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, 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 captains, Zach, Terry, Jeremy, Bobby, and obviously Jayden 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 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. 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, you know, 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, and now in this building, the name Commanders means something. It means that, you know, it's about players who, you know, 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, you know, 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, you know, honoring our past and bringing it together with the 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, and whether it be free agency, trades, draft, and obviously we have a lot of cap flexibility, we have a full slate of draft picks. You know, certainly we're going to be talking to other teams where we can find players that, you know, are great at what they do and fit our culture and are great teammates and situationally aware and hit hard and are tough. Like we're going to get them to come. And so, you know, we're totally focused on improving our team from last year and I think we're going to do that.
Josh, I've been standing with The Athletic. To the point of improving on the team, you guys obviously with Jayden looks like you may have found a really good young quarterback going forward. That also comes with the opportunity with him on a rookie 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, you know, 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, right? And so, and obviously that, you know, we understand that contract and those dynamics. And 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. And so, you know, 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, you know, we're going to do everything we can to improve our team.
And obviously the way the season unfolded, getting all the way to the NFC Championship game, you've said, hey, this is pretty obviously great but also a bit surprising. You can tell us now, what were your realistic expectations going into this last year about what you got?
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 at the beginning of the season, where we had entirely, you know, for the most part a new coaching staff, a new front office, more than half the players were changed. But like obviously, you know, credit to Adam and Dan and their staffs for bringing everyone together and credit to the players for making it happen on the field. And so, you know, look, we got it, like we're now, we've arrived. And that changes expectations. And you know, I've lived through this before and we welcome it. And, you know, 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, 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, you know, I grew up with a great stadium and I understand, you know, what it's like to play in a stadium where it's hard for the visiting team to play, right? I mean, we've experienced different stadiums, you know, like I said, I've been to every game for the last two years and I see differences. And so, you know, the primary objective is to create a stadium that we're going to win in. Because I think if we do that, and so there's all kinds of decisions that go into that. But I also think that we have a responsibility, you know, when a city takes land and utilizes it for a stadium, right, they're taking it away from other things they could do. And 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 all the, as I think everyone knows, we're considering multiple jurisdictions, but in each case, right, those areas need help, need improvement. And 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, right, and they matter to the neighborhoods and to the greater areas. So we're right now in the middle of all that. And so yeah, I think it's both, but for me personally I start with like 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 all now experience what it was like here, right? And it was the reawakening of Washington football here in the DMV and everywhere, right? Because there's lots of people who grew up with the team that I grew up with. And so anytime that you get that reawakening, right, the population at large is supportive, right? And so there's no question that there's some momentum and, you know, we would hope to capitalize on it. But I mean, 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 so, and every indication is that everyone is supportive. And 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, right, is three jurisdictions and it turns out DC's in the middle. Plus, you know, so it's the location, maybe plus because of the history. It's 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. Like the decision is about the specific regions and areas and states themselves and DC itself. So like we have a lot of dialogue going with everyone and we're going to keep pushing forward. But yeah, I continue to kind of just 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.
And I was going to ask you, how does that thinking, how does, you know, 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, you know, complicated things to decide, right? So you have zoning, you have real estate, you have what you can build, what you're allowed to build, and site planning. And 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, you know, 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 mean, I think it wouldn't be appropriate. But I appreciate the question.
And just kind of a minutia thing, Dan Quinn at the end of the season talked a little bit about your kind of weekly input with Adam and him going through the process. He mentioned Friday calls, you, wherever you were around the world, you were always available. And what do you get out of that? What was the process like and what's the advantage for you to having such...
Yeah, I'm just learning to be honest with you from people who have been, you know, kind of good at this for a long time. And, you know, obviously very happy with where we've got here. And, you know, but ultimately, right, to a large extent I have professionals running the team, running the front office. And so I'm somewhat deferring to them. But obviously ultimately, right, I have to make sure that I understand, you know, what's going on enough that if there was something that I disagree with I would, you know, involve myself. But right now, you know, very happy with the leadership I have in place.
