The Washington Commanders… A team in transition!

[Stymietee]

The 2024 season and 2025 Commanders' season lie in stark contrast to one another, but what we are really seeing in the opposing seasons is not, as some speculate, a bad team or, as others opine, more of the same that marked the Snyder era. Instead, I’ll argue that what we’re seeing are growing pains and a transition from an NFL afterthought to league prominence. The 2024 QB draft class is having an impact on the league not seen since the 1983 NFL Draft class, which produced John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason (1 SB app), Ken O’Brien (2x Pro Bowl), and Todd Blackledge. As I write this, four QBs from the 2024 class will, or have, played in a playoff game. They are Daniels, Williams, Maye, and Nix. So, what do we make of this?

Well, for the Commanders…

There are three foundational legs to building a perennial contender in the NFL. The first one is decent ownership, where great ownership is a bonus; you absolutely cannot have terrible Snyderism, meaning steady, non-interfering ownership will suffice for this purpose. Second, a coach that knows what he’s doing, and of course, a quarterback. Now, it’s important to note that you don’t always need all three to contend. We’ve seen teams reach the playoffs with at least one of those elements missing, but the kind of transitional changes that give you long-term franchise stability require all three to be in place. While I am not yet convinced that Josh Harris is a great owner, it can reasonably be suggested that he is at least a decent one, thus far in his first few years as the team owner. Aside from injury concerns, does anyone doubt that Washington has its long-term QB in place? So, in terms of long-term stability, the Commanders already have two of these key players in place, which means the focus now has to be on their current head coach, Dan Quinn, and whether he has the chops to guide this franchise back to steady, years-long prominence.

So what does prominence mean?...

In his eight year as an NFL head coach Dan Quinn, with Matt Ryan/Jayden Daniels quarterbacking his teams, Quinn has a 60-59-0 W/L record (.504) and his ventures into the playoffs has netted him a 5-3 W/L/ record (.625), So, we can reasonably expect some manner of competitive team stability as Adam Peters retools the team and takes a hard look at the man that currently lead the team, with this in mind… If you have the right coach and the right QB, there’s no four-year rebuild, barring injury; two will do, and by year three, you know for certain. At this point, let me take a moment to look at a couple of historical and current events relevant to this post.

Jon Gruden replaces Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay (2002).

Andy Reid goes from Philadelphia to Kansas City (2013)

John Harbaugh is fired in Baltimore (2026)

Mike Tomlin steps down in Pittsburgh (2026)

In each of these cases, there was a team with a championship-caliber foundation that needed fresh eyes and hands-on experience with the product to get it over the top. The lone exception, Pittsburgh, a team that lacked a QB because of playoff-level stability, was never in a position to draft one. Using that backdrop, Quinn could surprise, but considering his background and NFL experience, he becomes the biggest question mark of that three-pronged foundation. As an NFL head coach, he’s solid, not exceptional, but better than average. Is he the kind of head coach that this franchise, with a championship caliber foundation, the kind of head coach that the ownership and Commanders’ Nation will be clamoring for after stabilizing playoff contention has been established? I think not! In two previous trips to either the SB or NFCCG, his teams could not finish the job. He’s 0-2 in such games, and there’s no reason to believe that he can become the 13th Head coach who lost a Super Bowl before winning one or the 6th Head coach who lost a conference championship before winning a Super Bowl in history. These 17 coaches all experienced a major postseason failure before eventually breaking through and winning a Super Bowl, but Quinn has the distinction of falling into a much smaller group of 6 men who have lost both a Super Bowl and a Conference championship before winning a Super Bowl. I think that it matters that their names are Don Shula, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Bill Cowher, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay because IMO he is not in the same class as any of them.

Again, Quinn could surprise, but I think that his future is predictable if Washington builds what’s perceived to be a championship-caliber roster around Jayden Daniels, but falls short, the outcome is almost always the same in the modern NFL: the organization reaches a breaking point, and the coaching staff becomes the focal point of change. In Quinn's case, after having made major coaching position changes already, there's little doubt that the breaking point could come before the end of his current multi-year contract.

