Washington football fans who remember 1970’s Hall of Fame head coach George Allen’s “Future is Now” philosophy may find a different meaning in it today.
In 1971, Allen sacrificed seven future draft picks for “Over the Hill Gang” defensive players from his former team the Los Angeles Rams. He also inherited future Hall of Famers in quarterback Sonny Jurgensen and wide receiver Charley Taylor and in the eventual 1972 NFL MVP running back Larry Brown. Allen also picked an offensive lineman in the 1971 draft named George Starke.
Allen also brought a winning spirt to the Redskins franchise.
The 1971 Redskins made the playoffs in Allen’s first season as head coach and despite losing in the first round to the Green Bay Packers, the team won the division in 1972 and the NFC Championship at RFK. Stadium over the Dallas Cowboys on New Year’s Eve, 26-3, before losing the Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins, 14-7, to the only team with a perfect season ever in the modern Super Bowl era.
NFL Hall of Fame coach and legend Vince Lombardi helped create a culture of winning in Washington, making players realize that “pride mattered” in their play.
But Allen generated a wining spirit and generated new enthusiasm for Washington football fans over the next five seasons with the “Over the Hill Gang” defense. After missing out on the playoffs in 1977, owner Edward Bennett Williams fired Allen.
Former Redskins linebacker Jack Pardee, a member of the “Over the Hill Gang” took over as head coach, started 6-0 in the 1978 season and then dropped eight of their last 10 games for an 8-8 record and missing out on the playoffs. In the next season, old players were gone except for a player Allen traded for in 1976 named John Riggins.
In the final game of the 1979 season, Riggins ran for 66-yards in the fourth quarter to give the Redskins a 34-21 lead with 7:54 remaining. As the Washington team celebrated around Riggins in the end zone, it looked as if the Redskins would win the NFC East with an 11-5 record, have home field advantage at RFK Stadium throughout the playoffs and a serious playoff run to the Super Bowl.
But Roger Staubach brought the Cowboys back in front of the Texas Stadium fans and a fade pass to Drew Pearson over Lemar Parrish with seconds remaining, plus the extra point, gave Dallas a 35-34 win and a heartbreaking defeat for the Redskins. Adding injury to insult, Washington didn’t even make the playoffs as a wild-card team due to a point-differential tie-breaking rule.
Riggins held out in the 1980 season partly a result of that Dallas loss. After a 6-10 season, Jack Kent Cooke, the former owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Kings, and the controlling owner of the Redskins, fired Pardee.
Then general manager Bobby Beathard, architect of the two-time Super Bowl champions Miami Dolphins, hired eventual Hall of Fame head coach Joe Gibbs, the former offensive coordinator for the San Diego Chargers.
After going 0-5 in his first five games as head coach, Gibbs adapted his offensive system and the Redskins finished 8-8. The team looked like a playoff contender by the last game of the 1981 season and fan expectations were high for the next campaign.
The next season, albeit a strike-shortened season, started with two wins prior to the strike. It ended with an 8-1 record, and three playoff games to make it to a Super Bowl XVII rematch with the Dolphins, 10 years after their 14-7 loss in Super Bowl VII.
An NFC Championship rematch and victory over the Dallas Cowboys, 31-17, and the 4th and 1 Riggins 43-yard touchdown run for a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter are in Washington football lore. Two other Super Bowl wins by the Redskins under Gibbs from seasons1981-1991, and the city celebrated, united behind the football team.
After Gibbs resigned as head coach in 1993, the franchise experienced a five-year playoff drought. Dan Snyder, took over as new owner in 1999 and eventually disenfranchised a loyal fanbase while creating a toxic culture of drama, ego, and mediocrity until selling the team officially on July 20, 2023. It was a day of celebration.
Philadelphia 76ers owner Josh Harris purchased the Washington Commanders, a team that had lost its reputation for a rich tradition of football and even its nickname.
Harris and the ownership team committed to bringing winning football back to the Washington football franchise. Harris hired general manager Adam Peters and Dan Quinn was hired as head coach. Quinn was the Atlanta Falcons head coach in 2017 and took the Falcons to Super Bowl LI against the New England Patriots. Up 28-3 in the third quarter, the Falcons blew the lead and lost 34-28 in overtime after a 19-point comeback by the Patriots in the fourth quarter.
Peters and Quinn hired offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and defensive coordinator Joe Whitt, Jr., and a foundation had been built to begin a team overhaul during the 2024 offseason. A fanbase already jubilant over the ownership change still had its doubts as to the decisions made under new leadership.
