Neil Greenberg’s analytics tell him a lot…but he doesn’t need them today to know that the Commanders are in a better spot today than they were Sunday.
“I think that they’re doing it the smart way, getting as many smart people with diverse experiences in a room to find the best candidates for probably the two most important hires they’re ever going to make,” Greenberg said. “I’m usually skeptical about the optimism, but I think it’s well justified, and you could argue what Washington has the best openings available.”
Harris has done a similar process in the past with the Sixers and Devils, and although there some NFL-specific quirks, but it’s ‘as close to a clean slate as you can get,’ and ‘you could do a lot worse than the opportunity Washington is presenting right now.’
Greenberg doesn’t necessarily have any thoughts on a ‘favorite’ for the GM search, only knowing it’s a lot of analytics-friendly minds from strong organizations, but ‘everything is trending in the right direction.’
“Whoever they get will have a sparkling resume, and I think fans should be very excited about it,” Greenberg said. “This doesn’t seem like a hand-picked situation, it really does feel like they’re trying to find the best person for the job.”
And so far, so good for Greenberg.
“I actually like what Washington is doing; it's a rebuild, but it's a rebuild with the right people in the right spots. That's what's been lacking in the past,” Greenberg said. “Look at what Harris did with the Sixers and Daryl Morey – it tells me that information is key. He’s assembling winners, people who have been part of winning organizations. You have to start somewhere, and if this is the rebuild on that foundation, it starts with something you can believe in, and I do think it’s headed in the right direction.”
Of course, said GM still has to pick the right coach, and that braintrust still has to make the right pick at No. 2 among other moves going forward, but there’s no real ‘right’ way to do things.
“You can hire a coach from the defensive side of the ball and get a rockstar for the offensive side and give them free reign,” Greenberg said. “It’s not mutually exclusive that if you get a defensive coach, the team is going to be defensive-minded. Offense rules the league, so having someone that is more comfortable, if that’s the right phrase, makes it easier, but if you get this GM and they think a defensive guy is the right head coach, but they also find a great offensive mind for that side, you give them the benefit of the doubt. It seems like a good mix is on the list to be interviewed, and the only type of coach I’d avoid is someone like Jim Harbaugh, who might want too much control. It doesn’t seem like they’re going in that direction, but to have those names attached to the Commanders at this point seems silly.”
