Now that is a refreshing thought, to think this franchise will once again have leadership capable of rebuilding this roster.

Hey, the first hire could occur within the week!

Trent Williams said 49ers clinched No. 1 seed in Washington was ‘full circle’ moment for him

Trent Williams returned to FedEx Field and helped the 49ers clinch the NFC’s No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs. He discussed his time in Washington.

Trent Williams was supposed to play for the Washington NFL organization forever. For his first nine seasons, things went well between Williams and the organization. Washington’s No. 4 overall pick from the 2010 NFL draft was a perennial Pro Bowler and consistently a bright spot for the team.

However, things changed when Washington’s then-medical staff misdiagnosed a cancerous tumor on his scalp. Williams held out during the 2019 offseason, and when he reported to the team ahead of the NFL trade deadline, then-team president Bruce Allen placed Williams on the non-football injury list.

Williams made it clear his issue was with Allen, not then-owner Daniel Snyder. When Snyder fired Allen after the season, there was hope that new head coach Ron Rivera could mend fences with Williams.

The fences were never mended, and while it’s easy to blame Rivera for that, it’s unclear if Snyder would have ever given Williams a new contract after he had continuously badmouthed the organization.

Things have gone well since then for Williams, as he’s been named first-team All-Pro twice and is in the playoffs every season.

On Sunday, Williams returned to FedEx Field for the first time since his trade during the 2020 NFL draft. He acknowledged there were some emotions, but mostly, it was just another game with so much having passed. And while he is happy in San Francisco, he is thankful for his 10 years in Washington.

“When they dealt me away for nothing, I still had a lot left in the tank,” Williams said after the 49ers’ win over Washington on Sunday, per Kirk Larrabee of 49erswebzone.com. “I think maybe my layoff, battling cancer and stuff, I think a lot of people would think nobody could come back normal, especially at that age. I bet on myself obviously to go to a new organization, but it’s all part of God’s plan. I’m really thankful for my nine years, ten years here, and I think it just made me a better professional overall going to my next chapter.”

Williams has continued to excel since leaving Washington. And at 35, he remains the NFL’s best left tackle.

While the 49ers won Sunday’s game over his former team, Williams accomplished another first — clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed. And it meant something for Williams to do it at FedEx Field.

“It all came full circle,” Williams said. “I’m really blessed to come back here and actually clinch a number one seed and do something I’ve never done in my career before. I’m super grateful for that. It was good seeing familiar faces, but at the end of the day, I wish those guys nothing but the best. I looked at it as another game. Just a game where I knew a lot of people on the sideline.”

Finally, one of the reporters in the locker room spoke to Williams about Washington’s new ownership. Josh Harris and his group purchased the Commanders for over $6 billion in July, meaning a lot had changed since he last donned the burgundy and gold.

Could Williams see a time in his future when he returned to the organization where he spent the first 10 years of his career?

“No, I think I’m a 49er right now,” Williams said with a smile. “I love the ownership here. I love the organization. I could never speak for the future. I’m taking it one day at a time. But they definitely treat me as their own here, so I really can’t see going anywhere else.”

The question wasn’t necessarily if he’d play for Washington again but if he’d return to the organization when it presumably inducts him into the Ring of Fame.

Things have gone well for Williams since leaving Washington’s organization, as he has a chance to win the Super Bowl. At the same time, brighter times are ahead for the Commanders due to their new ownership group.

How does Ron Rivera define a good team culture?

Fans are tired of hearing the word “culture.” Ron Rivera explained what he believed to be a good culture.

Washington fans are probably tired of hearing the word “culture.” It all started back in 2019 when former team president Bruce Allen was asked about Washington’s culture.

His answer would become a meme, one of many things fans and the media would relentlessly — and deservedly mock him for.

Here’s Allen’s answer from 2019.

When Allen was fired at the end of 2019, then-owner Daniel Snyder brought up the word culture when hiring Ron Rivera to oversee all football operations as well as coach the team.