 

[kbso83432]

The 2024 season and 2025 Commanders' season lie in stark contrast to one another, but what we are really seeing in the opposing seasons is not, as some speculate, a bad team or, as others opine, more of the same that marked the Snyder era. Instead, I’ll argue that what we’re seeing are growing pains and a transition from an NFL afterthought to league prominence. The 2024 QB draft class is having an impact on the league not seen since the 1983 NFL Draft class, which produced John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason (1 SB app), Ken O’Brien (2x Pro Bowl), and Todd Blackledge. As I write this, four QBs from the 2024 class will, or have, played in a playoff game. They are Daniels, Williams, Maye, and Nix. So, what do we make of this?

Well, for the Commanders…

There are three foundational legs to building a perennial contender in the NFL. The first one is decent ownership, where great ownership is a bonus; you absolutely cannot have terrible Snyderism, meaning steady, non-interfering ownership will suffice for this purpose. Second, a coach that knows what he’s doing, and of course, a quarterback. Now, it’s important to note that you don’t always need all three to contend. We’ve seen teams reach the playoffs with at least one of those elements missing, but the kind of transitional changes that give you long-term franchise stability require all three to be in place. While I am not yet convinced that Josh Harris is a great owner, it can reasonably be suggested that he is at least a decent one, thus far in his first few years as the team owner. Aside from injury concerns, does anyone doubt that Washington has its long-term QB in place? So, in terms of long-term stability, the Commanders already have two of these key players in place, which means the focus now has to be on their current head coach, Dan Quinn, and whether he has the chops to guide this franchise back to steady, years-long prominence.

So what does prominence mean?...

In his eight year as an NFL head coach Dan Quinn, with Matt Ryan/Jayden Daniels quarterbacking his teams, Quinn has a 60-59-0 W/L record (.504) and his ventures into the playoffs has netted him a 5-3 W/L/ record (.625), So, we can reasonably expect some manner of competitive team stability as Adam Peters retools the team and takes a hard look at the man that currently lead the team, with this in mind… If you have the right coach and the right QB, there’s no four-year rebuild, barring injury; two will do, and by year three, you know for certain. At this point, let me take a moment to look at a couple of historical and current events relevant to this post.

Jon Gruden replaces Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay (2002).

Andy Reid goes from Philadelphia to Kansas City (2013)

John Harbaugh is fired in Baltimore (2026)

Mike Tomlin steps down in Pittsburgh (2026)

In each of these cases, there was a team with a championship-caliber foundation that needed fresh eyes and hands-on experience with the product to get it over the top. The lone exception, Pittsburgh, a team that lacked a QB because of playoff-level stability, was never in a position to draft one. Using that backdrop, Quinn could surprise, but considering his background and NFL experience, he becomes the biggest question mark of that three-pronged foundation. As an NFL head coach, he’s solid, not exceptional, but better than average. Is he the kind of head coach that this franchise, with a championship caliber foundation, the kind of head coach that the ownership and Commanders’ Nation will be clamoring for after stabilizing playoff contention has been established? I think not! In two previous trips to either the SB or NFCCG, his teams could not finish the job. He’s 0-2 in such games, and there’s no reason to believe that he can become the 13th Head coach who lost a Super Bowl before winning one or the 6th Head coach who lost a conference championship before winning a Super Bowl in history. These 17 coaches all experienced a major postseason failure before eventually breaking through and winning a Super Bowl, but Quinn has the distinction of falling into a much smaller group of 6 men who have lost both a Super Bowl and a Conference championship before winning a Super Bowl. I think that it matters that their names are Don Shula, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Bill Cowher, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay because IMO he is not in the same class as any of them.

Again, Quinn could surprise, but I think that his future is predictable if Washington builds what’s perceived to be a championship-caliber roster around Jayden Daniels, but falls short, the outcome is almost always the same in the modern NFL: the organization eventually reaches a breaking point, and the coaching staff becomes the focal point of change. In Quinn's case, there's little eventuality and that breaking point could come before the end of his current multi-year contract.

