Tag: GM search

Josh Harris’ advisors played key role in Commanders landing GM Adam Peters

Josh Harris’ search for a new GM was “thorough and rapid,” and his advisory committee

Thorough and rapid. That’s how Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris described his search for a general manager last week.

Harris met with the media last Monday — the day after Washington’s season-ending loss to the Cowboys. By Friday, he had hired San Francisco 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters as the team’s new general manager.

Over two days last week, Harris and members of his advisory committee, Bob Myers and Rick Spielman, met with five assistant GMs from other franchises. After the initial set of interviews, Harris narrowed the list to Peters and Chicago Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham.

Peters and Cunningham would undergo another interview, with Harris and his advisors meeting with minority partners Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, and David Blitzer to finalize their decision.

In his weekly column for Sports Illustrated, Albert Breer highlighted the impact of Myers and Spielman in the process of hiring Peters.

Breer noted that Spielman began working with Harris on the weekend of Week 16. That’s the week when the Commanders played the New York Jets on Christmas Eve. However, it was Myers, a longtime friend of Harris from their time in the NBA, who first reached out to Spielman to gauge his interest in meeting with Harris.

Harris made it clear no decision had been made on head coach Ron Rivera’s future, but he wanted to have a list of candidates ready if he moved on from Rivera. So, Spielman, the longtime Minnesota Vikings general manager, accepted Harris’ offer to join his advisory committee, along with Myers, Harris, and his minority owners Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, and David Blitzer.

Spielman went to work on creating a list for a new head of football operations and a head coach.

Spielman’s work through the final two weeks of the season was done quietly. He made calls but didn’t tell folks who he was working for, gathering information discreetly. Then, the Monday after Week 18, once Harris let Rivera go, Spielman drove to Miami and got to work talking with folks such as former Arizona Cardinals GM and Fritz Pollard Alliance exec Rod Graves, former New York Giants GM Jerry Reese, former Jacksonville Jaguars exec Michael Huyghue and former Pittsburgh Steelers GM Kevin Colbert, all whom worked in the league for decades, and attended last month’s accelerator program.

He was on the phone from 7:30 a.m. to about 11 p.m., checking every box on the five guys he’d identified, all of whom carried assistant GM titles: Peters, as well as Kansas City’s Mike Borgonzi, Cleveland’s Glenn Cook, Chicago’s Ian Cunningham, Philadelphia’s Alec Halaby.

Breer’s column included more, detailing the impact of Myers and Spielman on Washington’s search.

Washington fans were concerned, even upset, throughout the season when Harris chose not to fire Rivera. He was correct all along. What would firing Rivera in Weeks 10, 12, or 15 have done for the Commanders?

Instead, behind the scenes, Harris was ahead of the curve, preparing for the most important offseason, arguably, in franchise history.

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.

Commanders reportedly down to 2 candidates for next head of football operations

The Commanders are down to two candidates for their next head of football operations.

And then there were two.

The Washington Commanders fired head coach/head of football operations Ron Rivera on Monday, one day after the team finished 4-13, and quickly went to work, finding his replacements.

Washington requested permission to speak with Adam Peters (49ers assistant GM), Ian Cunningham (Bears assistant GM), Alec Halaby (Eagles assistant GM), Mike Borgonzi (Chiefs assistant GM) and Glenn Cook (Browns assistant GM) to fill the head of operations role.

After interviewing all five candidates over a two-day period on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Commanders are down to two: Peters and Cunningham.

Peters and Cunningham will now go through a second round of interviews that will include owner Josh Harris’ minority partners, David Blitzer, Magic Johnson and Mitchell Rales, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

Harris promised a thorough but rapid process when he spoke to the media on Monday. That’s been the case. Washington has also requested permission to speak with at least seven head-coaching candidates but has yet to begin that process as it wants to have the new head of football operations in place beforehand.

PFT’s Mike Florio criticizes Commanders owner Josh Harris

Some absolutely ridiculous criticism of Harris.

Mike Florio didn’t waste any time criticizing new Commanders majority owner Josh Harris.

Florio, the man behind Pro Football Talk, took aim yesterday at the comments from Josh Harris during the Monday press conference announcing Ron Rivera’s firing and the hiring of Rick Spielman and Bob Myers.

