Adam Peters has been introduced, as heard live from Ashburn at the top of Tuesday’s Grant & Danny show, and there was a lot to like from his 20 minutes or so at the podium – but Grant & Danny both had one big takeaway from the event.
For GP, it was simply that Adam took not only the job, but even a phone call for it, because he would’ve been the favorite for any job, and Washington just wasn’t the place to be in years past – but all that has changed.
“He referred to the Commanders as a pillar organization in the NFL that he wants to help reinstall,” Grant said. “This was the gig he wanted, and you can believe him because he picked this one. He told other teams trying to interview him last year no thank you, and he could’ve been a finalist presumably for every single job this year.”
“Seven months ago, this was a pariah, a job you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. Seven months ago, this is a place you went to go to the reverse car wash to make some money, but get dirtier and not have your career extend beyond this place, to not be thought with the same reputation anymore,” Danny said. “Everyone who took a gig here took it at their own risk, but that is the old. Now, this is the most desired destination in the sport, so sayeth the guy that could have had his pick of any job that was open and available.”
But he's here, and it's because he's the right guy.
“Josh Harris repeatedly called him a winner. You have seen how the sausage got made in New England, when he won a ring; you have seen, in Denver, what it looks like when they built a juggernaut and Peyton Manning was throwing 50-plus touchdowns,” GP said. “He’s won three rings and 13 division championships, and San Francisco, where he comes from, they went to a Super Bowl and have been one of the best three teams in the NFL the last five years – and now, to hear him and Josh Harris in unison say they’re going to build things the right way, is great.”
“Previous ownership was always about a quick fix of some kind, a new little tour to dangle in front of the cat, a little carrot for the fans; so many times, whether it was a new executive, a new quarterback, a new toy, the quick fix was always the way because Snyder thought of us as cash machines and sheep, he just assumed we'll always be there because it's the Redskins,” Danny said. “It eventually started to wear thin and people stopped believing in the fairy tale, they stopped believing in the quick fix.”
And as for Danny?
“It was the big picture. You heard some of the buzzwords and things that we all like to hear about process and all those things, but you have the synergy between owner and lead executive, which is what I've always wanted, which is everyone will always be pulling the rope in the same direction,” Danny said. “Everyone will always be singular-mission folks, which is to build something great, not something quick but something great. If it takes one season, two seasons, whatever, that's the whole mission focus, we don’t lose that at the slightest convenience to try to upgrade the slightest bit to go 8-8-1.”
“I really liked him talking about building through the draft, saying it was really similar to what they did in San Francisco when he got there,” Grant replied. “It’s an answer most fans are going to like to hear obviously, but what I took out of it was less the draft part and more I loved the hire, and I hadn't really considered some of the similarities, and now I look at it with San Francisco and he's on to something, right? They went in there with a young offensive-minded head coach, which is what I think they're going to have by the end of the week, and it took a couple of years, but they certainly started to turn that thing around.”
Oh, and one other thing both guys loved?
“This is something that outside of DC, nobody would care about, but him sitting there calling Josh Harris ‘Josh,’ it’s just such a different world,” Grant said. “Having been in that building for years and years and years, the way Dan treated everyone permeated into how they treated everyone. The idea that you have to call him mister and you can't look him in the eye at a certain time, and if you're his secretary, you better be at your desk for certain minutes if he might need you or whatever the fears were – he’s just sitting there talking to another dude who happens to be a billionaire who owns the team.”
“Totally,” Danny replied. “The only guy that didn't have to call him Mr. Snyder was Joe Gibbs, who awkwardly referred to him as Daniel in public here and there, but you're right. I know it sounds small, but it's emblematic of ‘what are we all doing here?’ I happen to own the team, that's my role, I'm gonna try to do that role as best I possibly can; your role is to be the architect, but what's the point? The end game is to try to be really good at football, which is really hard.”
