A roadmap for the rest of Washington’s 2023 season. Part 3.

Approaching the next 4 months of transition

Part 1 of this series can be found here.

Part 2 of this series can be found here.

After the October 31st trade deadline, the conservator GM’s attention will turn almost entirely to one thing: Helping to find his own replacement. Hired on a short term stint, his responsibility will be scouring the league of top managerial talent, and pulling together a short list of individuals for Josh Harris and company to consider as the season comes to a close.

The conservator will also play a key role in ultimately interviewing the GM candidates, and in helping to brief the new GM once he comes on board, so he can start the job with his eyes wide open.

Step 5: Line Up the Next Architect of the Dynasty – December

There have been discussions about Washington’s new management team on Hogs Haven in the past, but it’s time to narrow the field for this exercise at this point.

The ideal candidate will be from a successful organization, and will likely have understudied with at least one of the better General Managers in the game. He will be well-regarded in league circles and, likely, unfamiliar to all but the most hardcore fans. Some options are below:

• Malik Boyd – Bills

Boyd, 52, has been with the Bills organization since 2017, working under GM Brandon Beane, and currently serves as their Senior Personnel Advisor. In fact, Boyd was the first executive Beane hired after arriving in Buffalo. Boyd’s previous background had been as a scout with the Colts and the Cardinals during the period when Arizona made the Super Bowl (2008 season).

In 2014, Boyd was named the Fritz Pollard Alliance’s NFC Scout of the Year. When Boyd was hired by the Bills, Beane was effusive with praise:

“Malik has had experience in college and pro. He also was a former player and he knows the game well. He cut his teeth in college originally. Good versatility. He started with Bill Polian and those guys. He worked his way and ended up in Arizona and really did a nice job. I had seen him on the road, but I called around the league and nothing but great things about his work ethic, his character and he’s a good evaluator.”

Boyd was among those interviewed for the Titans’ opening this past offseason, a job ultimately given to Ran Carthon.

• Brandon Brown – Giants

Brown, 35, is the Giants’ Assistant General Manager, and is the top lieutenant to Joe Schoen – formerly of the Bills. Before coming to the Giants, Brown had been with the Eagles for five years finishing as the team’s Director of Player Personnel. Prior to that, he was a scout for the Colts.

When asked what he learned in his first year with the Giants, he offered:

“I learned time doesn’t belong to me. Time belongs to the staff. Why I say that is, I kind of look at everything through the lens of people, process, and culture. People, on the day-to-day, I figure out, how can we maximize everyone who’s on this roster? Process is, how do we improve and get better, whether it’s employing new ideas? Culture, how do we put forth things that are going to be what we want to be, whether it’s in the building, whether it’s on the field, or in the community? Those three layers.

“I say time doesn’t belong to myself; after 8 a.m., you don’t know what’s going to happen, right? So, it’s really pre-8 a.m. It’s what you have to yourself, whether you want to watch film, or there are certain things on your agenda. Call it post-8 a.m., post-7 p.m., that’s where you get back to doing things for yourself. I think no day is the same, where in between that 8-to-8 window, you’ve got to be ready for curveballs. You’ve got to adjust.”

• Joe Hortitz – Ravens

Hortitz, 48, has been with the Ravens since 1998, working alongside Ozzie Newsome and Eric DeCosta, and helping to build two Super Bowl winning teams. He is currently Baltimore’s Director of Player Personnel.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer:

“Hortiz has long been one of the best college scouts in the league and has worked his way through the Ravens organization the same way that guys such as Jets GM Joe Douglas and Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta did.”

Hortitz interviewed for the Giants’ job that Schoen eventually got in 2022, as well as interviewing with the Steelers. In the 2023 offseason, he interviewed for the Cardinals’ job.

• Mike Borgonzi, Chiefs

Borgonzi, ~43, has been with Kansas City since 2009, starting out as a College Scouting Administrator, and being elevated to Assistant General Manager in 2022.

From ChiefsWire:

Borgonzi has really been Brett Veach’s right-hand man during his tenure as general manager in Kansas City. The two served as Co-Directors of Player Personnel under John Dorsey. It’s easy to see how Borgonzi would be an attractive hire for a team as he’s served under three different front offices in Kansas City, first joining the team back in 2009. He’s seen a lot of growth during his time with the Chiefs, so they’d probably be motivated to keep him if possible.

In his first season as Assistant GM, Kansas City had one of its best draft classes in recent memory. They landed two studs in the second round, with C Creed Humphrey and LB Nick Bolton. The team also managed to find the steal of the 2021 NFL draft in RG Trey Smith.

For better or for worse, Borgonzi is surely intimately familiar with Eric Bieniemy, which could make for a very interesting decision if he is Josh Harris’ selection as GM.

Step 6: Hire His Field General – December

It’s incredible to believe, but for the first time in a generation, there will likely be an opportunity for Washington’s General Manager to hire his head coach without the direct interference of the owner. That alone represents massive progress.

Some of the foremost potential candidates are below:

• Eric Bieniemy – Commanders OC

Bieniemy, 54, served as Chiefs’ OC under Andy Reid from 2018-2022. This season, he’s getting his opportunity to make his mark in DC. His future is surely highly dependent on how this team performs over the next 12 games.

• Ben Johnson – Lions OC

Johnson, 37, is the NFL’s newest offensive wunderkind. Now in his second year as Detroit’s head coach, he has the offense hitting on all cylinders. Over the summer, PFF listed Johnson as the best offensive coordinator in the NFL, and the hype machine has continued to gain steam since.

Johnson has worked closely with Jared Goff, helping to salvage his career after he left LA. ​​According to The Athletic:

”Taylor messaged Goff, telling him he would love working with Johnson and that the coach would be great for him. He said even though Johnson wasn’t his position coach, Goff could pick his brain and trust him. Then he called Johnson one of the smartest people he had ever been around. Taylor saw something in Goff others did not. And he knew something about Johnson that hardly anyone else could. So now, the tight ends coach and quarterback were entwined.”

Interestingly, Sam Howell is not an unknown quantity to Johnson, who is another former UNC QB.

• Dan Quinn – Cowboys DC

Quinn, 53, has been the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator since 2021, and has assembled one of the more impressive defenses in the league. Many will recall he was also the Falcons head coach from 2015-2020, leading them to a Super Bowl appearance.

Does Washington really want another defensive-minded head coach? Does Quinn function at his best with a ceiling of defensive coordinator? These are questions for the next General Manager to answer, but one thing is for certain, despite a massive investment on that side of the ball, Washington has not been able to find the right person to actualize that group’s potential.

Quinn is renowned for being a creative defensive coach, who “let’s his players eat” and who routinely puts them in a position to thrive. We could absolutely use more of that here.

• Ken Dorsey – Bill OC

Dorsey, 42, has been the Bills’ offensive coordinator for the past two years. Prior to that, he was the Bills’ QB coach and passing game coordinator, and before that he was the Panthers’ QB coach from 2013-2017.

He’s undoubtedly known well by Boyd, and would be logical, potential acquisition, if Boyd were made the GM. Dorsey has had excellent tools to work with in Buffalo. Would that translate in DC?

Dorsey was interviewed for the Panthers head coaching job this offseason.

The transition, and decisions on these critical roles can’t come soon enough. Let’s hope Josh Harris accelerates their implementation.