Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris appears to have hired a chief credibility officer — Adam Peters, the assistant general manager of the San Francisco 49ers — according to various reports.
That is what Peters delivers to the beleaguered organization before he even takes a step in the team’s headquarters in Ashburn — credibility for Harris and his ownership group.
It’s what Commanders fans have been waiting for since they bought the team from Dan Snyder in July. The 2023 season got in the way.
But now that’s just another painful memory in a long list of painful memories from the Snyder era — memories that rarely included a football personnel decision-maker with the credentials and credibility that Peters brings to the job of general manager or president of football operations or whatever his title will be.
Seven years with San Francisco as vice president of player personnel and assistant general manager. Eight seasons with the Denver Broncos in the scouting department, including being named director of college scouting. Six years in scouting with the New England Patriots
That’s a resume of winning that typically doesn’t wind up in Washington. Instead, it’s been the Vinny Cerrato clown show, a damaged Scott McCloughan and the illusion of credibility with Bruce Allen and Ron Rivera. It’s been frauds, fakes and phonies.
Peters has the stamp of Shanahan approval, which ironically should please Commanders fans who, while calling for Mike Shanahan’s firing in 2013 in Washington have since bemoaned those the team lost from the Shanahan coaching tree — his son, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan who, from various accounts, is the top football boss in San Francisco; Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay; Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur and Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel.
They are feeling the loss in San Francisco. “This is a significant loss for the 49ers,” said the popular 49ers fans website, 49ers Webzone. “Peters has worked closely with general manager John Lynch during his tenure with San Francisco, contributing to the construction of a roster that reached the postseason in four of the last five seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance in the 2019 season.”
It’s the first and perhaps most important big win for Harris, who willingly suffered through Rivera’s embarrassing 4-13 season before taking steps to make change. He appears to have taken a big step and made a significant change by hiring Peters, who was in demand.
According to ESPN, Peters declined requests to interview with Arizona and Tennessee last offseason, and both the Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders had requested interviews with him this offseason.’
It’s a good thing Harris brought in consultants as part of his search committee. This way, it was just a local phone call for former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers to find Peters.
Now supposedly the Harris search committee turns its attention to hiring a new coach to replace Rivera. But I think it’s reasonable to assume that Peters already knows who he wants to be the coach. Guys like that usually have a list of coaches they would hire in their wallets if the opportunity ever comes up.
The Peters hiring would seem to eliminate a candidate with the high-profile resume of Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh or fired Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, both of whom would likely want some say in any general manager they may work with. Then again, Peters may be such a universally respected front office figure that either of those candidates would be okay with their relationship.
Ideally, this should be Adam Peters’ decision, search committee or not.
“Yeah, so my desire is to have the head of the football operations in place and then to listen very hard to what that person wants to do in terms of the coaching staff,” Harris told reporters last week. “In other words, I think those two things have to work together. And obviously, as I’ve said before, I want to get the best talent here and then hold them accountable and work with them, right? So, what that person wants to do or not do is really important in our decision process. Doesn’t mean that you are not involved in it, but it means that to a large extent, you’re relying on that person to bring a series of candidates to the table and so that would be my ideal scenario.”
Listen very hard. That’s typically how credible organizations operate.
• You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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