Tag: Jason Wright

Commanders make another key off-field hire

Josh Harris continues to make positive changes for the Commanders, hiring a new senior director of player health and performance.

Josh Harris is slowly remaking the Washington Commanders to his liking. It began in October when Harris made his first big hire, naming Eugene Shen as Washington’s senior vice president of football strategy.

In January, Harris hired Adam Peters as Washington’s new general manager, followed by head coach Dan Quinn. Quinn then proceeded to assemble an excellent coaching staff that has drawn praise from around the NFL.

Earlier this week, the Commanders hired Jim Rushton as the franchise’s new chief partnerships officer. Rushton will oversee all aspects of sponsorship and report directly to team president Jason Wright.

On Wednesday, Harris made another hire, naming Tim McGrath as senior director of player health and performance. McGrath initially joined Washington as a consultant toward the end of the 2023 season. He will oversee all athletic training, strength and conditioning, nutrition, sports science and player wellness programs in the organization.

McGrath comes to Washington with a wealth of experience in pro sports (20 years) and clinical experience (22 years).

McGrath will use sports science to develop individual plans for every Washington player. This is another big-time hire by Harris, who has proven in each of his other organizations he will do everything in his power to make life better for the players.

Peters released the following statement:

“Tim McGrath has been an incredible resource for our players since joining the organization as a consultant towards the end of last season,” said Peters. “I’m excited to officially welcome him to the organization in a full-time capacity as our senior director of player health and performance. I’ve been impressed with the time I’ve spent with him since I was hired here in January. He has a vast knowledge in all areas of player wellness and athlete performance and will play a vital role in improving our overall athletic training and athlete care services here in Washington.”

 

Commanders make a key off-field hire

The Commanders make a key hire to the business side of the organization.

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris continues to remake the franchise he purchased in July. Harris’ first hire occurred in October when he hired Eugene Shen as Washington’s new senior vice president of football strategy.

Harris made his most significant hire in January, naming Adam Peters as the new general manager. From there, Harris and Peters hired Dan Quinn as head coach.

Now, Harris is making moves on the business side. After FedEx announced it was backing out of the final two years of its naming-rights partnership with the Commanders, it left the former FedEx Field without a sponsor.

On Monday, Washington announced the hiring of Jim Rushton as the new chief partnerships officer. Rushton comes from the Los Angeles Chargers and will help in Washington’s search for a new stadium naming-rights partner. Rushton will oversee all aspects of sponsorship and help shape the franchise’s revenue generation strategy.

“Jim is a dynamic sports and entertainment sales and marketing leader with a unique ability to combine vision, strategy, and execution to deliver quantifiable revenue growth,” team president Jason Wright said.

“He brings both creative and analytical skills to his work and is an inclusive leader who will be able to make an immediate impact in this role.”

Rushton will report directly to Wright.

 

New Commanders assistant Anthony Lynn loves the team’s leadership

Lynn praises Dan Quinn and Adam Peters’ leadership and explains why he left the 49ers for Washington.

Two weeks ago, San Francisco’s assistant head coach and running backs coach, Anthony Lynn, was coaching his team to a tie in the Super Bowl, which they eventually lost in overtime.

He was not fired, and yet he decided to come to Washington, where he will not be an assistant head coach.

Nor will Lynn be the offensive coordinator. That job had already been filled by former Cardinals head coach Kliff Kingsbury. So why did Lynn decide to leave a better organization with much better offensive personnel?

“I love the leadership here; that’s what brought me here, Dan Quinn and Adam Peters and even the president Jason Wright.”

“Dan and I came up the same way; we had the same agent. He connected us together and said you guys are so much alike; I want you to meet each other. We’ve been friends ever since.”

An opportunity appeared, and so Quinn offered Lynn to come be his running game coordinator. Lynn jumped at the chance.

“We’ve talked about doing it together one day. He went to the Falcons, and I went to the Chargers as head coaches, so it didn’t work out for us, but now we are here.”

Why would Lynn leave an offense that included Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Trent Williams, Brock Purdy and George Kittle? In addition, why would he leave the NFC Champions and come to the last-place Commanders?

“I just know what type of man he is. I know what type of leadership the organization has now. You bring Adam Peters here, I’ve worked with Adam the last two years in San Francisco. He is awesome.”

