'We're coming back': New Washington Commanders owners offer vision of team's future

WASHINGTON – Josh Harris never mentioned him by name, but the reported interest by one American businessman with ties to the D.C. area in the Washington Commanders led to the final price tag of $6.05 billion, which Harris and his investment group paid to purchase the team from Dan Snyder.

Jeff Bezos.

Harris referred to him on multiple occasions as "an individual we're fond of, who owns a newspaper we love." Bezos, the Amazon chairman and founder (and the world's third-richest person, per Forbes), had interest in buying the team himself, according to reports. A public offer never materialized, and through a series of "cordial" meetings with Dan and Tanya Snyder in London throughout the year, Harris and his partners reached a deal.

“There were rumors of this unnamed individual who owns a paper (The Washington Post)," Harris said to interviewer David Rubenstein, "and I had to make sure this was a fair process.

"(The Snyders) did what they should do, which is push the price up as much as possible."

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New era:New Commanders owner Josh Harris wants to change culture, win championships

On Wednesday at a dinner for the Economic Club of Washington, D.C., Harris and limited partner Mitchell Rales pulled back the curtain on their record-setting purchase and provided insight into their first six weeks of ownership. Additionally, they offered a glimpse at future plans, such as an inevitable new stadium and the evolution of the organization's nickname.

New stadium in plans sooner rather than later

All three jurisdictions surrounding the Commanders — Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia — all are publicly vying for the team to build a much-needed new stadium in their locale. And the new ownership group appears happy to be courted by the trio. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke at the dinner prior to the interview.

"We're looking. We're very excited to be welcomed by all three jurisdictions and we're looking forward to the process," Harris said.

He added: "The sooner we get started, the sooner we'll have a new home."

For now, efforts are underway to improve the current FedEx Field experience. Harris said upgrading the food options, with proposals for new pantries and new ovens sitting in his email inbox, are a priority.

“That’s a very strategic thing," Harris said. "Somebody’s coming to your house, you don’t want to serve them bad food. You want to serve them good food.”

Alleviating traffic around the stadium and repairing seats and bathrooms are also top of mind for him.

Harris also knows that a new stadium, no matter how much public funding is allocated, will require infusions of capital from himself and fellow owners.

The team name

Washington may not be known as the Commanders for long, but it will never be going back to the name it sported before 2020. Team president Jason Wright was adamant about that last week, but Rales made it clearer Wednesday.

"What I can tell you is we're not focused on the previous name," Rales said. "That ship has sailed."

As the sale of the team went through, part-owner Magic Johnson — who addressed the team for the first time Wednesday before practice — said that "everything is on the table" when it comes to the team, including the name "Commanders," which debuted in 2022 after Washington spent two seasons as the "Washington Football Team."

"We're not going to relitigate the past," Rales said. "We're about the future. We're about building the future and not having a divisive culture that we're engaged in. We're going to look at everything come end of the year and think about a lot of different things and do a lot of testing and see what we think. And we'll learn. The beauty is that we have the time to look at all of this stuff intelligently and make fan-based decisions."

Sam Howell

Second-year signal-caller Sam Howell has been given the keys to the offense for the 2023 season. Rales said that ownership hopes that the former fifth-round pick can be the long-term answer at the position.

"Let's be realistic. Do we have a great quarterback? We just don't know right now," Rales said. "We have a great kid who wants to learn and wants to try hard."

Ron Rivera's future

With Howell's future beyond this season uncertain, the same goes for Commanders head coach Ron Rivera. Entering his fourth season, Rivera has made the playoffs once without ever posting a winning record.

Obviously, Harris will be evaluating him. But from his past experience owning the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils, the Maryland native learned that adding pressure rarely leads to better results.

"He’s done a great job in terms of where the team is relative to where it was when he got here and relative to the distractions going on," Harris said, describing the scandals and controversies of the Snyder era.

"Ultimately, we have to deliver wins on the field. You don't really have to say anything. It's just out there. But so far so good."

Super Bowl soon?

When rosters were cut down to 53 the last week of training camp, Harris stayed out of the discussions. But he asked to be briefed — his way of learning while not interrupting the process.

Rales said the ownership group will be careful not to make short-term decisions that mortgage the future.

As Rubenstein pressed Harris for a timeline to win the Super Bowl, Harris said it's hard to frame it like that.

"What you can do as an owner, you can set up an opportunity to win," Harris said. "Ultimately, the players win. They win on the field. You push the organization to create edges against 31 other teams. We’re totally focused on it. When it happens, I don’t know."

He did put division rivals on notice, though.

“If you’re in the NFC East," Harris said, "we’re coming back.”