Success can be great, but for teams like the Washington Commanders, it can create a problem that stems from one of the side effects.
You see, when teams like the Commanders win, other NFL teams who have struggled to do so want to get a piece of that winning feeling. Typically, they try to get it by stealing coaches from their staff.
As Washington entered the offseason after missing out on a trip to the Super Bowl, the immediate concern turned to the numerous openings waiting for offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury to interview for. In the end, the coach opted to pass on every interview request and returned.
It is an outcome that isn't as common as some would like, but one that head coach Dan Quinn was happy to see unfold. Still, had it not, there was a plan in place, a plan Quinn brought with him when he first arrived.
"It was part of the interview here, I told (managing partner) Josh Harris, we were going to have a deep crew because I expect us to do well, and when we do, people are going to leave. ...(And) I'd rather promote from within," Quinn said in an appearance on the Glue Guys Podcast. "So we've got some heavy hitters on our staff that stayed when they could have left, even this year. And that really made me happy knowing that they had some unfinished business here. And that made me happy to know that if they had left, there were other people that were ready for that too."
It hasn't taken long, but wanting to stay with the Commanders has suddenly become a trend. Linebacker Bobby Wagner and tight end Zach Ertz both said Washington was the only team on their preferred list when deciding to play another season.
At least part of the reason is that there's a belief in what the team has built and is continuing to build under Quinn's leadership. It's an approach that he developed by evaluating his shortcomings that led to being fired by the Atlanta Falcons and coming up with actionable solutions to them. For example, like being prepared for when a stud offensive coordinator gets a head coaching job like Kyle Shanahan did with the San Francisco 49ers following the Falcons' Super Bowl appearance under Quinn and his staff.
"I can say now that I'm in the 2.0 version of my head coaching spot, the coaching staff that I came in with in Atlanta was stronger than the one that I left with. And that's a bad thing," Quinn said. "I didn't do a good enough job of working the succession plan of who should be next into this spot and who should be next into this spot. And I'm not taking a shot at anybody. I'm saying the only shot taken there is me. And so the development of coaches is just as important as the development of players."
That succession plan, whatever it is and whenever it needs to be enacted, will also help quarterback Jayden Daniels who may then need to learn a new offensive coordinator and play-caller, but should be doing so from a common ground of understanding where they've come from, and where they want to go.
In a sense, it is a built-in answer to the classic question most have for teams hiring a defensive-minded head coach about what to do if your stud quarterback loses his coordinator?
The answer? Start grooming that next coach before they're needed, so that you don't have to scramble for a solution when the best problem an NFL head coach can have eventually comes knocking.
