NFL Divisional Round picks: Why you should consider Texans, Lions, and Bills
Lorenzo Reyes is back with his three best bets for the NFL’s Divisional Round weekend.
Lorenzo’s Locks
ASHBURN, Va. – Dan Quinn left the Georgetown hotel in Washington D.C. convinced that Washington Commanders general manager Adam Peters and the rest of the team’s hierarchy, including owner Josh Harris and his partners, were the type of guys he wanted to work with.
“What I remember most (was) worry, I guess, like I really wanted the job,” Quinn said Thursday of the days between his in-person interview and receiving the news he had been hired. “So, I was like, ‘(Expletive), I hope they call.’”
Ben Johnson had been scheduled for an in-person interview that same Tuesday. But the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator, highly sought-after for the second straight cycle, took his name out of consideration before Commanders brass could visit him in Detroit.
Almost one year later, the No. 6 seed Commanders and No. 1 Lions are playing in the NFC divisional round Saturday.
“No irony,” Johnson said when asked about Washington being a team that had interest in him last year. “I mean, these guys, they have good coaches, they have good players and they’ve won a lot of games this year, so a very dangerous opponent, and one that we’re certainly not taking lightly.”
By returning to work for Lions head coach Dan Campbell for another season, Johnson led the most fearsome unit in the NFL, while Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels – along with a revamped culture thanks to Quinn, smart signings by Peters and a litany of other reasons – engineered a franchise-altering turnaround.
“Leaving (the interview), I just knew these are the type of guys that I want to work with,” Quinn said. “And over the last 11 months, they’ve proven that and then some.
“That was my instinct at the time, to say this is the type of environment that I’d want to be a part of and the people that I’d like to work with.”
Coaches removing themselves from a hiring process isn’t uncommon. Quinn did it himself after the 2021 season, his first as the defensive coordinator with the Dallas Cowboys. Sometimes candidates know the job is going to someone else. Sometimes they know the fit isn’t going to work.
Months after reports leaked throughout corners of the media, Johnson gave his own reasons.
“The stars need to align,” Johnson said in a May news conference. “I’m not going to do it just to do it. I love what I’m doing right now. I love it. I love where I’m at. My family loves where we’re at. I love the people we’re doing it with, so I’m not willing to down the other path yet unless I feel really good about how it’s going to unfold.”
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on a Seattle radio interview that Johnson didn’t interview as well as Quinn. Per multiple reports, Commanders leadership was about to board a plane to interview Johnson again before he told them no thank you first. Johnson later explained it was because he felt he had unfinished business with the Lions. After coaching for the Miami Dolphins under Adam Gase and the Matt Patricia era in Detroit, along with the lean first season-and-a-half under Quinn, Johnson said he was just getting used to the winning.
“I wanted the sunshine a little bit longer,” Johnson said.
He also placed an emphasis on stability and predicted that of the eight openings in last year’s hiring cycle, at least four or five would open again within three seasons.
That run-it-back approach helped unleash a Lions offense that finished first in scoring (33.2 points per game) and once again has Johnson on the wish list of the six remaining teams with head-coaching vacancies (the New England Patriots quickly hired Mike Vrabel).
For Quinn, it all comes back to one of his favorite sayings: doing hard “stuff” – he uses an expletive here typically – with good people.
“These guys have proven to be great people, and that’s what you’re looking for when you’re absolutely putting your life’s work together with some other people,” Quinn said. “You want to make sure this is how we want to do it and do it together. I feel that kind of support from Adam every day. And every time Josh and I are together, we feel that. And so, that’s a big deal.”
The Commanders appreciated Quinn’s willingness to change from his faults that led to his dismissal from the Atlanta Falcons after a 43-42 regular-season record, along with one epic Super Bowl defeat, from 2015-20 that ended five games into his sixth season with his team.
Whichever team hires Johnson will be bringing in a first-time head coach. His playbook will follow him, but the Lions’ personnel won’t. Washington has somebody who knew what building a culture looked like. And a fresh start was desperately needed following Ron Rivera’s final season, a 4-13 season campaign that was more apathetic than disastrous – at least compared to other seasons and controversies with former owner Dan Snyder’s fingerprints all over them.
“I wasn’t here for the previous regime,” linebacker Bobby Wagner said Thursday, “but you hear some stories.”
Wagner said “it starts with the new energy” that naturally shifted with a new ownership group, general manager and coaching staff, followed by a period of “wait-and-see” to figure out what the vision looked like.
“All these dudes are great leaders who want to win,” former Commanders cornerback Champ Bailey told USA TODAY Sports about the ownership group that includes NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. “That’s how you build a great program. When you have that, and you hire the right people to do their job, and you allow them to do their job, good things will happen.”
The turnaround is happening quicker than even those the most optimistic about the franchise could have expected. Daniels, a virtual lock to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, is the main reason for success in Year 1.
“Once you get quarterback nailed down, it rubs off on everybody,” Bailey said.
Of course, Quinn’s impact can’t be overstated.
“I think (Quinn) has done a great job coming in and really establishing his philosophy, what he’s going to expect from his team and expect from people in general,” said Wagner, who played under Quinn from 2013-14 when the coach was the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator. “And then, just make the game fun again. I think that’s what people like. You watch us play, it’s fun to watch us play. You feel the energy, you feel the camaraderie, you feel how together the team is. I think all of that is from the top-down.”
The “togetherness” aspect of team culture, Wagner said, is “everything.”
“It’s not always the most talented team that wins at the end of the season,” the Super Bowl 48 champion said. “It’s who plays the best and who’s the most connected and who’s the most selfless. You just want to make sure you’re that team.”
The Commanders are a team that enjoys spending time around one another.
“Somebody said that when we had the holiday party here, it was less like an office party and more like getting together with your friends,” Quinn said before the playoffs started.
With presumably good intentions, Johnson uninvited himself from the party last year. This year, he can help crash it and send everybody home.
