ASHBURN, Va. -- It's Feb. 5, 2024, and on a chilly day outside, there are warm smiles on the faces of Commanders owner Josh Harris, his new general manager, Adam Peters, and his new head coach, Dan Quinn, as the trio meets the media for the first time.
Harris talks about the "mission" they're on to get the franchise back on track after more than three decades of struggles. Peters talks about Quinn's traits that made him the right guy to lead that: leading, communicating, teaching, and bringing people together.
Then it's Quinn's turn -- it's his introductory press conference, after all -- and he delves into the highs and lows. The lows of wondering if he'd ever get another chance and the high of finally getting one here. He allows himself one curse word on a phrase that will soon hit shirts around the building: "Hard shit with good people." He jokingly laments his lack of hair. He hits on a variety of logistics about play calling, about quarterback, about building a staff.
And then, when asked about leading a rebuild, he makes his point very, very clear.
"Your words, not mine," he says. "I'm really, honestly glad that you brought it up, and I know it's a big topic, and I would say this is a recalibrate, you know, 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, now how do you do that?
"So, 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. ... I honestly do not see that word as part of my thinking at all."
Nearly six months later, Quinn has a roster and a coaching staff and, most importantly, a quarterback: Jayden Daniels. But on the eve of his first training camp as Commanders head coach, Quinn reinforces that for now, Daniels is just that: a quarterback, not the quarterback -- yet. The theme of competition is one that will hold throughout training camp, and the No. 2 overall pick and 2023 Heisman Trophy winner isn't exempt. So it'll be Marcus Mariota getting the first reps with the starters at the outset.
"A lot of guys with a lot to prove, and I love it," Jonathan Allen says with a smile on his face hours later when asked about the biggest difference between this year and last year.
And Quinn remains steadfast in his approach regarding that word.
"It's not a rebuilding," Quinn says. "We're not buying an old house. It's how quickly can we get to become good at so many different parts of our football. So, I'm just the opposite of patient, to be honest with you. I want urgency in all that we're doing."
In a sense, Quinn is right. He's not buying an old house. He's inheriting a plot of land. The old house isn't here any more. It was stripped down and sold for parts. The first step came just over a year ago, when Harris bought the team from Dan Snyder, finally taking apart the foundation that had doomed the franchise for decades. Because the transaction didn't officially go through until late in the summer, Harris couldn't take everything apart, but he made sure things would be different.
Washington sold at the trade deadline, moving Montez Sweat and Chase Young -- former first-round picks, thought of just months earlier as franchise cornerstones. Shortly thereafter, Ron Rivera was gone, another example of Harris pushing the franchise toward the future while tearing the past down. Much of the coaching staff and many of the players went with him.
Rivera and Co. made 33 picks from 2020-23; 12 are on the roster. None of the eight members of Rivera's first class (2020) draft class remain. Since 2019, the Commanders have made six first-round picks, and after the Jahan Dotson trade on the penultimate day of training camp, just two remain: Emmanuel Forbes, who struggled as a rookie, and Jamin Davis, who is a backup moving from linebacker to edge defender.
That's not to say Quinn inherited nothing. Allen and Daron Payne are stout defensive tackles, and Terry McLaurin is a terrific wide receiver who will count Daniels as the 12th different player he's caught a pass from in six seasons. Sam Cosmi has settled in as a very good right guard and just got paid like it. There's holdover safety talent.
Still, that's pretty close to a blank slate. The Commanders put two players (McLaurin at 94 and Allen at 52) in the NFL's Top 100, which is voted on by the players, and zero in Pete Prisco's top 100. If we're keeping the house metaphor going, it's not much of a structure. When Peters had his introductory press conference in January, he mentioned "a few cornerstone pieces" but "a lot of work to do."
A lot of work has been done. The Commanders' current roster features 31 players acquired this offseason. That includes 10 rookies (an 11th, Jordan Magee, is on IR but will return), six of which were drafted in the top 100. That also means there are plenty of veteran additions. In fact, the Commanders are among the oldest teams in the NFL, even if the big rookie class is the one that holds the keys to the future.
Peters, most recently the 49ers' assistant GM and previously with the Broncos and Patriots during Super Bowl triumphs, added veterans the staff was familiar with -- players who could fit well into their plans both now and in the future. Daniels has a veteran backup in Marcus Mariota and will receive snaps from former Pro Bowl center Tyler Biadasz. Rookie tight end Ben Sinnott learns from Zach Ertz, rookie wide receiver Luke McCaffrey from Olamide Zaccheaus. Bobby Wagner makes everyone on the defense better, and Frankie Luvu and Dorance Armstrong figure to be the team's top pass rushers.