Florio opened “PFT Live” by suggesting that when Harris said, “I’m going to really be somewhat flexible around talent,” that he was signaling “if I decide I want Bill Belichick to be my head coach and I have to give him the keys, though there will be someone who is called the head of football operations, Bill Belichick will still be in charge if that is what it takes.”

Florio went further and questioned the integrity and honesty of Harris.

“Josh Harris is in charge. Is he setting up this network, this table of people who will be advising him to truly, objectively advise him? Or is this all just a way to make it look like what he wants to do anyway, is the right thing to do?” Florio asked.

He then concluded: “It just looks like a meddling owner who’s coming in saying, ‘This is what I want to do.’ ”

Florio expressed a warning to future Washington coaches.

“I don’t know that it’s real attractive to me as a coach if I got to go to a place where I am answering to this person, this person, that person, then I got this person over here, this person over here. That makes it harder not easier for me. There are more people I’ve got to worry about. Who’s on my side? Who’s behind me? Who’s working against me?”

Why is Florio attributing improper motives to Harris like this? Doesn’t this allow Florio to interpret everything negatively that Harris says, painting a very pessimistic, oppositional portrait?

Harris has remained mostly quiet all of his first NFL season. Doesn’t he deserve a more fair hearing? Has Harris, up to this point, done anything to warrant such skepticism, suspicion and mistrust?

49ers insider: San Francisco assistant GM Adam Peters could go to Commanders

Could the Commanders have their next GM by the end of this week?

Have the Washington Commanders already found their next head of football operations/general manager?

Shortly after firing head coach Ron Rivera on Monday, owner Josh Harris announced he had formed an advisory committee to help him find the next head of football operations and head coach for the Commanders.

On Monday, the Commanders requested permission to speak with five candidates for their head of football operations/GM position: 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters, Browns assistant GM Glenn Cook, Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, Chiefs assistant Mike Borgonzi and Eagles assistant GM Alec Halaby.

Harris called Washington’s search a “thorough but rapid process.” He wasn’t kidding. The Commanders have scheduled meetings for all five candidates on Tuesday and Wednesday. Borgonzi, Cook and Peters interviewed on Tuesday, with Cunningham and Halaby scheduled to speak to Harris and his group on Wednesday.

By all accounts, Peters is Washington’s top target, and for good reason. In 21 NFL seasons, Peters has worked for New England, Denver and San Francisco. He has been with the 49ers since 2017 and played an integral role in developing what is arguably the NFL’s best roster. In recent seasons, other teams have requested permission to speak with Peters, but he wasn’t interested in leaving San Francisco.

Has that changed?

Matt Barrows covers the 49ers for The Athletic and believes the time may be right for Peters to make the move, with the Commanders being his preferred destination.

“I think the fact that he’s meeting with the Washington group right now or on his way to do that suggests that he’s ready this year to make the move,” Barrows said Tuesday on “Grant and Danny” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C. “A lot of people I’ve talked to think that this is gonna happen, that he’s going to be the guy that the Commanders hire to be their next GM.”

One of the members of Washington’s advisory committee, Bob Myers — a former Golden State Warriors GM — has close ties with Peters. Peters also worked with current Washington GM Martin Mayhew for four seasons until Mayhew came to Washington in 2021.

Barrows discussed how John Lynch’s promotion this season from GM to president of football operations wasn’t done in order to promote Peters and that if Peters wanted to run his own team, he would need to go elsewhere.

Could the Commanders have their new head of football operations/GM by the end of this week?

 

Commanders 2024 GM search tracker

Keep track of all the news on Washington’s GM search here.

The Washington Commanders fired Ron Rivera on Monday after four seasons as head coach. In addition to Rivera’s role as coach, he also had final say on all personnel matters.

Shortly after dismissing Rivera, Washington managing partner Josh Harris released a statement thanking Rivera while also announcing that he formed a small advisory committee to assist him in finding a new head of football operations and head coach. As Harris stated in his press conference on Monday, these will be separate roles.

The advisory committee consisted of Harris, minority owners Magic Johnson, Mitch Rales and David Blitzer. Additionally, Harris brought on former Golden State Warriors president and GM Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Speilman to serve as a part of his search committee in finding the ideal candidates.

