HEADLINES

Eric Stokes (executive)

Commanders Notes: Kingsbury, Stokes, Staff, Newton, Allen, Sainristil

May 9th, 2024 at 5:15pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders did not end up zagging with their No. 2 overall pick. The team received only one offer — likely from the Raiders — for the selection, and the team went with Heisman winner Jayden Daniels. In reaching a conclusion Daniels was the top player at No. 2, Adam Peters kept his circle small. Only Josh Harris, Dan Quinn and advisor/ex-Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers comprised the new Washington football ops boss’ inner circle, per Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, who adds OC Kliff Kingsbury was brought in along the way and at least knew which way the new team braintrust was leaning.

Kingsbury, who coached Caleb Williams last year, was believed to be high on Daniels coming in. Many in the organization — including members of Harris’ ownership group — were not informed which player the team was picking until draft day, Vacchiano adds. Much of the front office and scouting department did not learn definitively it would be Daniels until the Bears went on the clock. While Harris was believed to be more involved than expected, the franchise had dealt with considerable Dan Snyder meddling in past drafts. Given the turmoil associated with Washington ownership and front office for much of the past two decades, this buttoned-up approach marked a change of pace.

Here is the latest out of Washington:

  • Retooling teams often make changes after the draft, as continuity in scouting departments is preferred due to the work done on draft classes in the months prior. The Commanders will make a key change. They are not renewing the contract of senior director of player personnel Eric Stokes, InsidetheLeague.com’s Neil Stratton tweets. Stokes joined the Commanders in 2020, following Ron Rivera‘s arrival, and moved to his most recent title in 2021. The veteran exec should land elsewhere soon, with Stratton adding he his a name to watch in scouting circles. This exit comes after Peters retained Rivera-era bastions Martin Mayhew, who worked with the current Commanders FO boss in San Francisco, and Marty Hurney.
  • Peters said earlier this offseason the team is not planning to trade Jonathan Allen, but ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler notes some around the league are wondering if the selection of Jer’Zhan Newton will prompt the team to listen on the veteran defensive tackle. Washington, which disbanded its DE contingent at the trade deadline, still has two high-priced DTs — in Allen and Daron Payne — and has used second-round picks on the position in 2022 and ’24. Phidarian Mathis played 203 defensive snaps last season but has yet to make much of an impact; Newton now joins him and does so as a Peters-Quinn-era draftee. Allen, who said last year he was not eager to be part of a rebuild, has come up in trade rumors before and is due base salaries of $14MM and $15.5MM over the next two years.
  • One of the three second-rounders the Commanders chose, Mike Sainristil is expected to begin his NFL run in the slot. Washington is planning to train the Michigan product as an inside cornerback, ESPN.com’s John Keim notes. He will accompany Benjamin St-Juste, 2023 first-rounder Emmanuel Forbes and UFA addition Michael Davis at the position. The Commanders, who lost Kendall Fuller and Kamren Curl from their secondary, will attempt to climb back from a last-place defensive finish.
  • The team will hire a longtime league office exec to be part of its staff. Dave Gardi will come over after 10 years as NFL VP of football operations to take on the title of Commanders senior VP of football initiatives. In-game management and assisting the coaching staff in terms of compliance with NFL protocols will be among Gardi’s duties in Washington, with the Washington Post’s Nicki Jhabvala offering that Gardi will be on headsets during games and concentrate on the coaching side during the season. That will certainly be a shift for a longtime league office staffer.

Commanders Expected To Retain Martin Mayhew

January 31st, 2024 at 10:01am CST by Sam Robinson

The Commanders took the unusual step of holding interviews for a top front office role while keeping its general manager in a holding pattern. Rumors steadily connected Martin Mayhew to following Ron Rivera out the door, but the team conducted a reevaluation under new front office boss Adam Peters.

Peters’ San Francisco past looked to reopen the door to Mayhew staying in Washington; the two worked together with the 49ers. It looks like Peters still values Mayhew. The latter is en route to Senior Bowl workouts in Mobile, Ala., with Commanders staffers this week, according to ESPN.com’s John Keim, who indicates the former Washington GM is expected to stay with the team in 2024.

Hired to work alongside Rivera in 2021, Mayhew came to Washington after four years on John Lynch‘s staff. Lynch brought in both Peters and Mayhew in 2017; the latter finished his 49ers tenure as the team’s VP of player personnel. Mayhew’s new Washington title is not yet known, but after a reevaluation period, appears he will survive and stay with the team for a fourth year.

Mayhew, 58, has extensive history in Washington. He started at cornerback for the dominant 1991 team that won Super Bowl XXVI, becoming a four-year starter under Joe Gibbs despite being a former 10th-round pick. While Mayhew finished his playing career in Tampa, he is best remembered as a player for his time in Washington. GMs are not given second chances at the same rate as head coaches, which made Mayhew’s second shot — after a run as Lions GM from 2008-15 — an interesting effort on Washington’s part. The veteran exec managing to stick around despite new ownership cleaning house following a 4-13 season is perhaps even more intriguing.

Josh Harris is believed to have influenced the Rivera- and Mayhew-led football ops department to trade both Montez Sweat and Chase Young on deadline day, and a swift decline followed. The Commanders lost their final eight games, with Rivera becoming one of the most predictable coach firings in many years. Mayhew, Marty Hurney and Eric Stokes had been among those rumored to be on the chopping block alongside Rivera. Stokes, the Commanders’ senior player personnel director, is already at the Senior Bowl, per Keim.

Being at the Senior Bowl representing a team is not a guarantee of long-term employment. Clubs regularly dismiss front office personnel — particularly those in scouting roles — after the draft to avoid shaking up personnel after extensive draft prep has already commenced. But Keim’s report points Mayhew to staying alongside Peters. It is not clear if Stokes and Hurney, who each worked with Rivera in Carolina prior to rejoining him in Washington, will join him for the long haul.