LATEST NEWS:The Commanders’ quest for a head coach has gone horribly wrong.

It seemed like the Commanders would be the clear winners of the offseason hiring cycle as recently as one week ago. They acquired a man generally regarded as the NFL’s top young general manager, and every indication suggested they would sign the most promising head coach. Washington was about to enter a new era brimming with promise and hope.

We’re left wondering how in the world this happened now that everything has gone to hell.

With seven other clubs in the NFL having already made position coaching hires and made draft preparations, the Commanders are the only team still without a head coach. Since there aren’t many prospects available at this stage of the process, Washington will have to make do with the leftovers and act as though the person they hire is the one they’ve always wanted. It’s a startling turn of events that makes no sense in terms of functionality.

The Washington position is currently among the most alluring in the NFL. The team has a lot of salary cap room, owners and supporters that are open to a slow build as long as there is incremental improvement, a top-three draft pick to shape the future, and more draft assets to round out the squad. It all boils down to a single, grave mistake that was never supposed to occur in the first place.

It was shocking to learn that Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator for the Lions, was going back to Detroit instead of accepting a head coaching position because it was widely believed he would be named the next Commanders commander. After appointing general manager Adam Peters, Washington was taking so long to find a coach that it seemed like the organization needed to have a handshake agreement with Johnson for when the playoffs ended. It is evident that this was untrue.

Ben Johnson made the proper decision by going back to Detroit and saved the Lions.
Now that the hiring round is over, we can see how the Commanders set themselves up for success. Many organizations gave Johnson phone interviews but swiftly changed course and hired head coaches. The most notable example is the Carolina Panthers, who had fallen in love with Johnson in back-to-back seasons but decided to employ Dave Canales instead of waiting for the Lions’ season to end. They gave up their chase after something occurred in their phone discussion with Johnson, but it’s clear that Washington didn’t receive the same memo.

This is consistent with what league sources have been stating about Johnson for the majority of the year, who may not genuinely desire to be a head coach. Although other teams were vying for his services, he was content in Detroit as Dan Campbell’s backup and working to elevate the struggling Lions to the top of the league.

It took several months for Johnson’s distaste for head coaching to become widely known; discussions about this had been going on for months prior to the regular season’s conclusion. Therefore, we must assume that one of three things occurred about the Commanders during this process:

1. Johnson agreed to go to Washington, but had a change of heart
2. The team chose to ignore all the signs that he wasn’t going to leave Detroit
3. They had no idea what Johnson was going to do, and held out hope anyway

It’s highly unlikely that Johnson reached a tentative agreement with the Commanders and backed out of it. He has a reputation around the league for being a straight shooter, and not stringing teams along. In 2022 he refused to even interview with teams, quickly informing them that he was going to stay. This leaves us with two scenarios, both of which are problems of Washington’s own making.

Johnson would have been an excellent coach for the Commanders, no question about it. He has prospered in Detroit, where he has assembled a brilliant but unmatched group of players and transformed them into an offensive machine. Washington will undoubtedly select one of Caleb Williams or Drake Maye as their quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft with the No. 2 overall choice; Maye, in particular, fits Johnson’s offensive style like a glove.

However, something shouldn’t be imposed just because it would have been ideal. It’s becoming more and more clear that the Commanders thought they could persuade Johnson to leave Detroit, a job they were unable to accomplish.

This would be terrible given that they practically have no one left to hire on the offensive side of the ball, in addition to being disappointing in and of itself. Brian Callahan was signed by the Tennessee Titans, Canales was acquired by the previously mentioned Panthers, and Bobby Slowik declared his intention to rejoin the Texans. Todd Monken of the Baltimore Ravens, a distinctly mid-tier candidate who may be good but has a more traditional approach to offense in an era where fresh thinking is prevailing, is the final best hope for an offensive-minded head coach.

The Commanders have a few additional alternatives if they choose to employ a defensive coach: Mike Vrabel, Aaron Glenn, or Steve Wilks (after the season), but given the team’s current state, all of these hires are very dubious. This team required a quarterback, in particular, with a clear vision and an assistant staff to help them realize it. They may still be able to hire a competent coach, but he or she won’t have the same mandate as an up-and-coming, offensive coach would.

Without a doubt, the 49ers’ decision to hire Adam Peters was a brilliant one. Although Peters may have made his first significant error less than a month into his job by waiting for Johnson to arrive in Washington rather than hiring a coach when he had the opportunity, he is unquestionably the ideal general manager to guide a team into the future.

The following event will be mediocre. Expectations will be measured rather than the exhilarating new age that many had thought would arrive. The team truly blew it, so although it didn’t have to be this way, it is the predicament they are currently in.