This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.
UPDATE: As it turns out, somebody does want to coach the Commanders! Washington has reportedly hired Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn as the Commanders’ new head coach, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us here at FTW this morning. We appreciate you taking your time.
The NFL’s coaching cycle is pretty much finished. Everybody has been fired and hired. The lights have turned on. The music is slowing down. Everybody is going home with somebody. Except … the Commanders?
Washington came to the club with a whole new outfit on and money to spend. But, at the end of the night, it still went home alone looking in the mirror asking itself, “Is it me? Am I the problem?”
The most tragic part is the answer might just be: yes!
All of the targets the Commanders seemed to have on the board have chosen to go elsewhere. Raheem Morris went to Atlanta. Mike Macdonald went to Seattle. Bobby Slowik and Ben Johnson just went back home to Houston and Detroit, respectively. The pool is running dry.
And, look, the Commanders certainly have other candidates to consider. Maybe Dan Quinn is still in the picture? Eric Bieniemy is also right there on staff still. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn is an option, too.
But, man, it’s just wild that it’s taking this long for newly-minted GM Adam Peters and the organization to land on somebody. This is a team under new ownership with a ton of cap space and the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft with an excellent QB class. It’s hard to understand why this job isn’t one people are jumping at.
RELATED: Josh Harris offers his vision of the future for the Commanders
Maybe the stink of the Snyder era still isn’t quite off of this team yet. Not to say that Harris, Magic Johnson and their ownership group will be as awful as Snyder was, but maybe the organization still has to prove it.
After all, it hasn’t been a year since the change yet and the Commanders have a reputation for being a sloppily run organization. Maybe that doesn’t just shake off because of a change on the owner’s nameplate. That could be the perception, anyway.
Either way, the Commanders don’t need to rush to make a hire now. Almost everyone else has found their guy. The team just needs to make sure it gets this one right.
Good luck, Washington. You’ve got decades of stink to wash off. It all starts here.
Another draft day?
The NBA is officially expanding the draft to a two-day extravaganza. Well, uh, maybe calling it an extravaganza is a bit too much?
The league is splitting up the two rounds over two days. The first round is on June 26 and the second round will be on June 27. Everyone is going to watch the first round. Only basketball sickos (my kind of people!) will watch the second.
So if nobody is going to watch the second round, then why move it? Our Prince Grimes thinks that that was actually the reason to do it. Here’s more from Layup Lines.
“Well, the length of it all might actually be the point. Last year’s draft was the most-watched draft ever on any network, averaging 3,743,000 viewers across both rounds, according to ESPN. However, the first round averaged 4,928,000 and peaked at 6,085,000, meaning there was a significant drop-off in the second round after viewers likely grew fatigued or disinterested from the hours-long program. According to Sports Media Watch, the second round averaged 1.19 million viewers.
While moving the second round to another day threatens to lose some of that lead-in viewership from the first round, it could also build a new energy and excitement for the round itself and potentially re-capture people who may have otherwise turned away after the first round. Instead of dedicating a whole five hours in one day to the draft, fans only have to dedicate two hours on two separate days.”
I honestly hadn’t thought of it from that angle. That’s interesting. Not only does it allow teams more time to think and make trades in preparation for day two, but it also gives fans a breather. And, yeah, you definitely need it after the marathon that is the first round of the NBA draft.
I swear Adam Silver takes forever to read the picks after they’re in.
More on the mesh
Our Christian D’Andrea is in his bag with this mesh concept feature. Yesterday, part one was all about what mesh concepts were and how unstoppable they’ve become.
Today, part two is all about how to stop them. And it isn’t easy. What’s the answer? Finding a way to rush the QB.
Here’s more from Christian:
“The simplest method to stop a mesh play is to generate pressure using the extra leverage created by that man coverage. While that means leaving gaps in the middle of the field, it can also force bad throws and eliminate secondary reads deep.
It’s also a dangerous one; these routes take roughly a second to unfold, which leaves enough time to make a strike downfield even in the face of a potent blitz. Then, suddenly, there are fewer contingency plans for a stop after the catch — a chunk of your would-be tacklers are now behind the play in the backfield.
The more conservative method is to disguise coverage, leaving offenses to think they’re facing straight up man coverage while freeing a third defensive back or linebacker to identify the mesh point from the second level and jump onto that under route. With a solid four-man rush, you can do both.”
This is such fascinating stuff, man. Christian’s piece is well worth your time. Check it out today.
READ MORE: How defenses try their hand at stopping mesh concepts
Quick hits: Lewis Hamilton says ✌️ … Sheryl Swoopes keeps it 💯… and more
— Lewis Hamilton is reportedly OUT at Mercedes and heading to Ferrari. This is shocking, folks. Charles Curtis has more.
— Sheryl Swoopes says Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese won’t dominate the WNBA like they’re dominating college ball and well, yeah, that makes total sense to me. Meghan Hall has more.
— Here’s Mary Clarke with our latest NHL power rankings. It’s not looking good for my Capitals, man.
— Meghan Hall has our WNBA free agency tracker churning. Mystics, please. Do something.
— Here’s Robert Zeglinski with three decisions that sent the 49ers to the Super Bowl.
— The Cheifs really had their way with the Ravens, man. Here’s Cory with more.
That’s all, folks! Thanks so much for reading TMW today. We appreciate you. Until next time! We out. Peace.
-Sykes ✌️
