It’s been less than two years since Dan Snyder relinquished control of Washington’s commanders, but it must feel like a lifetime to fans that has been the transformation since then.
The former owner presided over a somewhat toxic era for the franchise, on and off the pitch, and his decision to sell in April 2023 was as good as it got for some long-suffering fans. Until now.
Because what has essentially been a lifetime for any fan under the age of 34 is the wait for their team to return to the NFC Championship game — and that wait ends on Sunday.
In the 1990-91 season, they defeated the Lions to take the NFC title and bills to lift the Lombardi Trophy. This time, the Lions have been defeated a round earlier to set up a title game with their division rivals the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s the culmination of a season that would have been unthinkable two years ago in the dying embers of the Snyder era, the backdrop to which the investigation into “sexual misconduct and a persistently hostile work environment” and his years-long refusal to accept that the “Redskins ‘ name was no longer palatable.
Even worse for fans, the off-field problems were apparently reflected in a directionless team, with many voting with their feet, as evidenced by games played in front of sections of empty seats at FedEx Stadium.
Jayden Daniels has had an incredible rookie year and is one game away from the Super Bowl

Magic Johnson, one of the Commanders’ new owners, poses with fans and cheerleaders
“Dan Snyder has destroyed a once busy franchise,” Commanders fan Eric Bickel, the co-host of the radio show The Sports Junkies, told the Washington Post in 2022. “(The presence), it’s humiliating, but this is what what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens, what happens , what’s happening, what happens, what happens. When you alienate the core of your fan base. ‘
Fans were upset by only five winning seasons under Snyder. But off-the-field issues dominated the news cycle. The allegations against Snyder’s organization were varied but similar in their objection.
There were the 25 female former employees alleging they were sexually harassed during their time with the team, including the allegation that Snyder demanded a video compilation of “lewd” outtakes from the “Beauties on the Beach” video, making the 2008 cheerleader was described swimsuit calendar.
Then there were claims of financial misconduct: the team may have withheld up to $5 million in refundable deposits from season ticket holders; and that the team may have kept two books to hide revenue receipts that should have been shared in the league. In short, he ripped off fans and other teams.

The toxic Dan Snyder era of the Commanders is now just a memory for fans of the team

The last time the Commanders got to the Super Bowl was 1992, when they beat the Bills
There was also the row over the Redskins’ name, which he finally gave up after the killing of George Floyd, pushing institutionalized racism to the top of the new agenda.
In February 2022, the league hired Mary Jo White to investigate allegations of misconduct against Snyder. Seventeen months later, they settled both Tiffani Johnston’s allegation of sexual harassment by Mr. Snyder and Jason Friedman’s allegation of deliberate underreporting of the club’s NFL revenues by the club to avoid the VTs’ liability sharing obligations. There wasn’t enough evidence to support this involvement in the calendar issue, but it spoke to the toxic environment that it happened in the first place.
He was ordered by the league to pay $60 million, a drop in the ocean for a man who sold the franchise in 2023 for $6 billion to a consortium led by Crystal Palace shareholder Josh Harris and involving the basketball legend Magic Johnson.
It was against this backdrop that Ron Rivera had done his best to make the team competitive, but when they finished the 2023 season with a 4-13 record, it was time for the new owners to act. They brought in Dan Quinn, the renowned defensive coordinator who had been the Falcons’ head coach in the 28-3 Super Bowl collapse against the Patriots. A head coach and franchise each with a point to prove can be a powerful combination.
There was also an important new face in the front office in the form of Adam Peters, the general manager, who had been the assistant GM for three seasons. He and Quinn began their work with Gusto.
This final chapter of the franchise truly begins 12 weeks after Quinn was hired; More specifically at this point, the Chicago Bears took Caleb Williams with the first overall pick. That decision opened the way for the Commanders to take 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels with the second pick.

Redskins head coach Joe Gibbs is carted off the field after leading his team to the Lombardi

Josh Harris, who also owns the Philadelphia 76ers, is the new owner of Washington Commanders
Did they know he was as good as he has proven? Unlikely – although NFL pundit Dan Orlovsky reminded us last week that he said the Bears should have gone for Daniels over Williams at the time. Then there’s the clip of Joe Schoen’s son telling him to trade for Daniels, but the Giants GM decided not to follow the advice. The commanders were sure they had a man who would elevate the attack.
It obviously helped that there were offensive weapons to help the new guy. Despite having a host of second-string quarterbacks bringing the ball to him, Terry McLaurin had managed 1,000 yards in four straight years after 919 in his rookie year in 2019. Not surprisingly, he emerged as Daniels’ favorite target this regular season, as he has increased 1,086 yards, . But it was his touchdown production that improved significantly, with 13. His previous best had been seven.
Then there was running back Brian Robinson Jr, who played only two-thirds of the season but passed for 789 yards and eight touchdowns. In fact, Daniels proved to be the Commanders’ leading rusher, his 891 yards setting a record for the most rushing yards by a rookie quarterback in league history, with Forner’s 815 yards beating Washington first-rounder Robert Griffin III. And that was on top of Daniels’ 3,568 yards and 25 touchdowns through the air.
But as much as this season’s remarkable run has been thanks to Daniels being seamlessly thrown into the offense, the real benefit for the team came in the aggressive approach to free agency as the new leads showed their value.

A photo from July 2020 shows a sign welcoming fans to the ‘Washington Redskins’ stadium
Many of the biggest contributors to the Lions’ win, especially on defense, in the divisional round have only joined the franchise in the past 12 months. This suggests a front office that is doing more than just paying lip service to building a winning team (Jerry Jones takes note). Peters and Quinn should really be commended for this.
Safety Jeremy Chinn, who had seven tackles, five assists and an interception — on the game’s last meaningful play — against the Lions, turned down a higher offer from the Steelers for the chance to work with Quinn last March. He signed two days after Frankie Luvu, the linebacker who had five tackles and four assists last Saturday, penned a three-year deal. Bobby Wagner, the veteran linebacker who was part of Quinn’s Legion of Boom Defense in Seattle, was also brought in a decade ago; Eight combined tackles and 0.5 sacks were his contribution against the Lions. Then there was Marshon Lattimore, a former defensive rookie of the year acquired from the Saints for picks in November, with four tackles.
But it wasn’t just veteran defenders — rookie cornerback Mike Sainristil, the 50th overall pick, picked off Jared Goff twice. All the players stepped up when necessary, a sign not only that they have been well coached, but that the team has found players with the right mentality to thrive in a Dan Quinn side. Sometimes in the league, finding a guy with the right mindset is harder than finding a guy with the right skills.
As for the free agency veterans on the offense, Austin Ekeler and Zach Ertz have been key contributors all season long, even without putting up the numbers. And although they were relatively quiet in the divisional round, Ertz scored the touchdown that opened the crucial ten-point lead.

Dan Quinn has led his Washington team to the NFC championship game in a brilliant year
Like Wagner, Ertz knows what it takes to win a Super Bowl having done so with the Eagles seven years ago when he scored in the 41-33 victory over the Patriots.
On Sunday, as they face a febrile LINC crowd, Saquon Barkley, Jalen Carter et al, it’s these players who will be crucial in ensuring Daniels keeps his head – not that he’s shown any signs of not enjoying himself from the big stage.
When Snyder paid $800 million for the Redskins — at the time it was the highest price paid for a sports franchise — in 1999, he said, “That’s what I want, to bring a Super Bowl trophy for the Redskins to to take home.’
He didn’t, but his departure paved the way for a team that can.
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