When asked by Scott Abraham what he thought the coaching staff may have in common, Lynn responded succinctly, “Good people; Dan brought the right people into the building.”

You can listen to Lynn here, courtesy of 106.7 The Fan.

Who will remain with the Commanders in their football operations?

Adam Peters has a lot of decisions to make regarding the current front office. Who remains?

Adam Peters being hired Friday by owner Josh Harris, takes on the responsibility to structure the front office of the football operations.

The second major concern for Peters (behind his hiring a head coach) will be those in the front office personnel. Of those currently present, whom will Peters retain and whom will he not keep, only one is a certainty. Eugene Shen (Senior VP of Football Strategy), recently hired by Harris, will remain.

Thus, the future is uncertain for Jason Wright (Team President), Martin Mayhew (General Manager), Marty Hurney (Vice President of Player Personnel), and Rob Rogers (Senior Vice President of Football Administration).

Doug Williams is certainly a question mark. Williams, during the Bruce Allen administration, possessed a couple of titles, yet even Williams talked of how he was not even involved in something as major as the 2018 trade that brought quarterback Alex Smith to Washington.

Williams was given a vague title of a personnel executive, which was the first red flag. Then Williams, in 2017, was promoted to the position of Senior Vice President of Player Personnel. But again Williams often provided vague answers when before the press, which sometimes were more revealing than informative.

When Ron Rivera became the coach-centric administrator of football operations, Williams was moved out of player personnel entirely into player development. After one season, he then became a “senior advisor to Jason Wright.”

The entire player personnel department might be in question. 11 scouts and a player personnel assistant are currently employed, while the department is headed by Eric Stokes (Senior Director of Player Personnel), Chris Polian (Director of Pro Personnel) and Tim Gribble (Director of College Personnel).

Ownership change made a big impact on Commanders’ business in 2023

The Commanders led all NFL teams in attendance growth from 2022 to 2023.

Washington Commanders president Jason Wright said before the team was sold last year that the franchise would see a massive boost in business once the team was sold. In July, a group led by Josh Harris purchased the Commanders from Daniel Snyder for just over $6 billion.

“When there’s an ownership change, we’ll be able to absorb the momentum of that,” Wright said. “They know that. I’m not saying anything that Dan and Tanya don’t know.”

When the deal was finalized in July, there were parties throughout the DMV. Heck, even Harris bought beers for several fans at one event.

Harris spoke of his goals for the Commanders in 2023: Fan experience and improving FedEx Field were among his top priorities. Mission accomplished. Harris and his ownership group immediately invested $40 million in improvements to FedEx Field.

The business did improve. Washington announced a Week 1 sellout. More sellouts followed, but unfortunately for the Commanders, they won only one home game in 2023. So, while they sold out FedEx Field, several games were taken over by opposing fans.

In a new story from Ben Fischer and David Broughton of the Sports Business Journal, Washington led all NFL teams in attendance growth from the 2022 season to the 2023 NFL season.

The Commanders led all NFL teams in attendance growth with a 10% gain in their average crowd size to 63,951, according to an SBJ analysis of published box scores for the 2023 season.

That’s good news for Harris. It also led to an increase in ticket prices, something that didn’t go over well with some.

There is plenty of optimism surrounding the Commanders, despite just completing a 4-13 season. Harris fired head coach Ron Rivera on Monday and immediately went to work reshaping the organization, beginning with a search for the next head of football operations.

Will the Commanders move on from team president Jason Wright?

Could Washington’s upcoming housecleaning also include team president Jason Wright?

Changes are on the horizon for the Washington Commanders. Head coach Ron Rivera will be relieved of his duties after four seasons sometime after Sunday’s regular-season finale against the Dallas Cowboys.

While Washington will need a new coach — who will hire his own staff — it will also need a new general manager. Rivera has served as Washington’s chief football decision-maker since his hiring in Jan. 2020.

Martin Mayhew is Washington’s general manager, while Marty Hurney is the vice president of player personnel — Rivera hired both.

There will be many changes on the football side; some would even say there will be wholesale changes.

But what about the business side?