Four years later — with Snyder long gone — Rivera still talks about the culture. Fans, of course, are more concerned with wins, something the Commanders haven’t done enough of in Rivera’s four seasons.

After Sunday’s loss to the Giants, Rivera was asked about coaches being judged by wins and losses. He clearly was uncomfortable with the question but remained professional with his answer.

On Monday, in his day-after press conference with the local media, Scott Abraham of ABC 7 in Washington, D.C., asked Rivera what defines a good culture since there appears to be a disconnect between what Rivera believes and what fans see.

Here’s Rivera’s response:

“OK, again, this is how I look at it,” Rivera began. “Guys learn to do things the right way, and then they go out and do it. Now, that’s what we’re trying to work on, that’s what we’re trying to get across, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to go ahead and get it to the point where we can be consistent with everything we do. Are there some things that are missing right now? Yes. But we’re working to get those things corrected; we’re working to get those things right. At the end of the day, it’s about what happens each day and then forward.”

There’s nothing wrong with that answer. The problem is Washington continues to lose. A good culture is a winning culture. At least, that’s how it’s defined in professional sports.

Rivera is a good man with the best of intentions. He came to Washington with the right ideas. He was the exact leader the franchise needed during some dark days. He improved many areas of the franchise. But the most important thing — winning — he’s fallen short.

Report: Leaked Jon Gruden emails led to Dan Snyder’s demise in Washington

The Commanders will likely have a new owner next week.

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The Washington Commanders will have a new owner soon. Perhaps as soon as next week, when the NFL will hold a special meeting to vote on the sale of the Commanders from Daniel Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris for $6.05 billion.

According to a new report from Don Van Natta Jr. and Seth Wickersham of ESPN, it was the leaked Jon Gruden emails that eventually led to the demise of Snyder as Washington’s owner.

While no one knows for sure who leaked Gruden’s offensive emails that eventually led him to resign as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, the leaks opened up more investigations into Snyder and the Commanders.

Earlier that year, Beth Wilkinson’s nearly yearlong investigation into the organization’s formerly toxic workplace culture had concluded. Snyder voluntarily stepped away from the team’s day-to-day business, inserting his wife Tanya into the co-CEO role, and the organization was fined $10 million.

As far as Snyder being removed as owner of the Commanders by fellow owners, that wasn’t on the table.

Then, the leaked emails occurred.

The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times each published stories containing emails from Gruden to former Washington team president Bruce Allen when Gruden was an employee at ESPN.

ESPN speculated the leaks could have come from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell or NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith, each of whom Gruden insulted in some of the emails. And then there was Snyder. In making Allen — who was fired at the conclusion of the 2019 season — look bad, the theory was Snyder had removed the organization’s biggest problem [Allen].

Lawyers close to the NFL and to Gruden said the choice to leak to the Times over The Washington Post, a newspaper Snyder hates, was a dead giveaway that Snyder and those around him were behind the leaks. Two sources told ESPN that the same “playbook” that was used in the A-Rod lawsuit against MLB was used to leak the emails published by the Times.

“The same crew that helped Alex [Rodriguez] go after [MLB commissioner Rob] Manfred helped Snyder with the leaks,” said another source who was briefed on how the Gruden leaks were engineered.

The original theory of Snyder leaking the emails came in the WSJ story when it was revealed Allen had called the league, upset about the leaking of his emails. Someone from the NFL office told Allen that Snyder’s team had leaked the emails. This is something Allen would later testify to before Congress during its investigation into Snyder and the team.

Regardless of who leaked the emails, it backfired. And that was the beginning of the end for Snyder’s 24-year reign as Washington’s owner.

While Snyder was not forced out as owner of the Commanders, Colts owner Jim Irsay spoke out against him multiple times in 2022, something unheard of in NFL circles. From that point forward, it was clear that Goodell and Snyder’s fellow owners wanted him gone.

Much more was included in the ESPN report.