I'm driving. Will definitely give this a read when I get home.

 

[skinz2winz]

The 2024 season and 2025 Commanders' season lie in stark contrast to one another, but what we are really seeing in the opposing seasons is not, as some speculate, a bad team or, as others opine, more of the same that marked the Snyder era. Instead, I’ll argue that what we’re seeing are growing pains and a transition from an NFL afterthought to league prominence. The 2024 QB draft class is having an impact on the league not seen since the 1983 NFL Draft class, which produced John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason (1 SB app), Ken O’Brien (2x Pro Bowl), and Todd Blackledge. As I write this, four QBs from the 2024 class will, or have, played in a playoff game. They are Daniels, Williams, Maye, and Nix. So, what do we make of this?

Well, for the Commanders…

There are three foundational legs to building a perennial contender in the NFL. The first one is decent ownership, where great ownership is a bonus; you absolutely cannot have terrible Snyderism, meaning steady, non-interfering ownership will suffice for this purpose. Second, a coach that knows what he’s doing, and of course, a quarterback. Now, it’s important to note that you don’t always need all three to contend. We’ve seen teams reach the playoffs with at least one of those elements missing, but the kind of transitional changes that give you long-term franchise stability require all three to be in place. While I am not yet convinced that Josh Harris is a great owner, it can reasonably be suggested that he is at least a decent one, thus far in his first few years as the team owner. Aside from injury concerns, does anyone doubt that Washington has its long-term QB in place? So, in terms of long-term stability, the Commanders already have two of these key players in place, which means the focus now has to be on their current head coach, Dan Quinn, and whether he has the chops to guide this franchise back to steady, years-long prominence.

So what does prominence mean?...

In his eight year as an NFL head coach Dan Quinn, with Matt Ryan/Jayden Daniels quarterbacking his teams, Quinn has a 60-59-0 W/L record (.504) and his ventures into the playoffs has netted him a 5-3 W/L/ record (.625), So, we can reasonably expect some manner of competitive team stability as Adam Peters retools the team and takes a hard look at the man that currently lead the team, with this in mind… If you have the right coach and the right QB, there’s no four-year rebuild, barring injury; two will do, and by year three, you know for certain. At this point, let me take a moment to look at a couple of historical and current events relevant to this post.

Jon Gruden replaces Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay (2002).

Andy Reid goes from Philadelphia to Kansas City (2013)

John Harbaugh is fired in Baltimore (2026)

Mike Tomlin steps down in Pittsburgh (2026)

In each of these cases, there was a team with a championship-caliber foundation that needed fresh eyes and hands-on experience with the product to get it over the top. The lone exception, Pittsburgh, a team that lacked a QB because of playoff-level stability, was never in a position to draft one. Using that backdrop, Quinn could surprise, but considering his background and NFL experience, he becomes the biggest question mark of that three-pronged foundation. As an NFL head coach, he’s solid, not exceptional, but better than average. Is he the kind of head coach that this franchise, with a championship caliber foundation, the kind of head coach that the ownership and Commanders’ Nation will be clamoring for after stabilizing playoff contention has been established? I think not! In two previous trips to either the SB or NFCCG, his teams could not finish the job. He’s 0-2 in such games, and there’s no reason to believe that he can become the 13th Head coach who lost a Super Bowl before winning one or the 6th Head coach who lost a conference championship before winning a Super Bowl in history. These 17 coaches all experienced a major postseason failure before eventually breaking through and winning a Super Bowl, but Quinn has the distinction of falling into a much smaller group of 6 men who have lost both a Super Bowl and a Conference championship before winning a Super Bowl. I think that it matters that their names are Don Shula, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Bill Cowher, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay because IMO he is not in the same class as any of them.

Again, Quinn could surprise, but I think that his future is predictable if Washington builds what’s perceived to be a championship-caliber roster around Jayden Daniels, but falls short, the outcome is almost always the same in the modern NFL: the organization reaches a breaking point, and the coaching staff becomes the focal point of change. In Quinn's case, after having made major coaching position changes already, there's little doubt that the breaking point could come before the end of his current multi-year contract.