Washington hired Jason Wright to serve as team president in Aug. 2020. A former NFL player, Wright came to Washington with an impressive resume. He led the franchise’s rebranding efforts to its current nickname, the “Commanders,” which was unveiled in Feb. 2022.

While Wright has done some good things since arriving, there have also been many mistakes, sometimes simple mistakes. Much like Rivera, there is some sympathy for Wright, considering he entered an almost impossible situation, working for former owner Dan Snyder.

But with a new regime coming, could Wright also be on the way out?

On Friday’s edition of “PFT Live,” Mike Florio and Peter King discussed Washington’s future.

“He (Rivera) knows what’s coming, we all know what’s coming,” Florio said. Ron Rivera will be replaced. Martin Mayhew, the GM, will be replaced. Jason Wright, the president of the team, most likely will be replaced…………. I feel like the housecleaning is coming.”

There is nothing definitive here. Wright’s status has been less certain than Rivera’s since Harris took over, as he’s often seen with Harris at Washington’s games.

Harris could choose to keep Wright aboard, considering the team’s business has dramatically improved since Snyder sold the team. Is that due to Wright or just the fact that Snyder is gone? That’s likely the latter.

Regardless of Wright’s status, it should be a busy week for the Commanders.

Commanders president Jason Wright praises Sam Howell in letter to season ticket holders

Does this indicate what ownership thinks of Sam Howell for 2024?

Washington Commanders’ season ticket holders received a letter from team president Jason Wright on Wednesday regarding a price increase for 2024.

The average season ticket price will increase by 8.9%, according to Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post.

The Post received a copy of that letter, in which Wright outlines the improvements the Commanders continue to make to FedEx Field — they invested $40 million after new ownership assumed control of the team in July — and what can be expected in 2024.

Here’s an excerpt of that letter, courtesy of Jhabvala:

Numerous season ticket holders were obviously upset about the rate increase, mainly since Josh Harris and his ownership group just bought the team in July.

What stood out most in Wright’s letter was the mention of quarterback Sam Howell.

Was Wright’s analysis his own? Did the praise come from someone on the football side, such as head coach Ron Rivera or general manager Martin Mayhew? Or did ownership craft the letter?

If it’s the latter, that could indicate what the new ownership group thinks of Howell moving forward.

The second-year quarterback has had his share of ups and downs this season, but his play has been a bright spot overall. After a solid three-game stretch from Weeks 8-10, Howell has struggled a bit over the past three games. With the Commanders almost assured of landing a top-five pick, selecting a quarterback in the 2024 NFL draft is a high possibility.

Washington’s primary concern is upgrading the offensive line. Howell has been sacked 58 times, some of which is on him, but anyone who watches the Commanders understands pass protection was an issue before the season began.

Howell will enter 2024 in the third year of a cheap rookie contract. Of course, he will be on the roster. Does that mean he will be competing with a rookie, or will the Commanders sign another veteran, like Jacoby Brissett, to back up Howell and build the roster around him?

There’s a good chance that Harris will turn over the entire front office and coaching staff. If a new regime likes Howell, that’s good news for the Commanders. But Harris isn’t the type of owner to stand in the way of potential new hires if they want to upgrade the quarterback position.

The 2024 offseason will be critical for Washington as it will shape the franchise for years to come.

Commanders raise season ticket prices for 2024

A few days after the Miami Dolphins took over FedEx Field, Washington season ticket holders learned of a price increase for 2024.

The Washington Commanders are winning off the field. Under new owner Josh Harris, the Commanders have sold out all six home games at FedEx Field this season.

Of course, those sellouts come with a bit of a disclaimer, as a late surge by Miami Dolphins fans last week helped sell out FedEx Field. Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa and wide receiver Tyreek Hill were pleasantly surprised by the amount of Miami fans in Maryland.

The “winning off the field” line is a throwback to former team president Bruce Allen, who proclaimed at the end of the 2014 season that the then-Redskins were winning off the field after a 4-12 season. Interestingly enough, the Commanders could be headed to another four-win season in 2023.

Currently 4-9, Washington has lost four in a row and nine of its last 11 games. The Commanders have been outscored 90-25 in their previous two games.

While Washington limps to the finish line of another lost season, season ticket holders received a notice on Wednesday about their 2024 season tickets. And, per Nicki Jhabvala of The Washington Post, there will be an average 8.9% increase in 2024.

