NFC East

Washington Commanders president Jason Wright believes NFL owners can help create quick change in regards to improving diversity.

"The system is not working well," Wright said Thursday, via John Keim of ESPN. "With a specific nod to the situation in Miami, I try not to meddle in other people's business. I will say that if ownership is fully committed to diversity and inclusion, change can happen very rapidly."

The discussion comes after former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores filed a 58-page lawsuit against the NFL and its teams on Tuesday. Flores alleges racial discrimination in the league's hiring practices, specifically claiming the New York Giants brought him in for a sham interview to satisfy the Rooney Rule after already picking Brian Daboll as the next head coach.

There is currently only one Black head coaches in the NFL—Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.

Wright became the first Black team president in league history when he was hired by Washington in Aug. 2020. He also hired Martin Mayhew, who is Black, as general manager, while head coach Ron Rivera is of Latino descent. 

"I, in turn, have built the most diverse leadership team in the NFL," Wright said Thursday. "Where there's a will, there's a way. This is a low point [for the NFL]. It can very quickly get to a high point if a few folks are committed."

Rivera was hired before Wright, who was brought to the organization shortly after reports of widespread harassment in Washington. The team still showed quick improvement in regards to diversity over the past year, both in regards to race and gender.

Other organizations could have similar transformations if there is buy-in at the top.

The Rooney Rule requires teams to interview minority candidates, while there are incentives to develop minority executives, but there is currently no way to require owners to hire Black candidates. As Wright noted, it is up to those in charge to make a change.   

The New York Giants responded Thursday to the allegations levied against them in Brian Flores' lawsuit against the NFL and its teams.

"Brian Flores has raised serious issues in the filing of his complaint," the Giants said in a statement. "The specific claims against the Giants and Mr. Flores' allegations about the legitimacy of his candidacy for our head coach position are disturbing and simply false."

In a lawsuit filed Tuesday, Flores alleges, in part, that the Giants had already made the decision to hire Brian Daboll as head coach days before they interviewed Flores. The team met with Flores last Thursday and officially named Daboll as head coach the next day.

According to Flores, the instance was just one example of NFL teams conducting sham interviews with Black head coaching candidates just to satisfy the Rooney Rule. Under the rule, teams are required to interview at least two candidates of color for head coach openings.

Flores included text messages from New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick as part of the evidence to support his lawsuit. Belichick mistakenly sent Flores congratulatory messages for landing the Giants position, apparently thinking he was texting Daboll.

The Giants vehemently dismissed the notion that Belichick would have any knowledge of their hiring process. New York pointed to the timing of the text messages, noting that Daboll had only had a zoom interview and the team wouldn't make a decision without meeting a coach in-person.

"And to base that allegation on a text exchange with Bill Belichick in which he ultimately states that he 'thinks' Brian Daboll would get the job is irresponsible," the team stated. "The text exchange occurred the day before Coach Daboll's in-person interview even took place."

The team later added, "In addition, Mr. Belichick does not speak for and has no affiliation with the Giants. Mr. Belichick's text exchange provides no insight into what actually transpired during our head coaching search."

The Giants provided Flores' itinerary for this time with the organization last Thursday. New York stated that it gave full consideration to hiring him before ultimately deciding on Daboll.

"Our hiring process and, most certainly, our consideration of Mr. Flores was serious and genuine," the team stated. "We are disappointed to learn that Mr. Flores was under the mistaken impression the job had already been awarded."

The Washington Commanders are already reaping the financial benefits of their rebrand.

Not only are the Commanders the top-selling team at the moment on Fanatics, which is the NFL's official online merchandise partner, but they are also dominating the list of hottest individual items.

This is a point some argued before Washington initially ditched its old nickname and went by the temporary "Washington Football Team" moniker. Fans would inevitably flock to team stores and online outlets to purchase new gear, thus padding the franchise's bottom line.

The Cleveland Guardians enjoyed a bump to their sales this past fall after they rolled out their rebrand.

In general, reaction to Wednesday's reveal was a bit mixed, but the market is telling a different story.

The NFL playoffs have been awesome…but there’s a stench coming from the Washington Commanders' dump after the name change.

