Dan Quinn has the perfect mindset when dealing with the Commanders' past failures as a franchise
People have to learn from past mistakes, plain and simple. As the famous saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" – and that's as real as the summer sun. If one fails to grow from their shortcomings, then they will continue to live in a vicious cycle of failures […]
People have to learn from past mistakes, plain and simple. As the famous saying goes, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it" – and that's as real as the summer sun. If one fails to grow from their shortcomings, then they will continue to live in a vicious cycle of failures until they do.
For the Washington Commanders, it's important to remember and grow from the ugliness that defined the Dan Snyder era, but at the same time, the franchise is entering a completely new start, as we all know. From top to bottom, things have changed.
That's why Commanders head coach Dan Quinn isn't focusing on the past. His attention is dialed in not only on the present, but the future. And why wouldn't it be? After a very strong offseason that saw the team draft what is hopefully a franchise quarterback for the next decade-plus and fill a lot of roster holes, there's nowhere else to look but up and ahead.
"I didn't really discuss much from the past. I wasn't here, so I don't have a way to compare that," Quinn told reporters Tuesday. "Every year is different [and] what I can say is, this is what I've seen from this part, moving forward, and finding all the unique stuff that it does have. I've got fresh eyes – no bias on what happened [last year] or what could happen. I just want to see what your best looks like. And that's what, now and into training camp, is for.
"That's why there's such an implication for us. This is our last time together before we go to training camp. And I really want to see a lot of the learning, the technique, the communication, the speed, and then when we get to training, add the physicality part to that."
That's the exact mindset he, and everyone else on the roster, staff, and in the front office needs to have. Outside of growing from the negative stuff that happened in prior years, there's no reason to dwell -or even dip a toe into- the pool of the past. Not when there's the freshest of starts staring you in the face.
The players feel it, too, and one doesn't have to go any further than Jonathan Allen's comments from a few weeks ago for proof. Allen went viral last year and probably would've walked out of Washington after last season if he could've (and you wouldn't be able to blame him), but he's singing an entirely different tune, these days.
"I feel like I'm just so happy. I love the coaching staff, I love the direction we're moving in, and I love the way we're working, man," Allen said during the second week of OTAs. "It has truly been reinvigorating and just so fun to come to work every day. And this is literally just a dream job, right now…
"… I'm emotional and last year was tough, but after time moves on, you learn from the past and you know, get ready for the future. I'm super excited about what we've done. Coach Quinn has been awesome. Mr. Peters has been awesome. I'm really happy with the way things are going."
Things are heading in the right direction for Washington, now, it just needs to take the momentum and turn it into some wins on the football field. How long it takes to consistently establish that remains to be seen, but Quinn and co. should be able to get there, eventually, if they continue to go about things in this manner.