Bruce Allen said the Commanders hired private investigators to follow him

Bruce Allen said the Commanders hired private investigators to follow him in 2021.

The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform released its final report on the investigation into the Washington Commanders and owner Daniel Snyder.

The report alleges Snyder “permitted and participated” in the team’s toxic workplace culture and intimidated witnesses from participating in the investigation. You can find the full report here.

There were several interesting bits of news to come from Thursday, many of which centered around former team president Bruce Allen. Allen testified in front of the committee in September and was initially shocked his private emails from when he worked for Washington were leaked to the Wall Street Journal.

The leaked emails eventually led to Jon Gruden’s resignation as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. When Allen called NFL counsel Lisa Friel to complain about the leak, he was informed by Friel that the leak came from the Commanders’ side.

“We didn’t do it at the league office,” Friel told Allen, per Allen. “It came out of their side.”

Another interesting aspect of Allen’s testimony was that he was surveilled last year.

How did he know he was under surveillance?

“My wife was concerned,” Allen’s deposition read. “We live in a—we had just moved into a home. And the street’s a real narrow street. It’s hard [for] two cars even to go by. And she saw a car out there the night before, and then in the morning it was there, and it’s running, the engine’s running. And I had made some coffee. And I went out. And the gentleman stepped out of the car, and he said, “Hi, Mr. Allen.” I said, “Well, that’s interesting. You need a cup of coffee? Are you here to serve me with a subpoena or something?” He said, “No, we’re just here to follow you,” and something like “document your actions.”

When was Allen under surveillance?

“Yes. It was in around—well, I don’t know when it started,” Allen said. “I met him I think in— right around beginning of March. But I don’t know when it started, and I don’t know if it stopped.”

How did Allen know it was the Commanders who were following him?

“The one who followed me told me the Washington Football Team hired him,” Allen said.

Since the Washington Post’s July 2020 story, Snyder has deflected blame on Allen for the organization’s toxic workplace culture, even in instances before Allen worked for the organization.

Snyder admitted in his deposition he hired private investigators but didn’t remember the specifics. Here’s an excerpt of the report:

For example, although Mr. Snyder admitted to using private investigators, he testified that he was “unaware” whom his investigators approached and did not “remember” having conversations with his counsel about the individuals targeted. admitted to using private investigators, he testified that he was “unaware” whom his investigators approached and did not “remember” having conversations with his counsel about the individuals targeted. Among the individuals that Mr. Snyder claimed he could not recall as targets of the private investigators were: Brad Baker, who had publicly alleged that Team executives ordered the creation of lewd cheerleader videos at Mr. claimed he could not recall as targets of the private investigators were: Brad Baker, who had publicly alleged that Team executives ordered the creation of lewd cheerleader videos at Mr. Snyder’s direction; John Moag, an investment banker who had represented the Commanders former minority owners in their efforts to sell their stake in the Team and who Mr. Snyder accused of leaking disparaging information about him; and Mr. Allen, whom Mr. Snyder publicly blamed for the Commanders’ toxic work environment.

Snyder fired Allen in December 2019, which led to the hiring of current head coach Ron Rivera. Snyder hired the current team president, Jason Wright, in August 2020.

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Bruce Allen testifies that league office blamed Commanders for leaking Jon Gruden emails

Bruce Allen vs. Dan Snyder continues.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a 79-page report Thursday alleging that Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder “permitted and participated” in the organization’s toxic workplace culture.

Something else of note in the report concerned the fall of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden. Gruden resigned in Oct. 2021 after multiple email exchanges between him and former Washington team president Bruce Allen were revealed in a Wall Street Journal story contained racist, misogynistic, and homophobic slurs.

There has long been a debate about who leaked the emails. Snyder has been accused but his wife, and co-owner Tanya Snyder, strongly denied leaking the emails.

According to Allen, in his testimony to the House Committee, an NFL executive told him that the Commanders were responsible for leaking the emails. If true, the goal of Washington would have been to make Allen look bad, whom Snyder had fired in Dec. 2019.

