Grant and Danny agree that Ron Rivera, and maybe even Martin Mayhew, will have to at least make the playoffs this season if they are to survive the ownership change and keep their jobs with the Commanders.
So, with that in mind, did the organization do enough to accomplish that goal?
For Danny, the answer is yes and no.
"Only if the NFC was like it was a couple years ago when Ron first got here, and 7-9 was enough to get in," Danny said. "There aren't that many juggernauts. You can be a .500 team and get in. but I define a playoff team as a good team, and the answer is no, they're not."
The Commanders might not be a playoff team in the AFC, but in the more top-heavy NFC, Grant sees a way in, though the team didn't do enough in the offseason to inspire confidence that Washington will be better than it was last season.
"I kind of view them as a 9-8, 8-9 kind of club, and I can absolutely see them getting in in this conference at 9-8," Grant said.
"I think they have a better offensive coordinator…and a better quarterback than they did last year. But I start my answer with Bieniemy and Howell, because they didn't do enough otherwise. They didn't improve enough from a sheer talent standpoint to go from eight to 10 wins. I think they put a lot of eggs in the Howell basket. They have to get more from him than they did from Heinicke."
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