It begins anew: The Washington Commanders once again are searching, far and wide, for that great, mysterious talisman of “culture,” the cure-all for a long-ailing franchise.
They’ve been looking for culture since long before Bruce Allen declared it was “actually damn good” in 2019.
Ron Rivera — fired Monday as the Commanders head coach — arrived a few months after Allen’s proclamation promising to change the culture Allen spoke so highly of.
In September, new owner Josh Harris told fans in an open letter to “create the culture” for this team to succeed. But Rivera believes he changed the culture already. “I believe we began to change the culture of this organization in meaningful ways,” he wrote in a statement upon his departure.
Culture. Allen said it was “damn good.” Rivera said he would change it. Harris said they would “create the culture” for success, and Rivera said they’ve already begun to change it.
One man’s culture is another man’s chaos.
If the culture has indeed been changed by Rivera and his 26-40-1 four-year record here, you couldn’t prove it by his players as they were heading out the door.
Jahan Dotson told reporters the players needed “a better sense of culture.” Emmanuel Forbes said they needed to “build a culture that doesn’t like to lose.”
Culture. It’s complicated — so much so that to create that culture of success, Harris has brought in a whole team to figure out who will lead the creation of the new Washington Commanders culture.
They’ve hired former NBA Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings general manager Rick Spielman to help the ownership group with searches for the next head of football operations for the Commanders and the next coach.
These are moves to underscore the perception that it is indeed a new day under Harris and company, though they have owned the team since last July.
Nothing wrong with that. Winning the public relations battle has value.
When it comes to public relations, this team has done nothing but self-immolate for years now.
The culture became one of ridicule, and it can impact a team from the boardroom to the playing field.
I don’t blame Harris for creating this narrative of bringing in the finest minds in the world of sports to … what, change the culture?
“In my experience, championship infrastructure begins with a strong ownership group that prioritizes culture and invests in attracting the industry’s most talented and innovative leaders,” Myers said in a statement.
“I know how much this franchise means to Josh and how motivated he is to re-establish a culture of winning,” Spielman said in a statement.
Here’s my contribution to the new culture — fine anyone in the organization who uses the word culture.
What we’re seeing out of Ashburn is right out of the Transparent Ted Leonsis playbook. Leonsis hired a former soccer boss from England named Mike Forde to help find a new Wizards general manager in 2019, in between calling Barack Obama and 77 other people.
All that searching and he wound up hiring the guy left in the room, Ernie Grunfeld’s assistant GM Tommy Sheppard. He was fired three years later.
This is just more of the nonsense sports people like to spout these days.
New “models” and “paradigms,” as if Myers and Spielman are going to find some unknown guy in the Australian Outback who has been running analytics in his hut for the past 10 years and has found the secret to a successful culture.
You mean to tell me that Harris, the guy who owns the Philadelphia 76ers and the New Jersey Devils, as well as a piece of the Pittsburgh Steelers, needs help selecting candidates for the Washington jobs?
He’s been the owner for six months and watched this team with those eyes and he hasn’t figured out who he might want yet? If I was a 76ers or Devils fan and never won a championship under Harris ownership, I might be asking, “Hey, where’s my culture committee?”
Bleacher Report says Myers has already contacted Jim Harbaugh’s agent to “express interest” in the Michigan coach for the Washington job. Harris or Mitchell Rales couldn’t have figured that out? Half the bozos on social media could have done that.
Harbaugh, by the way, doesn’t create cultures. He is a culture, and that’s what you get when you hire him – the Jim Harbaugh culture.
Same with New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who may be on the market. You hire Belichick, you get the Bill Belichick culture.
These other candidates — and there are reportedly many, from Cleveland Browns assistant general manager Glenn Cook to San Francisco 49ers assistant Adam Peters — they’ve never created a winning NFL culture themselves. You must have faith they can do this.
“What we’re ultimately trying to do is end up with the best people, and the best people generally have alternatives,” Harris said in a Monday press conference. “We want it to be as quick as we can, but the ultimate goal, right, is to be an elite team that’s competing for championships.”
I think Josh Harris can probably handle that himself, but if he wants to invite his friends along, fine.
You can hear Thom Loverro on The Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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