Several season ticket holders posted about the increase on social media.

One fan told Jhabvala it was a bold move by the new ownership group.

“It’s kind of a bold move by Josh Harris,”  20-year Washington season ticket holder Kenny Alvo said. “……..I understand how sports work. Things get pricier. Things get more in demand as every year goes on. But for a franchise that has dealt with what we have dealt with in Washington, it’s a terrible look, I feel, to do it in [season] two of [his ownership].

The Commanders have had trouble filling FedEx Field for years, and if not for the fans of opposing teams, the multiple sellouts likely would not have occurred. While a rate increase appeared inevitable, considering the Harris group’s investments into FedEx Field and the increased demand, the timing isn’t optimal.

In a letter to the ticket holders, current team president Jason Wright outlined the team’s optimism for 2024, noting how the Commanders have five draft picks in the top 100 of the 2024 NFL draft and ample cap space to make roster improvements.

 

Jason Wright says bringing back Washington’s old name ‘is not being considered, period’

Wright shuts down any possibility of Washington going back to its old name.

For those fans holding out hope that new owner Josh Harris would change the Washington Commanders name back to an old, familiar one, that’s not happening, according to team president Jason Wright.

During an appearance on “BMitch and Finlay,” on 106.7 The Fan in Washington, D.C., Wright was asked about a potential, specifically the former name, “Redskins.”

“It is not being considered. Period,” Wright said bluntly, per Lou DiPietro of Audacy.

A potential name change has been on the radar since Harris and his team took over on July 20. Minority owner Magic Johnson said during an interview on the TODAY Show that “everything is on the table” when asked about a name change.

When Harris was asked about the name, he didn’t mention changing the name, but he was noncommital in discussing the name, citing other areas the team was focused on, such as improving FedEx Field and the fan experience.

There was also the petition from the Native American Guardians Association (NAGA), which has over 125,000 signatures.

Finlay then asked if a rebrand was being considered at all.

“We have three big priorities for new ownership: building a championship-caliber team on the field and investing in amenities we need to do so, improving the guest experience, and re-engaging with the community,” Wright said. “Josh and the limited partners will be in the community leading up to game day, including a big kickoff party at Franklin Park on Sept. 8, so we’ll see what happens.”

Wright’s answer aligns with what Harris has said. If a rebrand is being considered, it’s not happening anytime soon.

Many fans want to see a complete rebranding. However, other fans are happy to see Daniel Snyder gone and just want to win.

Wright touted Washington’s newfound business success since Harris took over in July. He mentioned the Commanders’ new corporate partnerships, attendance at training camp and what is expected to be a sold-out FedEx Field for Week 1 in less than two weeks.

Wright’s definitive answer on the name isn’t likely to endear him to the portion of Washington’s fan base hungry for a return to the past.

Commanders renew relationship with Bud Light

Bud Light becomes the exclusive beer partner of the Commanders.

One day after the Washington Commanders announced a partnership with Verizon, the NFL franchise renewed its previous relationship with Bud Light, making them the exclusive beer provider of the Commanders.

Washington president Jason Wright released the following statement:

We are thrilled to partner with Anheuser-Busch again to create a new and improved experience for Commanders fans. Bringing Anheuser-Busch back to FedExField as a partner not only reflects their confidence in our organization, but also their commitment to our fans, who are the most loyal in NFL. More importantly, we are pleased to have a partner who shares our commitment to giving back and to supporting our military, as we continue to expand engagement programs locally for first responders and families of fallen soldiers.

Matt Davis, VP of Partnerships at Anheuser-Busch, also released a statement regarding the partnership.

We are excited to have the Commanders back on our NFL roster. This partnership continues to further our commitment to football and its local fanbases across the country. As the Official Beer Sponsor of the NFL, we want to show up in moments that matter for football fans all year long. Our history with the Washington franchise runs deep, and these fans are some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the nation. We’re excited to bring more easy enjoyment to fans throughout the year.

Bud Light previously ended its relationship with Washington in March 2022 after the NFL had hired former Securities and Exchange Commission chair Mary Jo White to investigate harassment allegations against former owner Daniel Snyder.

The Commanders were sold from Snyder to a group led by Josh Harris last month.