Now let's talk football. By the way, Bobby, good to see you. Doug, thank you for being here. I'm honored. So first of all, I'd be lying if I didn't say that I wish we were in New Orleans, but that aside, I mean obviously I couldn't be prouder of the team, the players, the fans, the coaching staff, front office. And so I just want to say thank you to Adam Peters and his staff for what you did. Coach Quinn and Dan, your staff. And then obviously it's a testament to your leadership, the culture that we built, and where we ended up: NFC Championship game first time since 1991. And obviously acknowledge the players, Bobby, but also all the players, you know, just showed up. It was a new situation and you guys killed it. And so just mentioning the captain Zach Terry, Jeremy, Bobby, and obviously Jaden and what he did. And so, and lastly, I wanted to say on behalf of our ownership group, you know, thank you DMV. We couldn't have done it without you. You showed up and thank you to our community of fans. I mean, I couldn't believe when I was out, I went to every game and I'd see commanders fans and faithful everywhere I went, and it just grew and grew and grew. And I can't tell you how much it means to all of us here, the team, to feel supported when they go to war, when we go to war, knowing that the fans are on our corner. Means a lot to us. So with that, future is bright and I'll open up to questions.
Josh, over here. John K, ESPN. So may as well get this one out of the way first. It's become a topic again, but what plans, if any, do you have about rebranding, whether it's name, jersey, and how does winning impact how you view that situation?
Yeah, so just to hit the name first. Like we're focused on, we're back to saying what we said all last year, which was focused on winning football games, on getting prepared for next year, on fixing up Ashburn and the stadium, we could talk about that, and then on engaging with the community of Washington. And so right now, in this building, the name Commanders mean something. It means that it's about players who love football, are great at football, hit hard, mentally tough, great teammates. And so it's really meaningful that that name is growing in meaning. And so, but as far as rebranding and bringing our past, which obviously I grew up with, and all the Super Bowl championships, and our future together, you're going to see us head back towards honoring our past and bring it together with their future.
And how does winning impact? How does this season and the winning impact how aggressive you may want to see the organization be when it comes to free agency and other moves this offseason?
Look, we're looking for Commanders, whether it be free agency, trades, draft. And obviously we have a lot of cap flexibility. We have a full slate of draft picks. We're going to be talking to other teams where we can find players that are great at what they do and fit our culture and are great teammates, situationally aware, and hit hard and are tough. We're going to get them to come. So we're totally focused on improving our team from last year, and I think we're going to do that.
Josh, I'm Ben Standig with The Athletic. To the point of improving on the team, you guys obviously with Jaden looks like you may have found a really good young quarterback going forward. That also comes with the opportunity with him on a working contract for the next couple years. How do you kind of assess that opportunity, and do you think that leads to being more aggressive in free agency this year?
Yeah, we have a massive opportunity. And none of us are taking that lightly. We're all fully committed to continuing to build our team and be elite over the long term. And obviously we understand that contract and those dynamics. So like I said, where we can find players that fit us and that we think are going to bring it, we're going to go after them. So I don't know how that translates to aggressiveness in free agency, where Adam and Dan are hard at work and they're going to advise me on that. But certainly we're going to do everything we can to improve our team.
And obviously the way the season unfolded, getting all the way to NFC Championship game, you've said hey this is pretty obviously great but also a bit surprising. Can you tell us now what were your realistic expectations going into this last year? What did you actually think?
You know, look, I knew we were going to go to... No, I'd say I predicted no. I'm look, obviously the season came out amazing and better than anyone expected. And no one could have sat where we were all sitting, being in the season where we had entirely, for the most part, a new coaching staff, a new front office, more than half the players were changed. But like obviously, credit to Adam and Dan and their staffs for bringing everyone together, and credit to the players for making it happen on the field. So look, we got it. We've arrived. And that changes expectations. And I've lived through this before, and we welcome it. And we're just going to work harder to create a situation where next year we win.