If DQ gets this turned around, the team can win. We need to give him an equal opportunity to do so. Imo, we have all 3 factors in place and now he and AP must put this puzzle together. Being optimistic here.

 

[skinsdad62]

First off Sty A very very thought provoking post .great great work !!

Now how does AP. Come into play here ? Can he draft well enough to make up for average Head Coaching ? Can he implement a philosophy of being strong up the middle on both sides of the ball ? Pay difference making players and keep the defense young , fast and strong ?

Or is AP a flawed evaluator of talent . His record is mixed or is that coaching failing to develop players ?

I am interested in your thoughts and strongly agree with your assessment

 

[kbso83432]

The 2024 season and 2025 Commanders' season lie in stark contrast to one another, but what we are really seeing in the opposing seasons is not, as some speculate, a bad team or, as others opine, more of the same that marked the Snyder era. Instead, I’ll argue that what we’re seeing are growing pains and a transition from an NFL afterthought to league prominence. The 2024 QB draft class is having an impact on the league not seen since the 1983 NFL Draft class, which produced John Elway, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, Tony Eason (1 SB app), Ken O’Brien (2x Pro Bowl), and Todd Blackledge. As I write this, four QBs from the 2024 class will, or have, played in a playoff game. They are Daniels, Williams, Maye, and Nix. So, what do we make of this?

Well, for the Commanders…

There are three foundational legs to building a perennial contender in the NFL. The first one is decent ownership, where great ownership is a bonus; you absolutely cannot have terrible Snyderism, meaning steady, non-interfering ownership will suffice for this purpose. Second, a coach that knows what he’s doing, and of course, a quarterback. Now, it’s important to note that you don’t always need all three to contend. We’ve seen teams reach the playoffs with at least one of those elements missing, but the kind of transitional changes that give you long-term franchise stability require all three to be in place. While I am not yet convinced that Josh Harris is a great owner, it can reasonably be suggested that he is at least a decent one, thus far in his first few years as the team owner. Aside from injury concerns, does anyone doubt that Washington has its long-term QB in place? So, in terms of long-term stability, the Commanders already have two of these key players in place, which means the focus now has to be on their current head coach, Dan Quinn, and whether he has the chops to guide this franchise back to steady, years-long prominence.

So what does prominence mean?...

In his eight year as an NFL head coach Dan Quinn, with Matt Ryan/Jayden Daniels quarterbacking his teams, Quinn has a 60-59-0 W/L record (.504) and his ventures into the playoffs has netted him a 5-3 W/L/ record (.625), So, we can reasonably expect some manner of competitive team stability as Adam Peters retools the team and takes a hard look at the man that currently lead the team, with this in mind… If you have the right coach and the right QB, there’s no four-year rebuild, barring injury; two will do, and by year three, you know for certain. At this point, let me take a moment to look at a couple of historical and current events relevant to this post.

Jon Gruden replaces Tony Dungy in Tampa Bay (2002).

Andy Reid goes from Philadelphia to Kansas City (2013)

John Harbaugh is fired in Baltimore (2026)

Mike Tomlin steps down in Pittsburgh (2026)

In each of these cases, there was a team with a championship-caliber foundation that needed fresh eyes and hands-on experience with the product to get it over the top. The lone exception, Pittsburgh, a team that lacked a QB because of playoff-level stability, was never in a position to draft one. Using that backdrop, Quinn could surprise, but considering his background and NFL experience, he becomes the biggest question mark of that three-pronged foundation. As an NFL head coach, he’s solid, not exceptional, but better than average. Is he the kind of head coach that this franchise, with a championship caliber foundation, the kind of head coach that the ownership and Commanders’ Nation will be clamoring for after stabilizing playoff contention has been established? I think not! In two previous trips to either the SB or NFCCG, his teams could not finish the job. He’s 0-2 in such games, and there’s no reason to believe that he can become the 13th Head coach who lost a Super Bowl before winning one or the 6th Head coach who lost a conference championship before winning a Super Bowl in history. These 17 coaches all experienced a major postseason failure before eventually breaking through and winning a Super Bowl, but Quinn has the distinction of falling into a much smaller group of 6 men who have lost both a Super Bowl and a Conference championship before winning a Super Bowl. I think that it matters that their names are Don Shula, Tom Landry, Bud Grant, Bill Cowher, Andy Reid, and Sean McVay because IMO he is not in the same class as any of them.