Washington immediately began requesting permission to speak to GM and coaching candidates. We developed a list of potential GM candidates, some of whom the Commanders will interview.

We have you covered on Washington’s GM search as we’ll keep you up to date on all of the latest news here.

Josh Harris is busy: Commanders’ name change not a pressing concern

Josh Harris is focused on improving the Commanders on the field right now — not rebranding.

Washington Commanders majority owner Josh Harris was clear in his Monday press conference. The brand “Commanders” is not at all on his front burner.

Harris knows the Commanders will draw an interest from several capable football people. They have the No. 2 overall selection and five choices in the top 100. The new GM and new head coach will have the opportunity to get the second-best quarterback.

“I’m lucky enough to be supported by an amazing ownership group, and obviously, we think we’re an attractive destination for the next generation of leadership. This is probably amongst the most important jobs I have as a managing partner, and it’s important that I do this personally and get this right and that we bring in the right leadership.”

Harris made it clear Monday that his priority is building the leadership structure first as he is replacing Ron Rivera, and most likely, Martin Mayhew will be replaced soon as well.

“So we’re looking for the best people to build an elite franchise that’s going to consistently compete and win championships. So that’s kind of our goal in terms of the structure.

When the Harris group conducted their initial press conference in July, there were more than a few references to the success of the old “Redskins” in a previous generation. The fan base excitement instantly spread, and talk of dumping the “Commanders” brand swelled.”

In defense of the Harris group, they talked of the success of the old “Redskins;” they did not talk of changing the name back to “Redskins.”

Consequently, when asked Monday about the possibility of a new name other than “Commanders,” Harris responded, “As you can see, we’re a little busy…Working on the next improvements to our stadium, in terms of fan experience, in terms of premium areas, and fixing a lot of different things and investing in the stadium. We’re going to be rolling out a big investment program in the next few weeks, and there’s an enormous amount of detail that the business staff and some of the ownership group are working on. Then, we’ve got obviously our new home and thinking about that. Right now, our focus today is on sports first and foremost, and then these other things and so, those are our focuses right now.”

Leaders must prioritize, determining what must be done and what must not be done. Sounds like Harris has a firm foundation and discerns where his attention should be presently.

Commanders’ Josh Harris on Rivera: ‘Ron’s a consummate professional’

Josh Harris took time to praise Ron Rivera, while acknowledging the Commanders weren’t good enough and that’s going to change.

New Commanders majority owner Josh Harris in his Monday press conference announcing changes are being made, took time to compliment Ron Rivera.

“I think, as you all have heard, we’ve decided to part ways with Ron Rivera. We appreciate Ron’s efforts and everything he did for the franchise.”

Harris acknowledged that Rivera came during an ever-increasingly difficult time under the previous owner. He thanked Rivera for his leadership and how he directed people. Yet, he was also honest, not shying away from the fact that Rivera simply was unsuccessful with the product he put on the field.

“Obviously, he (Rivera) came here during a tumultuous time period, the ownership change, and he really added leadership. But clearly, we weren’t good enough this year. We didn’t get it done on the field. And so, we’ve decided to go in a new direction.”

Harris also did not shy away from being clear about how difficult the season was for him. However, he also quickly transitioned to looking toward the future.  “It’s hard to win four games. From my point of view, we are coming out of this poised for a great future. A lot of draft capital, a lot of cap space, and I’m lucky enough to be supported by an amazing ownership group, and obviously, we think we’re an attractive destination for the next generation of leadership.”

Harris left no doubt regarding his plans for a change in structure. He will not be leaving too much responsibility for one person, such as Ron Rivera did, in leading the coach-centric approach upon his hiring in Jan. 2020.

“My orientation, obviously, is that being the head of football operations, being in essence in that lead role, that’s an 80-hour-a-week job. Being a head coach that’s an 80-hour-a-week job. I think there are two roles there. And so, I think it’s harder. I mean, there are certainly individuals that control everything. I think it’s increasingly hard, so my orientation is not to do that. But on the other hand, I’m going to really be somewhat flexible around talent. So that’s kind of how I’m going to think about it.” 

Harris acknowledged Rivera had remained civil and professional in the difficult season.

