Mike Florio didn’t waste any time criticizing new Commanders majority owner Josh Harris.
Florio, the man behind Pro Football Talk, took aim yesterday at the comments from Josh Harris during the Monday press conference announcing Ron Rivera’s firing and the hiring of Rick Spielman and Bob Myers.
Florio opened “PFT Live” by suggesting that when Harris said, “I’m going to really be somewhat flexible around talent,” that he was signaling “if I decide I want Bill Belichick to be my head coach and I have to give him the keys, though there will be someone who is called the head of football operations, Bill Belichick will still be in charge if that is what it takes.”
Florio went further and questioned the integrity and honesty of Harris.
“Josh Harris is in charge. Is he setting up this network, this table of people who will be advising him to truly, objectively advise him? Or is this all just a way to make it look like what he wants to do anyway, is the right thing to do?” Florio asked.
He then concluded: “It just looks like a meddling owner who’s coming in saying, ‘This is what I want to do.’ ”
Florio expressed a warning to future Washington coaches.
“I don’t know that it’s real attractive to me as a coach if I got to go to a place where I am answering to this person, this person, that person, then I got this person over here, this person over here. That makes it harder not easier for me. There are more people I’ve got to worry about. Who’s on my side? Who’s behind me? Who’s working against me?”
Why is Florio attributing improper motives to Harris like this? Doesn’t this allow Florio to interpret everything negatively that Harris says, painting a very pessimistic, oppositional portrait?
Harris has remained mostly quiet all of his first NFL season. Doesn’t he deserve a more fair hearing? Has Harris, up to this point, done anything to warrant such skepticism, suspicion and mistrust?