Commanders Not in Rebuild Mode, Says Dan Quinn
The Washington Commanders have been in the doldrums of the NFL for the last decade or so, but with swift changes, the NFC East franchise has hopes of emerging from the darkness as a force to be reckoned with.
There have already been moves made as Josh Harris is the face of the new ownership group, Adam Peters is the new general manager and Dan Quinn is tasked with bringing it all together as head coach.
Washington hasn't had a winning season since 2016 (8-7) and hasn't had a double-digit winning season since 2012 (10-6) and since 1992, only has nine winning seasons.
With a changing of the guard at the top and changes in personnel expected, Quinn made it clear that the franchise isn't in a rebuilding phase.
"I know it's a big topic and I would say this is a recalibrate," Quinn said. "Finding our north again, and that starts with our identity of our club. So no, you will not hear me say the word rebuild at all. This is about assessing what we have. How do we add to that? And then how quickly we can accelerate this process together. There is no timeline on that, but we will push it hard to see how good we can get and how fast we can get.
"But I see it much more as a recalibration to say, let's find our north, own our identity of how we're gonna get it on, and then push hard to reach that. Like all things, it takes some trust, you know, between teammates, staff, personnel, ownership. But the more connection we have, the faster we'll get there and there's a lot to get done, but I honestly do not see that word as part of my thinking at all."
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
So it's not a rebuild and the Commanders do have some nice pieces on both sides of the ball to "recalibrate" their trajectory.
Holding the No. 2 pick, one can assume that a talented quarterback in either Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, or Jayden Daniels could spearhead the new era. Then we have Terry McLaurin, Jahan Dotson, and Brian Robinson Jr. on offense along with Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, Kamren Curl, Casey Toohill, and K.J. Henry on defense to get something cooking in the Nation's capital.
It won't be an easy task and Peters stated that the Commanders' path forward is to build through the draft and try and sign free agents as they look to get their identity as a football team right.
There will be ups and downs throughout the season as the Commanders try and come to grips with the new way of doing things, but there won't be any excuses coming from inside the building.
It might be tough at times, but remember - Washington isn't rebuilding, it's recalibrating and as such, might not be at the bottom of the NFC pecking order for long.
