The Washington Commanders secured their first playoff victory in nearly two decades, sparking celebrations from Magic Johnson, a minority owner and NBA legend. Johnson emphasized the franchise's transformation from a losing to a winning culture, attributing the success to a new owner, coach, and a renewed sense of collaboration. The Commanders' turnaround is a testament to the impact of head coach Dan Quinn's energetic leadership style and the team's commitment to unity and shared goals.
The Washington Commanders celebrated their first playoff win in nearly 20 years late Sunday night in Tampa, Florida. Magic Johnson, a minority shareholder and five-time NBA champion, embraced the owner, the star receiver and the moment. Johnson, wearing a black Commanders hoodie and a thousand-watt smile, listed the multiple reasons the franchise had gotten to this point.
With his arm draped around principal owner Josh Harris, he told reporters in the team's locker room that the franchise had gone from 'a losing culture to a winning culture' thanks to a new owner, new vision and new strategy. Harris, who spoke up as excited Commanders players entered the locker room, added three more reasons for Washington's surprising success: 'talent, culture and people.' Then Johnson remembered the final ingredient -- one the Hall of Fame point guard of the 1980s Showtime Lakers dynasty would be remiss to forget. This franchise, which had been in search of a quarterback for decades, finally found one in Sam Howell. But Washington's one-year turnaround -- not just from a 4-13 season but from the NFL abyss for most of the past two-plus decades -- has been about all of the things mentioned. It took Harris buying the team from Dan Snyder in July 2023. Harris hired general manager Adam Peters, who led the search that landed coach Dan Quinn. They signed veterans known for leadership and then drafted Daniels with the second overall pick. Quinn's energetic style, Daniels' determined play and the veterans' influence have established standards for the entire team to follow. The team has won 13 games for the first time since 1991, and Sunday was Washington's first playoff win since the 2005 season. The Commanders have won six in a row -- the past five on either the last play of the game or the final play from scrimmage, including the 23-20 win over the, who has been on the team since 2018. 'You feel heard. It was a long time where I didn't feel heard,' said Johnson, who has been on the team since 2018. 'It's like everybody's on the same page and everybody's working towards the same thing. And that translates to everything that you see on the field.' The uber-positive, ultra-personable first-year Commanders coach who's as recognizable for his backward cap as his dominating defenses enters the room with music blaring from a speaker in front of the room. The 15-20 minutes that follow are a fast-paced mixture of connection, information, inspiration and, oftentimes, laughs for players and coaches alike. The daily gatherings are a prime example of the culture shift that has swept through the team's facility this season. Since Quinn & Co. took over in February, he has emphasized energy and collaboration as the core tenets of his regime and has used his team meetings to set the tone. In the spirit of collaboration, Quinn typically doesn't do all of the talking. He will often have his assistants present to the team -- which is a rarity in the NFL. One week, quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard presented cutups of plays, another week it was special teams coach Larry Izzo. Quinn is likely to ask anyone in the room for their input. He'll even crack jokes to get a point across. During the team's prep last week for the wild-card game against the Buccaneers, a straight-faced Quinn informed the team he was going to change the practice schedule the Commanders had used at every step en route to their improbable 12-win season. 'No man, I'm just bulls---ting you. We're going to do exactly what we do,' he told them, emphasizing the necessity of following the plan that had gotten them to that point. In a recent meeting, Quinn asked Reaves, a special teams standout and former Pro Bowler, what he thought the unit needed to work on. But it's not just Reaves, players say, Quinn will ask individuals from different position groups the same question. 'He understands the game is played by the players and what happens in between the lines between the players,' Reaves said. 'So he needs the feedback from us to know how to go about things. That's unique. 'You don't always get that because you get ... a disconnect between player coach, right? Coaches do one thing, players feel another way and there's this big disconnect that doesn't mesh. ... But that's not the case here.' said these meetings get them ready to go for the week. He also said it helps that players can be themselves. 'Sometimes, at least team meetings that I've been a part of, you are on eggshells. How's the head coach going to react to certain things or is he going to pull up tape and show maybe me in a bad light?' Mariota said. 'But for , it's very much just like we're all family. .
WASHINGTON COMMANDERS MAGIC JOHNSON NFL PLAYOFFS DAN QUINN CULTURE SHIFT SAM HOWELL
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