The Washington Commanders’ next power structure seems to be coming into place. It started with hiring Adam Peters away from the San Francisco 49ers to run the organization’s front office.
Peters was brought on after Washington hired former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers to lead the search for a new head coach and front office head. The decision to bring in Peters didn’t take too long.
It now looks like Washington is simply going through the motions in search for a new head coach to replace Ron Rivera. Current Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson has been seen as the favorite to land the gig.
Barring something unforeseen happening, he will end up becoming the Commanders’ next head coach once Detroit’s season comes to a conclusion.
“Multiple sources firmly believe that Adam Peters had been preselected to be the next G.M. Those same sources believe the Lions offensive coordinator has been preselected to coach the Commanders,” report from Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
As Florio noted, Commanders owner Josh Harris is “enamored” with former New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. But the decision to bring on Peters to run the personnel department pretty much throws that idea out the window. Belichick wants complete roster control like he had for the vast majority of his 24 years in New England. He wouldn’t have that in Washington.
Ben Johnson always made sense for the Washington Commanders
Johnson, 37, is seen as an up-and-coming head coach candidate. He’s already been linked to openings with the Carolina Panthers, Tennessee Titans, Los Angeles Chargers, Atlanta Falcons and Commanders. There is going to be a bidding war for his services.
For good reason.
In his two seasons as the Lions’ offensive coordinator, Johnson has led two top-five scoring offenses. He’s helped turn Jared Goff back into a franchise quarterback and runs an innovative offense.
The hiring of Peters to run things seems to indicate clearly that Johnson is the choice. Washington would love to duplicate the success the San Francisco 49ers have had since they brought in then-young offensive mind Kyle Shanahan to be head coach back in 2017, pairing him with general manager John Lynch. Peters was part of that power overhaul in Northern California at the time.