There are two huge questions facing the Commanders heading into the offseason: Who will be Washington's Week 1 starting quarterback heading into the 2023 NFL season and, the $6+ billion question, who will own the team when that first snap comes?
And, with all due respect to Sam Howell, Ron Rivera, and the football side of things, a change in the ownership suite would be much bigger news than any change under center. And with the team confirming that Dan and Tanya Snyder have hired Bank of America to explore the possibility of a sale and bidders are lining up, it seems safe to say that the biggest news since the team changed names could happen before play begins next season.
To be charitable to the Snyder family, their reign as stewards of the franchise has been less than successful. The team's on-field performance has been mostly poor and they have made up for that by being worse off the field.
To help out the next owner, Kevin Sheehan put together a list of the Top 10 things Washington's next owner can do to be successful and clear Dan Snyder's very low bar.
1) An owner whose top goal is winning a Super Bowl
"I want an owner focused on football more than anything else. An owner that would laugh at the statement that the team's Chief Marketing Officer, Will Misselbrook, made when he said about the organizational brand and the team's name... 'It's more than just a football team. If your team name is an animal you're kind of restrictive. The name Commanders allows us to go into much bigger space; media, food, fashion, pop culture, and music'... I want an owner who comes in [and responds to that] to laugh at it," Sheehan said. "Win Super Bowls. Not create a brand."
2) Hire a lead football person (aka GM) and let that person hire the head coach and everyone else
3) Give the football people total autonomy on all football matters and don't be meddlesome
4) Be able to communicate
"We've had an owner of this football team who is not a communicator," Sheehan said, before he passed on the opportunity to wish the audience a Happy Thanksgiving. "I want a communicator, a negotiator, and I want a deal for a new stadium at the RFK site in D.C."
5) Do a complete rebranding of the team including a new name
“It sucks in my opinion. Everything about [Commanders] is just so bland,” Sheehan added.
Listen to the full segment starting at the 25:25 mark:
6) Don’t be the face of the franchise
Snyder turned into a bit of a recluse, but that doesn’t mean the next owner should become the focus of everything. (Of course, if the owner being out there can help the football team win – in a way Jeff Bezos or Jay-Z – Sheehan could amend this.)
7) Stay off the sideline during games
8) Be intelligent, but also smart
“I think for 23 years we have had an owner who is innately intelligent,” Sheehan said, “but does just one dumb thing after another.”
9) Treat customers like they’re the customer
This ownership hasn’t been able to keep the fanbase while losing so frequently and massively because they have "insulted their costumers over and over again with arrogance and mistreatment."
10) Disappear during the season
“I want an owner when he or she steps to the podium to accept the Lombardi trophy, it’s the first time we’ve seen that person since training camp,” he said. “I’d prefer that.”
A few of these suggestions an simply be said in four words: Don't be Jerry Jones.
Follow @BenKrimmel and @Team980 for more.
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