When Magic Johnson was revealed as a minority partner in Josh Harris’ bid to own the Washington Commanders last year, he made it clear this wasn’t a vanity thing for him. Johnson, who has plenty of experience in sports ownership, was here to win.
Johnson often tweets about his favorite teams, specifically his beloved Los Angeles Lakers. Last season, he added the Commanders to that list. While his tweets were often positive, Johnson appeared to express some frustration after some early-season losses.
Since January, Harris, Johnson and other members of Washington’s ownership group have made massive changes. Those changes began by firing Ron Rivera and hiring the top GM candidate available, Adam Peters.
While many believed the Commanders would hire Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson as head coach, they eventually hired Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. Quinn’s hiring was praised across the NFL, as most believed he deserved a second shot at being a head coach after over five seasons as the Falcons’ head coach from 2015-20.
Since his arrival, Quinn has hired a terrific coaching staff. Washington was then active in free agency, signing several players to improve a 4-13 roster.
So far, Johnson likes what he has seen.
“We’re excited because Coach Quinn has been a head coach in the league before,” Johnson said in an interview with WUSA9 in Washington. “He took the Falcons to the Super Bowl. He’s done an amazing job with the Cowboys.”
Quinn spent the past three seasons in Dallas, where he led the Cowboys to top-five finishes in total defensive DVOA each season, per FTN.
“We needed an outstanding leader, and we got one in Coach Quinn,” Johnson said. “And, so, now he’s put together an amazing staff. So it’s up to us to do a good job in free agency and the draft and just build it and take steps. You got two teams in our division that we’re trying to catch, and that’s the Cowboys and the Eagles. And so we got to take steps to do that and build our team the right way.”
@MagicJohnson on Commanders hire of Head Coach Dan Quinn and how the staff has been handling the offseason and draft process #NFL #HTTC
: @wusa9 pic.twitter.com/i33P4Xdv71
— Saint (@SaintWah) March 23, 2024
Johnson himself was reportedly involved in Quinn and the Commanders’ hiring of offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury, who many believed had agreed to join the Raiders in the same role.
Everything is good for Washington right now. The Commanders have had a strong free-agency period and hold nine picks in next month’s 2024 NFL draft, beginning at No. 2 overall.