Less than a month after former Commanders owner Daniel Snyder got the boot from the game, new Commanders owner Josh Harris got a game ball.
“I had seen that they were on the field after the game,” coach Ron Rivera said after Friday night’s 17-15 win over the Browns. “We did hand Mr. Harris a game ball. It was a preseason game and we told him a win’s a win and you can always keep this one. We gave it to him and the guys were pretty fired up and looking forward to the opportunity to give him one for real.”
The Commanders continue to have a mostly positive vibe, in the afterglow of the team finally getting rid of the dark cloud that came from Snyder. Even with this week’s awkward situation regarding offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and the public comments made by Rivera, the Commanders can currently do no wrong with their fan base — thanks to the removal of an owner who could seemingly do no right.
How long will it last? That depends. Plenty of Commanders fans would have gladly taken a season or two of 0-17 if it meant getting rid of Snyder for good.
That said, at some point the Harris regime will need to produce. The obstacles associated with the structuring of the deal could raise legitimate questions about cash flow when it comes to competing for players and coaches — and for creating the kind of facilities that could break the tie, if/when the money is equal between the Commanders and one or more other teams.
Still, for now, the best attribute of Josh Harris is that he isn’t Daniel Snyder.