This is where Quinn's "hard shit with good people" comes into play. Peters and Quinn are morphing the roster into one that fits their image: physical, communicative, competitive, dependable. You see it in the major additions: Daniels embraced having to earn the starting role, Wagner is the ultimate veteran leader, and second-round pick Mike Sainristil plays and competes well beyond his years. You see it in the major subtractions: Dotson is a gifted route runner, but he struggled with drops and with physical play getting off the line of scrimmage and blocking. You even see it on the edges of the roster in players like full-speed-ahead undrafted rookies Tyler Owens and Colson Yankoff and physical veteran wide receiver Noah Brown.
The moves were measured -- a delicate balance of adding youngsters who can be building blocks for the future and veterans who can ensure a feasible environment. It's a refreshing approach for a franchise that has too often chased big-name, past-their-prime players and hopelessly scooped water out of a sinking quarterback ship.
"The players that they've brought in, they've been intentional with that, bringing in guys that practice hard, that are culture setters, and so from the get-go it's been a lot of fun," Ertz said. "And obviously that's all fun and games, but it's about winning football games, and we're gonna see that come here in a few weeks."
All coaches are loath to use "rebuild." But two days before training camp ended, Quinn at least conceded on the patient part.
"Anytime there's development, there's marks that you go up and down, up and down," Quinn said. "I would say that is one area I'm not as impatient, because I expect those to take place. So you may hear me use the term 'expect the expected.' There's gonna be bumps, there's gonna be missed turns that you need, and quite honestly, you don't want them to [happen], but you know that it's an important part of the process."
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It's not just the quarterback, the rookies or the offseason additions. There are holdovers that need to be built up. Forbes, the ballyhooed 2023 first-rounder who bore the brunt of being on the league's worst passing defenses as a rookie, is one. The experience took a toll, but Forbes told reporters early in camp his biggest growth has been his mentality, something crucial for a cornerback.
When asked about building up his players' resilience -- and particularly Forbes' -- Quinn mentioned he showed the team Roger Federer's Dartmouth Commencement Address, when the 20-time Grand Slam champion mentioned he won nearly 80% of his career matches but only 54% of his career points.
Given the rare ups and the embarrassing, near-constant downs this franchise has been through, patience is OK. A clean slate is OK. Normalcy -- with a side of encouraging signs of Daniels and the team's other young players -- is OK.
"I think for a long time, being in this division, there was kind of a dark cloud over this place from afar," Ertz said on the last day of training camp. "But now that I've been here, it couldn't be further from what the narrative was going into this thing. I've enjoyed every bit of it, it's been a lot of fun."
After making modest but noticeable improvements in his first year -- bleachers for fans at the training facility, for example -- Harris has forged ahead in his tear downs and rebuilds. A half-hearted, mistake-filled Sean Taylor tribute from 2022 was removed and will be replaced. During training camp, players stayed at nearby Lansdowne Resort, a Harris-covered expense. At practice, the shrill of coaches' whistles sometimes clashed with the beeps of machinery as an unusable eyesore of an ancient artificial turf field was replaced with a grass field. On the last day of training camp, the Commanders used the new field for the first time. The symbolism shouldn't be lost.
Harris bet big on Quinn, and Quinn, in turn, bet big on Daniels. He's the Commanders' eighth different Week 1 starting quarterback in the last eight seasons. He has drawn rave reviews for his accuracy, his fastidiousness and his demeanor. He picks the brains of coaches and players alike, always willing to learn. He may be the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, but he is just another guy, and a rookie at that.
"I mean, I ain't a star quarterback yet," Daniels said during minicamp when asked about being a star. "I got a long way to go. I'm a rookie, to answer that."
It's not just an act.
"I don't get the 'me guy' thing," Cosmi said early in training camp. "I think he wants the betterment of the team. He's learning. ... It's not like, 'Hey, look at me, look at me' type of thing, which is great. He could be like that. He's not. And I think he's earning respect from a lot of guys around the building."
Quinn, who spent plenty of time with Daniels pre-draft and throughout the spring and early summer, said he continued to learn about his prized quarterback over the past month, impressed by his processing, communication and "rare blend of confidence and humility."
But results are what Daniels, Quinn and everyone else will be judged on. It's easy to look at last year's No. 2 pick, C.J. Stroud, who inherited what was viewed as an underwhelming situation and turned it into a winner in one year. But that would mean overlooking No. 1 pick Bryce Young, who, like Stroud, went to a team with a new coaching staff and uncertain surroundings. He's already on a second coaching staff after a disastrous first season.
Daniels should fall somewhere in between. The ideal outcome starts with Daniels showing he's the long-overdue answer at quarterback, his fellow rookies proving they can be key pieces at premier positions -- Sainristil at cornerback, McCaffrey at wide receiver, Brandon Coleman at left tackle -- and other youngsters improving. It includes Wagner, Ertz and other veterans providing a stable, reliable presence while those youngsters grow.
If the wins follow, all the better. But in all likelihood, there will be plenty of "hard shit" this season. Quinn hopes he has good enough people -- and players -- who can not only endure, but thrive in using it in the long run.
So don't call it a rebuild. In fact, don't call it a "re-" anything. The Commanders are simply building, something they haven't done in a long, long time.