For Peters and Quinn, their “future is now” strategy was unlike Allen’s philosophy from 1971. Peters announced the future would be built through the draft, finding young, talented players to create a winning future for the franchise. He would only use free agency to fill in any missing pieces on the field.
As a sports owner, Harris recognized that new general manager Peters and head coach Quinn are experienced professionals and it’s their jobs to win a Super Bowl.
They struck gold with the second pick in the draft, Jayden Daniels. The 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year became a rookie-phenom quarterback this season. Daniels played like a Hall of Fame veteran at times, pulling out games in the last minute or even seconds. His confidence, leadership and knowledge of the game, spread throughout the team in preparation and competence. The connection with wide receiver Terry McLaurin put Daniels and McLaurin into the 2024 Pro Bowl.
In free agency, NFL veterans Bobby Wagner, Zach Ertz, and Austin Ekeler, could not only still play but they were integral in 2024 as leaders, instilling a cultural change to team play and learning to win. Wagner, Ertz and Ekeler, reflected experience from Super Bowl and championship teams, and could still play.
In 2023, Harris and ownership observed a second to last NFL team with a 4-13 record, and they turned it around to 12-5 in 2024. From general manager to head coach and down, top to bottom, the Commanders organization had a new outlook.
The team brought a season of excitement, including miracle finishes, quality football and fantastic finishes. It also brought post-season appearances, earning a wild-card playoff spot. Winning the Wild-Card Playoff game at Tampa Bay against the Buccaneers and the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field, the team made it to the NFC Championship game for the first time in 34 years.
Stopping short of today’s Super Bowl LIX in part because of giving up three turnovers in the 55-23 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in Lincoln Financial Field two weeks ago, it ended a season beyond expectations from fans but with full hope for the future.
Every season is different in today’s NFL. The players can change through free agency. But the good teams can also get better. For Peters, the “future is now” is significant because now some of the best veteran players in the NFL want to join the Washington Commanders with its winning culture and an opportunity for a Super Bowl championship sooner rather than later. That was rarely the case in the last 30 years.
Just this week, Myles Garrett, the 29-year old Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 with the Cleveland Browns, a six-time Pro Bowl selection and a four-time All-Pro first team defensive end, expressed interest in a trade to the Commanders because he wants to win a Super Bowl before his career ends and he like every NFL player recognizes the potential for Daniels to get the Commanders to the Super Bowl championship soon.
The Commanders are suddenly in the same conversation for free agents who want to go to top NFL teams with Super Bowl championship potential. Peters and Quinn will need to balance future draft choices with top talent still in their prime.
The “future is now” for the Commanders because as much as the name “Redskins” meant a winning football tradition for today’s gray-haired fans, the “Commanders” in 2024 brought home the winning football tradition and spirit the franchise and fans lost.
Harris announced this week that “Commanders” will stay the franchise name and for a younger generation that never experienced a Washington football team in the NFC Championship, it means winning football.
Commanders merchandise, including Jayden Daniels jerseys, soared this year and even fans committed to the prior nickname bought Commanders merchandise.
The “future is now” because Peters has the talent as a general manager to fit the right players into the new Commanders culture. A “Commander” today is defined as a player committed to the winning, loves the game of football and is accountable. Being a Commander is a commitment to victory.
The “future is now” because scouting combines begin at the end of this month, free agency begins March 12, and the NFL draft is April 24-26.
The foundation and culture of a winning franchise has been created but Washington football fan expectations will be high before the next season. Some fans will want a Super Bowl championship sooner next season.
Expectations can lead to resentment and in today’s NFL, every season is different.
The 2025 schedule will include games against today’s two Super Bowl LI teams, Kansas City and the Eagles—two games against the Eagles. They’ll play the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos, both 2024 playoff teams, and the ball needs to bounce the right way for any NFL team to win a Super Bowl.
The Commanders will obviously be challenged next season, but having a winning system in place, a 2024 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year quarterback with playoff and championship game experience, a culture of excellence over ego is encouraging.
As gray-haired fans remember the Redskins of yesteryear, we still love watching highlights from Super Bowl victories, past NFC Championship games—especially against Dallas—are seared in our memories and we still remember the rumbling thunder created by cheering fans in RFK Stadium.
But a new generation of Commanders fans from D.C., Maryland, Virginia and around the country can embrace that Washington football enthusiasm from the past and today as current culture reflects the same rich winning tradition of Washington football.
From one gray-haired fan to the ownership team, coaches, players and staff, on Super Sunday in February, thank you for the 2024 season, the first NFC Championship game since the 1991 season, and for returning the Washington football spirit to the DMV.
Hail to the Commanders and to building another memorable season in 2025!
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