Again, Quinn could surprise, but I think that his future is predictable if Washington builds what’s perceived to be a championship-caliber roster around Jayden Daniels, but falls short, the outcome is almost always the same in the modern NFL: the organization reaches a breaking point, and the coaching staff becomes the focal point of change. In Quinn's case, after having made major coaching position changes already, there's little doubt that the breaking point could come before the end of his current multi-year contract.

That was a good read Stymietee. Quinn is going to need a fast start or the fans will begin to turn on him and NW on Sundays could get ugly for him.

I'm not going to write him off just yet. I've always felt and still feel he has earned the right to be our coach in 26. NFC Championship...lost his QB in 25. Still, if he comes out the gate on some 2-4 ish, and the offense is humming.........

Good chance Tomlin, McDaniel, maybe even LaFluer and O'Connell will be available in 27.....among others.

 

[kbso83432]

 

[Stymietee]

First off Sty A very very thought provoking post .great great work !!

Now how does AP. Come into play here ? Can he draft well enough to make up for average Head Coaching ? Can he implement a philosophy of being strong up the middle on both sides of the ball ? Pay difference making players and keep the defense young , fast and strong ?

Or is AP a flawed evaluator of talent . His record is mixed or is that coaching failing to develop players ?

I am interested in your thoughts and strongly agree with your assessment

There's a reason I consider your GM a foundational leg in building a perennial contender in the NFL. When you don't want your team owner meddling, he becomes the eyes and ears of said owner and the key to turning that owner's vision into reality. His is the most difficult job of all for a franchise, in that he consults with ownership and coaches, gets a clear understanding of the type of player desired, and, if he exists, attempts to get that player under their roof. He handles all of this, including the salary cap, drafts, player acquisition, player releases, trades, and contracts. His primary loyalties lie with the owner, but he has a working relationship with all other staff members. That said, I'll address your specific questions as follows:

I'll rate Peters’ first year as tranformational: Making 2024 — their best season in 33 years — while giving Peters credit for his bold, culture‑shifting rebuild. If we're fair we have to give him credit for his aggressive roster rebuild. He hit on Daniels, an easy pick but he gets the credit. He had some really smart one year free agent deals, get scredit for the in-house culture stabilization and turned an incoherent support cast into a modern, aligned scouting and personnel structure. All-in-all his was the best first year by a Commanders GM in decades.


The tone shifts sharply in the 2025 edition of Commanders football: Having the oldest team in the league and failure to win games raised questions about the team’s direction, giving rise toquestions about his inconsistency in roster construction. Instant success led to an overreliance on short-term free agents and as the injuries mounted exposing thin roster layers more questions about depth at key positions. He doubled down onacquiring more aging questionable players and uncertainty in the coaching staff especially on defense bleeding into roster performance. By now, almost everyone see the 2025 season as a regression, albeit not a catastrophic one but definitely a setback.

My final verdict on Peters' first two years is a net positive! He has been arguably the best GM Washington has had in decades, but year two proved that he's not immune to missteps. He rebuilt the foundation, hit big early, and restored credibility.But now he faces his first true pressure test: Can he correct the roster flaws and stabilize the coaching situation heading into the 2026 season?

Peters second and third tier gathering of players is outstanding! (Injuries played a big part of that abysmal record in 2025.)
Outside looking in it appears as if Quinn wants guys who fit his system and he's not very good at adjusting to the talents of his players. Peters must have seen this and the limiting effect that its had on his draft classes. For me the grade Peters gets for two drafts is a B- to C+ thus far in D.C.

