Josh Harris certainly grabbed the attention Thursday of those who follow the Washington Commanders.
We learned that the Commanders new owner was present at the 2024 NFL Combine and took part in the interviews of six quarterbacks.
A bit of historical context is that Harris last August was understandably viewed as the savior from the Dan Snyder ownership era. He was applauded, praised, and given the red carpet.
However, the 2023 Commanders’ season frankly fell apart and stunk. I don’t like to be overly negative, but isn’t true that they earned the second selection in next April’s NFL draft?
All Commanders fans understood the need for Harris to act swiftly, fire Rivera, clean house and start afresh. Harris wisely and successfully hired Adam Peters as his new general manager. He, along with help from his hiring committee, then hired Dan Quinn as head coach, and thus far, Quinn has brought in what appears to be a very experienced, capable NFL coaching staff.
Harris is off to a tremendous start in this 2024 offseason. Then came the word Harris was involved in the interviews at the annual Combine. Instant concern was raised by the media and Commanders’ fans.
Why? Because no Washington football fan/media enters this season with a blank slate. We all possess knowledge of the past. Memories have instructed us and, yes, haunted us.
We can’t easily forget the former owner instructing scouts, coaches and front office that he was drafting Dwayne Haskins in the first round of 2019.
We can’t easily forget his trading three first-round draft picks for a college quarterback who never developed into a capable NFL quarterback from the pocket.
We can’t easily forget trades for a declining Donovan McNabb, signing aging free agent veterans like Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, Jeff George, and dumping Marty Schottenheimer after only one season.
We can’t easily forget he hired an offensive coordinator (Jim Zorn) before he hired a head coach, then wondered why no capable coach would take the job, so he promoted Zorn to head coach though Zorn had yet to be an NFL or college coordinator.
So, alarm bells are ringing loudly. Red flags are being raised.
But there is also the history of Josh Harris to be considered. Has he shown himself previously to be a meddlesome owner who is foolish and delusional, thinking he is knowledgeable enough about athletic skills to play team general manager?
So, for now, Harris gets the benefit of the doubt from Commanders Wire.
Might Harris clarify he is simply learning about the NFL combine process and that Peters will have total freedom in making all player personnel decisions?
If Harris does, he will calm a lot of nerves right now from fans who understandably can’t simply ignore what the past has taught them.