Josh, David Aldridge with The Athletic. In terms of a new facility, new stadium I should say, what's your vision? What is it that you want? In terms of, do you want just a really great stadium, or do you see it as an opportunity to kind of really transform a neighborhood and have more bells and whistles in terms of restaurants, housing, all of those things that some other teams have tried to do?
Yeah, so I have three or four things in mind. I mean, obviously for me personally, I grew up with a great stadium, and I understand what it's like to play in a stadium where it's hard for the visiting team to play. I mean, we've experienced different stadiums. Like I said, I've been to every game for the last two years, and I see differences. So the primary objective is to create a stadium that we're going to win in, because I think we do that. So there's all kinds of decisions that go into that. But I also think that we have a responsibility. When a city takes land and utilizes it for a stadium, they're taking it away from other things they could do. So it's our responsibility to make it an amazing economic development opportunity for where it is, and create a lot of jobs and help that area. And so, as I think everyone knows, we're considering multiple jurisdictions, but in each case, those areas need improvement. So that's got to be part of it. And the cities themselves have to have their own input as to what they want. These are political processes, and they matter to the neighborhoods and to the greater areas. So we're right in the middle of all that. So yeah, I think it's both. But for me personally, I start with we need to have a great place where our fans can show up and feel like, and as much as possible, we want that to be an advantage to our team in terms of winning on the field.
Do you, does the success this season speed up a potential timeline? I know you got to go through jurisdictions, cities, city councils, state governments, so there's a certain friction there that you have to navigate that you can't do anything about. But do you think that you've gained a year or more in terms of timeline by the success of the team?
Yeah, look, anytime that you win on the field, I mean, we've all now experienced what it was like here. It was the reawakening of watching football here in the DMV and everywhere, because there's lots of people who grew up with the team that I grew up with. So anytime that you get that reawakening, the population at large is supportive. So there's no question that there's some momentum, and we would hope to capitalize on it. But obviously we're in dialogue with jurisdictions, with Washington, with Maryland. And really, what they want to do is a big part of it also. And every indication is that everyone is supportive. So we're just going to try to move it forward as fast as possible.
Hey Josh, Sam Fortier with the Washington Post. In November at a Bloomberg event with David Rubenstein, you said that DC would be the most politically viable because it would be the most accepted by all jurisdictions. I'm wondering if you still feel that way and if you could explain your thinking there.
Yeah, look, I think that obviously the DMV is three jurisdictions, and it turns out DC's in the middle. Plus, it's the location, maybe because of the history, it's the location that when we do surveys is the most acceptable. But there's a lot of things that go into this. And we play in Maryland right now. We have an amazing relationship with Maryland. And like I said, it's not just our decision. The decision is about the specific locations, regions, areas, and states themselves, and DC itself. So we have a lot of dialogue going with everyone, and we're going to keep pushing forward. But I continue to be transparent about what the surveys say and how the area feels at large. But that doesn't mean that there's not a lot of support in Maryland, a lot of support in Virginia. There is. But obviously DC is kind of aligned with the history and happens to be the easiest place to get to for the most number of fans.
I was going to ask you, how does that thinking, how do the studies kind of inform your multi-jurisdiction discussions that you're going to have over the next weeks and months?
Yeah, look, these are very complicated things to decide. So you have zoning, you have real estate, you have what you can build, what you're allowed to build, and site planning. So certainly it's an important part of the mix, but it's not the only factor.
Josh, Barry Svrluga from The Washington Post. This is a public-private partnership you're talking about with the stadium. Do you expect to pay for the actual building yourself and get government to help with land and infrastructure, or do you expect to get public money for the building too?
Yeah, look, obviously we're having a lot of discussions right now, and it would be, I don't think it would be appropriate for me to get in front of the governments that we're talking to: the Maryland government, DC government, PG County. I think it wouldn't be appropriate. But I appreciate the question.
