Commanders
The Commanders are dealing with the reality that their season is over after they lost to the Eagles in the Conference Finals. Both G Nick Alegretti and LB Frankie Luvu weighed in during locker cleanout on what the season has meant to them and where things stand in the future.
“This locker room will not be the same next year no matter what,” Allegretti said, via Ben Standig of The Athletic. “You can’t bring everybody back. You can move on and sign a new team, but it’s never the same.”
“They had a game plan. They had a foundation. Brick by brick, they laid (the path) down for us,” Luvu said of GM Adam Peters and HC Dan Quinn, calling it the most fun he has in his seven-year career. “They did an amazing job at it. I trust them with any move that they go forward with.”
“Really proud of this team and what they did and this group of men,” Peters said. “Thankful for them and how much work they put in. … Disappointing ending, but very grateful for everybody. When we talked with many of the guys today, it resonated with both of us. Bringing in the right people and bringing in guys we see as Commanders.”
“I think if we’re gonna take away a lesson … the biggest one is getting the guys that are Commanders, that are competitors that love ball, love each other and will play for each other,” Peters added. “We had a bunch of those guys on this team, and they liked playing for each other. They all said that today, which was cool to hear. That’s what we’ll look for.”
Commanders QB Jayden Daniels said he felt sick after the loss to Philadelphia but still plans to tune in and watch the Super Bowl. No one doubts that he has an incredibly bright future at this point, with HC Dan Quinn saying he has raised the bar in Washington.
“I’m not a bitter individual,” Daniels said. “Obviously it sucked that (we finished) one game away from it. But, kudos to (the Eagles) for playing in it because it’s very hard to get there.”
“The floor has risen,” Quinn noted after the season came to an end for the Commanders. “But we’re nowhere near where our ceiling’s gonna be, and that fires me up. You better be prepared, right? If you do well, then those are some of the things that take place from that. We do have a deep crew. We’ll be ready to adjust.”
The future is more unclear for veterans such as TE Zach Ertz and QB Marcus Mariota.
“I don’t know what the future holds. I still want to play football next year,” Ertz said. “I want to make that clear that I’m not retiring.”
“I’ve been part of so many different cultures,” Mariota noted. “When you find a good one, you don’t want to let that go.”
Cowboys
- Cowboys new HC Brian Schottenheimer talked about not taking previous HC opportunities: “I didn’t think I was ready. I’m ready now. I know what I want. I know what it looks like.” (Todd Archer)
- Dallas owner Jerry Jones likes Schottenheimer’s makeup and experience in the league with multiple coaches: “I like his baggage. I like his experience.” (Jane Slater)
- Schottenheimer discussed building relationships as a strength of his when asked what he can do differently from former HC Mike McCarthy: “I’m really good at X’s and O’s but I’m great with people and a lot of the guys in the locker room are excited about that.” (Slater)
- Jones on parting ways with McCarthy: “It was time for a change. We spent five days getting to come to that decision. One of the reasons we came to that decision was because this decision was available to us.” (Josh Tolentino)
- Cowboys EVP Stephen Jones believes they have a better outlook for the season because of Schottenheimer’s 25 years of experience rather than having a young offensive mind. (Archer)
- Jerry Jones expressed his desire for Schottenheimer to call offensive plays, per Jon Machota.
- Jones talked about fans being mad at him specifically: “Well, I understand that. I’m mad at me right now. But the issue is what are we gonna do about it. I’m the best man to do something about it.” (Machota)
- Schottenheimer on QB Dak Prescott: “He’s gonna play elite level football. He’s gonna lead us to championships. We got the right guy. We’re gonna win. We’re gonna win a championship.” (Machota)
- Jones told Machota that Colorado HC Deion Sanders was never a legitimate candidate for the job.
- Jones also implied former TE Jason Witten will not be on the coaching staff for 2025. (Machota)
- After not meeting with Jets HC Aaron Glenn or Bears HC Ben Johnson, Jones said he felt Schottenheimer was just as capable of a candidate with a complete understanding of the team’s situation. (Machota)
- Stephen Jones said that Schottenheimer wouldn’t have stayed as a non-playcalling offensive coordinator in Dallas under McCarthy because he had other opportunities: “Schotty wouldn’t have been here had Mike stayed and called the plays. He was ready to go somewhere, and he had opportunities to go call plays [elsewhere].” (Ed Werder)
Eagles
Eagles QB Jalen Hurts commented that their game plan for the NFC Championship win over the Commanders was to let him out of his “straight-jacket.” Nick Sirianni thinks speculation on what Hurts meant is overblown.
“I think he was having fun after the game,” Sirianni said, via Brooks Kubena. “We’ve been winning a couple different ways this year. … I know he’s said many times, ‘I don’t care how we win.’ … We found a way to win. … I just love how he went out and executed.”
- According to Jeff McLane, LG Landon Dickerson (knee) is expected to play in the Super Bowl.
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