They've already removed both coordinators after two years, so Quinn is either protecting himself or for the first time in his coaching career is making changes that he sees as getting back on track. I like so many, know little to nothing about Blough but he has to go a long way to prove that he is an upgrade over the highly regarded Kliff Kingsbury. Quinn cannot take another novice as his defensive coordinator.

 

[gkekoa]

In the salary cap era, you cannot be a perennial SB contending team, without respecting the draft as well. AP has not done that.

 

[skinsdad62]

In the salary cap era, you cannot be a perennial SB contending team, without respecting the draft as well. AP has not done that.

So far he has not with the Lattimore trade and Tunsil trade . Can he reverse course ?

 

[gkekoa]

So far he has not with the Lattimore trade and Tunsil trade . Can he reverse course ?

Hopefully

 

[Skin'EmAll]

I haven't see anything in the past 2 seasons that suggest we aren't trending the right way.
hopefully we add the RIGHT free agents, and have a healthy year. Philly looks like they could finally meltdown after a great run.

 

[gkekoa]

I haven't see anything in the past 2 seasons that suggest we aren't trending the right way.
hopefully we add the RIGHT free agents, and have a healthy year. Philly looks like they could finally meltdown after a great run.

Over the last two years, the only thing I have seen to give this franchise hope is JD5. I am not impressed by anything else…well maybe Trey Amos and Bill.

 

[Skin'EmAll]

Over the last two years, the only thing I have seen to give this franchise hope is JD5. I am not impressed by anything else…well maybe Trey Amos and Bill.

You didn't find being one game away from the superbowl despite having no elite defensive players and arguably 2 on offense, inspiring?

 

[skinsdad62]

You didn't find being one game away from the superbowl despite having no elite defensive players and arguably 2 on offense, inspiring?

Not when you follow it up with 5-12

 

[Skin'EmAll]

Not when you follow it up with 5-12

If we attack free agency, hit on our first round pick and stay healthy and miss the playoffs then i can agree with you.

 

[skinsdad62]

If we attack free agency, hit on our first round pick and stay healthy and miss the playoffs then i can agree with you.

We are lucky if we do everything right and get 8 wins .

 

[gkekoa]

You didn't find being one game away from the superbowl despite having no elite defensive players and arguably 2 on offense, inspiring?

Not really. Our QB was elite in year one. An elite QB can carry a team. The problem is, if that is all you have, the QB has to be perfect, and JD was not this season…and somehow, the coaching got worse, and the FO screwed the pooch.

 

[kbso83432]

I'll be interested to see if the Bills turn to Joe Brady. If Quinn doesn't work out, Brady would be pretty high up on my list for 2027.

 

[Stymietee]

18 out of 32 teams including Harbaugh, Tomlin and now McDermott have changed head coaches in the last 12 months. Some of the most respected men in the coaching ranks are being let go because ownership is demanding more than consistency, winning seasons, and playoff berths. This is especially true when they have a top-tier QB in place.

I am convinced that Josh Harris knows Daniels is the guy and the pressure is on Peters to put a great support cast around him, and Quinn to take that team over the top. (Remember, Jayden showed up in that NFCCG)

If we ranked head coaches in the same manner that we do QBs, there's no one who'd rank Quinn higher than being a middle-tier one. Those guys don't usually get to SBs.

This is going to be truly big game, big time stuff in the coming seasons, because there are going to be plenty of top-tier coaches who would love to come here and go Super Bowl shopping with JD5.

 

[Stymietee]

I'll be interested to see if the Bills turn to Joe Brady. If Quinn doesn't work out, Brady would be pretty high up on my list for 2027.

How do you see the coaching Carousel working out? Guys like Harbaugh, Tomlin, and McDermott, can bring stability and wins to a team, but can't seem to win a SB with a top-of-the line QB. Will they be in high demand, or stop gaps until a team hiring them get the QB, or will ownership pass on them because they couldn't get the job done WITH the QB in place? Is this a warning to GMs that rosters matter? Is this delusional thinking that you fire the coach because there are better ones out there?