What 'kind' of owner do we want in Washington?

What kind of owner do we want in Washington?

This week, our mean-spirited goblin Daniel Snyder sunk ever deeper into the quicksand of his own making with the latest scandal an $55 million loan taken without the knowledge and required approval of the minority partners in Washington.

There have been many a time when Daniel has somehow pulled himself out the mire, but this seems different, and I have complete certainty that we are in the end of days phase of this quite dreadful ownership tenure for the burgundy & gold.

So, what next? What kind of owner do we want for the Commanders going forward?

Regular USA contributor Andy Eckert offers an analysis of what is required, and UKHTTC founder, Christian Burt chimes in with his own broad thoughts.

First up is Andy.

What would make a good owner for the Burgundy & Gold?

The typical answers would be business acumen, passion, leadership, community engagement, and vision.

Yeah, those are all simple and correct answers.

But I think what would make an elite owner of this franchise is knowing their personal strengths and weaknesses while leaning into the strengths and hiring the right people to cover the weaknesses. I don’t want an owner playing GM thinking they know how to scout players or coaches better than those with experience who have been working in the NFL for years or decades.

Yes, the owner needs to like and be comfortable with a Head Coach. But you hire talented people to be your Team President and your GM, and those people identify the potential coaches for you to give a final sign-off after they sell you on the guy.

To me, an owner is different than a CEO of a company. They would be the guy that hires the CEO, who hires all the roles under them, and if that owner has a strength that can help the franchise’s business side. That’s where you put your focus.

If I were the new owner, how would I set up the organization?

This is a franchise that now has decades of rot in its foundation, I’m looking for an NFL lifer to come in, even short term, to be Team President and audit everything from the brand of office supplies to the medical staff, trainers, scouts, and coaches. The works. I need that person to help build a front office setup for the longer term. They can help find the correct GM who focuses only on what GMs should focus on.

In year one, bring in their support staff, scouting, and anything else you can do before the start of the 2023 season. Then start breaking down the current roster and looking for your future Head Coach, who probably takes the role in the following offseason. That Coach and GM can help fill out the coaching staff and work with the Team President for whatever medical/training upgrades are needed.

The theme here is that nobody will wear too many hats anymore. The HC isn’t going also to be the GM or Team President. The Team President isn’t going to work on the roster every day. They have a GM that does that. And the marketing folks will be focused on that and not misspelling London Fletcher on the video board or messing up another Sean Taylor tribute.

There is no salary cap on this stuff. Lastly, going back to medical and training. I wouldn’t want any team to spend more than us on the most advanced people and technology. If that means I need a team yoga instructor (I know that’s not advanced, but it might be out of the box a little), then we need more than one of those. The health and availability of the players need to be a top priority, and whatever they’ve been doing under the current ownership is done.

And the most unpopular decision I’m going to make. I’m changing how player number retirements work. There are too many players worthy of it, but that takes too many numbers out of rotation. So, my new policy will be to retire a number at a position. That means no DB can ever wear #28 again. But a RB can. Same with #21. #9 can be worn by a WR now. #44 can be worn by a LB or DB, etc.

I think that’s a fair balance to respect the player in the history of the franchise while not limiting all the options for current and future teams.

And final thoughts from Christian.

For me, the NFL is a razzamatazz league.

There is no relegation and the subsequent loss of income that entails. I want the new owner of the Commanders to be hugely money solvent in exploring a new stadium for Washington.

And I want that stadium to be better than every single stadium that exists in the NFL right now. Not necessarily the biggest, but an absolute state of the art awe inspiring feat of human engineering endeavour.

With every possible food, drink, merchandise, and seating available for a fanbase who have endured twenty plus years of being treated like a cash cow by the godawful Mr Snyder.

Make going to watch the Commanders the best experience possible in the NFL.

I want an owner that will ensure that the Commanders go from last (Commanders rank 32 in NFL for working conditions, according to NFLPA survey) to first in providing the best facilities that money can buy. I’ve no doubt that several of our roster had better conditions in college than the NFL.

Ensure that every single possible tangible is explored/introduced that will give the burgundy & gold an extra yard on any given Sunday.

A new owner may have to take it on the chin that despite the storied history of the franchise, there will ex star players that cannot, or will not, get on board with the new name. But that’s OK, they will still be Washington legends and you can walk away with a handshake and agree to disagree.

If a certain Amazonian individual becomes owner, I want the Commanders to become the worldwide NFL team. Aim as high as possible; make the Commanders the ‘cap to have’ the ‘jersey to have’ and make shipping as seamless and cost effective as possible for those who might be part of an International Fan Club and season ticket holders based in the USA.

Be acutely aware that this fanbase has suffered for far too long and now needs an absolute injection of sanity, of excitement, and sustainable success.

Over to you, Jeff/Josh/AN Other.