Over 23 years in the then-Redskins front office, Charley Casserly saw a lot of great football, and more than his share of hard times – sometimes, both in the same season (strike year, anyone?).
We’ve seen both in just the last 18 months here in DC, but we’re back on the good side, and when Casserly joined The Junks Friday morning, well, he joked that even with Inauguration Day coming up on Monday, Saturday might be the most important day in the DMV in decades.
“This is the only question anybody could ever ask and understand in this city: is it bigger Saturday night, or Monday?” Charley asked the Junks, and got answers ranging from JP asking about Notre Dame-Ohio State and Bish already lamenting Monday traffic.
All jokes aside, EB said he’s proud to wear Commanders/Redskins gear again, and Casserly gets it.
“I get it, and you all know what it was like back in the day, and I’m glad it's back that way. It’s great for the city, and I think obviously it started with the change in ownership; they could have named anybody and they would’ve been excited, though Josh Harris is doing a good job,” Casserly said. “I know Dan Quinn very well, and his greatest asset as a coach is the single most important thing you have to do, and that’s building a culture and getting players to play hard. They play hard for him.”
Oh, and they have a pretty good QB, too.
“This guy might be Mahomes. He has an uncanny knack with two minutes to go,” Casserly said of Jayden Daniels. “I’m not ready to put him in the Hall of Fame like you, but he’s an excellent passer, and all I hear is his work habits are good. The offense is different because it has a lot of runs in it, which makes it hard to defend, so we just got to hope that this guy doesn't get banged up to the point where he's not the same quarterback.”
Coming off a 4-13 season, flipping that record and getting to the Divisional Round was beyond some wild dreams, and Casserly agrees he has maybe never seen anything like it.
“It’s crazy to think of a better turnaround than this, with this many wins in this kind of situation,” Casserly said. “I think that they play hard, and their record is probably better than what their talent is, but that's coaching – you always want to have a better record than the talent. So I think as they go through this process, we’ll see how it goes, but Quinn knows what he’s doing and they overhauled the roster, and did a good job placing the players. He has the GM in lockstep with him and an owner that is committed to winning, and once you get the three of them in that same direction with patience, you're going to be successful.”
Listen to Casserly’s entire visit above, as he also talks about Commanders fans returning, the Dan Campbell effect in Detroit, and more!