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Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is reportedly undergoing ankle surgery Wednesday.

According to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Hurts was impacted by an ankle injury late in the season but played through it, including during a playoff loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pelissero also noted that Hurts is expected to be fully recovered in time for OTAs.

Durability has been one of the 23-year-old's strong points early in his career, as he played 15 games in each of his first two seasons in the league. However, he conducted his postgame press conference in a walking boot after the playoff loss to the Bucs ended his 2021 campaign.

"It's something I've been battling with," he told reporters. "I didn't play good enough today."

Hurts impressed at times during the 2021 campaign by throwing for 3,144 yards, 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions while adding 784 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

His ability to make plays with his legs in addition to his arm is his greatest strength, although there is still some question about whether he can be the long-term franchise quarterback in Philadelphia.

Assuming he is still under center to start the 2022 campaign, Hurts will face plenty of pressure as he looks to prove himself as a quarterback who can make tight-window throws in addition to his impressive runs.      

Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones expected more out of wide receiver Amari Cooper after he signed a five-year, $100 million extension two years ago.

"Well, it's sometimes not all on the receiver too. It's scheme. It's getting the receiver the ball, the touches, the targets that he needs," Jones told reporters Tuesday. "But if you're gonna pay somebody a lot of money, you want them to be the best at what they do."

Cooper's $20 million base salary in 2021 was the highest among receivers, per Spotrac, but he only finished with 68 receptions for 865 yards and eight touchdowns in 15 games.

"Once you pay that player a lot of money, then with that comes high expectations," Jones added. "And they know that. These players know that."

This comes after Cowboys owner Jerry Jones shared similar frustrations with Cooper.

"A whole bunch of that defense should have to honor Cooper," Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan last month, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. "He ought to be able to catch it when they're going in the middle with him. Others do. You throw to people that are covered all the time in the NFL."

The emergence of CeeDee Lamb has also cut into Cooper's production, resulting in just 104 targets for the veteran last season, the same as tight end Dalton Schultz. Cooper had 130 targets in 2020 when he had a career-high 92 receptions.

Cooper also averaged just 8.3 yards per target in 2021. He averaged 10.0 yards per target when he earned his last Pro Bowl selection in 2019, right before signing his new deal.

It doesn't bode well for his future in Dallas, especially considering the Cowboys can save $16 million against the cap by trading or releasing him, per Spotrac. Only $40 million of the initial $100 million was guaranteed at signing.    

The Washington NFL team will now be known as the Commanders after the organization announced the name change Wednesday.

In addition to a new name, the franchise showed off its new logo and uniforms in the following video on Twitter:

The new name will take effect for the 2022 season after the franchise spent 2020 and 2021 as the Washington Football Team.

Owner Dan Snyder first announced in July 2020 the organization would be "retiring" the Redskins moniker that had been with the organization since 1933 in Boston.

The change came amid ongoing protests against racial injustice throughout the world, as well as financial pressure put on Snyder and the football team. The previous nickname is a racial slur referring to Indigenous people.

Sponsors Nike, FedEx and PepsiCo also pushed to change the name after 87 investment firms and shareholders worth a collective $620 billion sent letters to the three companies asking them to sever ties, per Mary Emily O'Hara of Adweek. FedEx holds the naming rights to the stadium and formally sent a request to change the team name in early July 2020.

Commissioner Roger Goodell received a letter from over a dozen Indigenous leaders and organizations asking the franchise to change the name. It said the NFL needed to "repair the decades of emotional violence and other serious harms this racist team name has caused to Native Peoples."

It left the organization to decide on a new mascot, with team president Jason Wright cautioning that it's a long process. It ultimately took about two years.

The website WashingtonJourney.com provided updates on the plans to create a name that would last "the next 100 years." It also gave the opportunity for fans to submit ideas for a new name, a list that included the Generals, Justice, Wolves and Rhinos.

Wright announced in August that they had narrowed their options to three finalists, while the team revealed in January the official name would be released on Feb. 2:

After using a temporary name of Washington Football Team, the squad will now go by the Commanders for the foreseeable future.

The next step will be to improve the product on the field after producing a losing record for the fifth straight season in 2021.