Here’s an excerpt from the report.

According to public court records, in April 2021, Mr. Snyder filed a petition in federal court seeking to compel documents and information from Mr. Allen.136 Around the same time, Mr. Snyder and his lawyers collected more than 400,000 emails from Mr. Allen’s Commanders email account and used some of them in Mr. Snyder’s public court filings. Mr. Snyder also used the information collected on Mr. Allen to present “evidence” to the NFL that Mr. Allen was responsible for the Commanders’ toxic work culture.

By June 2021, Mr. Snyder one went step further: he identified for the NFL “specific inappropriate Bruce Allen emails” to bolster his claims that Mr. Allen was to blame for the toxic workplace culture.139 Public reports indicate that, although the NFL found Mr. Allen’s emails troubling, it determined that they were “outside the scope of the original probe of the Washington Football Team.

In October, Allen had learned that many of the emails obtained by Snyder from his Washington email address had been leaked to the Wall Street Journal.

From there, Allen called NFL counsel Lisa Friel to complain. Friel then allegedly told Allen the Commanders were responsible for the leak.

“We didn’t do it at the league office,” Friel reportedly said. “It came out of their side.”

Allen worked for Washington from Dec. 2009 to Dec. 2019.

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Attorneys for Daniel Snyder send letter to House Oversight Committee

Snyder’s attorneys call the House investigation “a politically inspired hatchet job.”

Fans and everyone around the NFL were shocked to see Washington Commanders Daniel Snyder at AT&T Stadium on Sunday with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

Even more shocking was Washington’s social media channels acknowledging Snyder ahead of the game while he remains under investigation by the NFL and the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

It was later revealed Snyder has been at every Washington game this season, but that was the first time he was seen down on the field.

On Wednesday night, Michael Phillips of the Richmond Times-Dispatch broke the story of Snyder’s attorneys sending a letter to the House committee questioning the fairness of the investigation, calling it “a politically inspired hatchet job.”

In the letter, Snyder’s attorneys called into credibility some of the witnesses who have testified for the committee.

On former team president Bruce Allen:

It is widely acknowledged that the single most significant step the Team took to remedy its toxic workplace was to rid itself of Mr. Allen. The fraternity-house culture that Mr. Allen instilled in the Commanders organization is the principal reason that the Commanders came under investigation in the first place. If the Committee had desired, it could have interviewed any of the current employees of the Commanders whose tenure extended back to the Allen years. Those employees would, almost universally, have identified Mr. Allen’s departure as the date that the Team culture began to turn around. Prior to Mr. Allen’s deposition, my law firm provided the Committee with a small sample of his workplace communications. That the Committee would nevertheless choose to sponsor such a witness, in full awareness of the racist, misogynistic, and homophobic beliefs he tolerated and espoused in his e-mail conversations with his friends, is truly astounding. I was informed that, when confronted with these e-mails at his deposition, Mr. Allen’s lawyer questioned their authenticity—despite the fact that these e-mails had been relied upon by the NFL in its investigation of the Team, and despite the fact that a frequent participant in these conversations, former Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, immediately resigned when even a tiny sample of them was leaked to the media.

The letter states that Allen, Jason Friedman, Melanie Coburn and David Pauken are “most embittered by their enforced separation from the Team—the same people who were responsible for the toxic workplace culture—and has given them a platform to settle old scores.”

The letter was addressed to Carolyn Maloney, the chairwoman of the House committee, and was written by Tom Davis,  former House committee chairman from 2003-2007. Davis is now a partner at Holland & Knight, the law firm that represents the team.

The letter talks of Washington’s new culture, led by team president Jason Wright, which has been praised around the NFL. It notes how no one from the House committee chose to interview any current employee concerning the complete turnaround of the franchise’s workplace culture.

There is much more included in the letter, including multiple exhibits the team shared in defense of Snyder and the team.

We’ll continue to follow this story.