Washington Commanders managing partner Josh Harris said he plans to hire a head of football operations before bringing in candidates to become head coach, but he acknowledged in a public comments Monday that timing might not let him execute his ideal search sequence.

Harris addressed the players earlier in the day, then spoke in public. He said his general emotion at the end of the 2023 season was frustration and felt head coach Ron Rivera was not surprised to be dismissed on Monday.

“It’s very important to have a relationship, to have a dialogue with the players,” Harris said. “It’s very important to be engaged, particularly the captains and the leadership.”

Harris has tasked former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers and former Minnesota Vikings GM Rick Spielman, who has 30 years scouting and personnel experience, to assist with front-office decisions.

“Bob Myers is a winner,” Harris said of going outside of the NFL orbit to hire the four-time NBA championship architect. “Who wouldn’t want him on your team?”

Harris said he considered candidates throughout the season but wasn’t planning to make a change before Monday. He said he committed to the city, and to Rivera, that the coach would have the entire season to be evaluated on the Commanders’ performance after Harris led a group that purchased the franchise from Daniel Snyder prior to the start of the 2023 season.

The Commanders finished the season 4-13 and were 26-40-1 in four seasons under Rivera.

“My message to the Washington fan base is thank you,” Harris said. “You showed up in droves. We sold out every game. … The future is bright. We have a lot of cap space. We have a great ownership group. We’re very committed to winning for this city. We look forward to showing you and not telling you in future years.”

Harris spoke to Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy on Monday to hand him the keys to the team temporarily and said in a “perfect scenario,” his head of football operations would discuss the head-coaching position with Bieniemy “and others.”

“We’re right there with the fans in terms of sweating every loss. The ultimate goal is to be an elite team competing for championships. When you do things quickly, sometimes you set yourselves back. … I want a winning franchise — quickly. But for me it’s about making the right decisions.”

One thing not on the Washington to-do list is reviewing the Commanders name, which some fans had speculated new ownership might do.

“In addition to picking a new head of the front office, a new head coach, we’re busy at work working on the next improvements to our stadium,” Harris said. “We’re going to be rolling out a big investment program in the next few weeks. And then obviously we’ve got our new home and thinking about that.”

–Field Level Media

Incoming Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris received a hero’s welcome at the entrance of the team’s stadium on Friday afternoon, where locals celebrated a changing of the guard from Dan Snyder and embraced the local fanboy feeling emanating from the new boss.

Harris was approved as owner of the Commanders by unanimous vote of the NFL’s 32 franchise owners in Minnesota on Thursday and arrived 20 hours later to droves of grateful fans chanting “Thank you Josh.”

“We have a lot to do,” Harris said, slapping high-fives with fans hovering at the front of the stage. “We’ve got to get the team ready to win football games. We’ve go to get out in the community and start to pay it forward. We’ve got to change fan experience at the stadium. That’s what we’re focused on right now.”

Former head coach Joe Gibbs addressed the crowd to shed light on Harris, who owns a minority stake in Joe Gibbs Racing.

With head coach Ron Rivera and team president Jason Wright among existing team brass seated on stage, Harris engaged the audience with an energetic flair diametrically opposed to his predecessor.

The message from the Chevy Chase, Md., native was different, too.

Harris sprayed to every field in a question-and-answer session with fans who asked about the team changing its name for a fourth time and the future of the antiquated stadium.

“We’re going to throw a party every other Sunday,” Harris said, highlighting his experience going to the franchise’s games at RFK Stadium.

“When you have guests in your house, you treat them well. You don’t have couches that are broken. You don’t have TVs that aren’t working. That’s what we’re focused on right now. As far as the stadium experience long run, we would love to have a stadium where opposing players fear to come and our players love to come and our players love to come and feel welcome. That’s what I experienced at RFK. Whatever happens at the stadium, that’s the kind of stadium experience I want to create.”

Harris pointed to recently published franchise value numbers that showed Washington was No. 1 in North America in 2008 but has since been overtaken by multiple teams, including the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and others.

He said he does grasp the amount of work ahead to bring the franchise back to once lofty heights.

“It’s hard to imagine but I’ve seen the numbers. The Commanders were once the No. 1 franchise in the NFL back when they were the Redskins. Not the Dallas Cowboys.”

–Field Level Media