“Ron’s a consummate professional, right? Ron’s been in the NFL for a long period of time, and I think he appreciated that. The team didn’t perform this year, so I think that it was not a surprise. I think Ron is a good person, a good man; we continue to have a good relationship.” 

Commanders adviser Bob Myers and 49ers assistant GM Adam Peters have a long history

Could the Commanders lure Adam Peters away from the 49ers?

Do the Washington Commanders have a favorite in their search for a new head of football operations? Washington has requested interviews with several candidates, with San Francisco assistant general manager Adam Peters among those names.

And according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that interview will happen — and soon.

This is significant. As Breer noted, Peters turned down opportunities to interview with the Titans and Cardinals last offseason. It could mean two things. First, Washington’s head of football operations position is extremely attractive.

Secondly, could this be Peters essentially pushing the 49ers into giving him a promotion? San Francisco promoted John Lynch from GM to president of football operations after he received a contract extension earlier this season. Interestingly enough, Lynch’s current title is what Commanders owner Josh Harris titles the position that Peters will interview for in Washington.

Lynch still holds the title of GM, but that could be dropped and given to Peters if he chooses to remain in San Francisco. Peters came to San Francisco in 2017 after eight seasons with the Denver Broncos, working as one of John Elway’s top personnel guys.

Peters is a California native attending Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, Calif. He is also a graduate of UCLA.

Do you know who else is a UCLA graduate and California native? That would be Bob Myers, hired Monday by Washington as an adviser in its search for a head of football ops and head coach.

Myers, the two-time NBA executive of the year and four-time NBA champion, is the architect of one of the NBA’s most dominant teams in recent years, the Golden State Warriors. He’s also been to several 49ers’ games recently.

Myers is from Monte Vista High School in Danville, Calif., which is around 50 miles from where Peters grew up. There is an existing relationship, according to Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network.

Garafolo was incorrect about the two attending the same high school, as we noted above. But does that existing relationship help the Commanders in luring Peters away from the 49ers?

Peters interviewing with Washington so soon could also be good for its prospects. The Commanders would like to wrap up this process so the team can turn its attention to the coaching search. There are others Washington wants to interview, such as Bears assistant GM Ian Cunningham, but it’s clear Peters is among the early favorites.

Commanders hire former Warriors and Vikings GMs as advisers for front office, head coaching search

The former successful GMs have been brought on as advisors to Josh Harris in the search for the next head of football operations and head coach.

The Washington Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera on Monday morning. Shortly afterward, it was revealed the Commanders hired a pair of prominent executives to help managing partner Josh Harris and the ownership group find a new head of football operations and head coach.

Bob Myers, former Golden State Warriors general manager, and Rick Speilman, former Minnesota Vikings general manager, were brought on board to assist ownership.

Myers, 48, is a former NCAA champion basketball player at UCLA who is a two-time NBA Executive of the Year as GM of the Warriors. He served as Golden State’s GM from 2012-2023 before he stepped down in June. Myers also served as the Warriors’ president of basketball operations from 2016-23.

Spielman, 61, is a longtime NFL executive who began his scouting career in 1990 with the Detroit Lions. He spent seven seasons with the Lions in scouting roles before moving to the Chicago Bears for three years as the director of pro personnel. In 2000, the Miami Dolphins hired Spielman as the vice president of player personnel, and he was promoted to GM in 2004.

Spielman left the Dolphins in 2005, working for ESPN until the Minnesota Vikings hired him in 2006 as the vice president of player personnel. He would hold that role until 2011, when he was promoted to general manager. He served as Minnesota’s GM until 2021.

Harris released a statement via ESPN.

“This is a crucial offseason for us, and we won’t shy away from the work needed to get back to a place where we can deliver a winning culture top to bottom,” Harris said in the statement via ESPN. “…I’ve known Bob a long time and watched him construct four championship teams and a highly successful organization in Golden State…He is innovative, thoughtful, well-connected across sports and understands what it takes to solidify and sustain championship infrastructure. I think he’s going to be incredibly additive.”

Myers and Spielman will serve in advisory roles to Harris and are not full-time hires.

Per the ESPN story, current Washington general manager Martin Mayhew and Executive VP of Football/Player Personnel Marty Hurney will remain with the organization for the time being, allowing the next head of football operations to determine their futures.