NFL’s Commanders hire ex-NBA GM Bob Myers, who will stay at ESPN as well – Awful Announcing
Former Golden State Warriors’ GM Bob Myers went from that team role to a TV role as a NBA analyst with ESPN last summer. He’s now added another team role while retaining his TV job, but a role in a radically different sport. That would be with the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
Myers has been hired (along with former Minnesota Vikings’ GM Rick Spielman) by new Commanders’ owner Josh Harris to help find their new head of football operations and head coach. But he’ll continue in his ESPN role as well. His Bristol colleagues Adrian Wojnarowski and Adam Schefter broke that news Monday:
ESPN Reporting with @AdamSchefter: In a sweeping overhaul, Commanders owner Josh Harris has hired two prominent executives – former Warriors GM Bob Myers and former Vikings GM Rick Spielman – to assist his group in searches for a new head of football operations and coach. pic.twitter.com/7UFB3qrRZl
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) January 8, 2024
Here’s more from the Schefter and Wojnarowski story on ESPN:
Myers, the architect of four championships with the Warriors and a current ESPN NBA analyst, and Spielman, a 30-year NFL front-office executive, will work with Harris and his limited partners Mitch Rates, Magic Johnson and David Blitzer as part of an advisory committee designed to reshape the Commanders’ front office and coaching staff, team officials told ESPN.
In a search that will commence immediately, Myers will take a lead role in identifying and coordinating interviews with candidates for the top football operations and head-coaching jobs, with Spielman set to work closely with him, officials said.
…”This is a crucial offseason for us, and we won’t shy away from the work needed to get back to a place where we can deliver a winning culture top to bottom,” Harris said in a statement shared to ESPN. “…I’ve known Bob a long time and watched him construct four championship teams and a highly successful organization in Golden State…He is innovative, thoughtful, well-connected across sports and understands what it takes to solidify and sustain championship infrastructure. I think he’s going to be incredibly additive.”
…”I have been fortunate to know Josh Harris for many years and his commitment to building championship-caliber teams is what drew me here,” Myers said in a statement. “In my experience, championship infrastructure begins with a strong ownership group that prioritizes culture and invests in attracting the industry’s most talented and innovative leaders…This is the type of opportunity that really inspires me, and I look forward to contributing to the next chapter of this storied franchise.”
It’s fascinating to see an executive from such a different sport taking this prominent of an advisory role in the NFL. But it’s not unprecedented; long-time baseball executive (and Moneyball figure) Paul DePodesta has been the chief strategy officer of the Cleveland Browns since 2016, and they and other teams have sometimes gone outside the traditional football world with hires. And while Myers doesn’t have direct experience working in football, he certainly has high-level sports organizational experience from his time with the Warriors.
Another interesting aspect of this Myers move is how it sounds like it will be focused on not just hiring a head coach and head of football operations (which could be the same or different people), but reshaping the Commanders’ organizational structure. And that could be a detailed process. Wojnarowski and Schefter write that while the Commanders fired head coach Ron Rivera Monday, general manager Martin Mayhew and executive vice president of football/player personnel Marty Hurney will remain in their roles for the time being, so that should give the team some stability on the personnel side for the moment, and the time for a comprehensive organizational structure overhaul and head coaching hire.
It is going to be a little strange to see Myers continue in an ESPN analysis role while actively working for a team, especially if the Commanders’ coaching search winds up taking time and/or if he winds up staying involved with them afterwards. And it may be sort of awkward that someone ESPN NFL figures like Schefter are trying to report on in his role as a Commanders’ decision-maker is still showing up on their network.
But at least Myers’ analysis role at ESPN is focused on a different sport. So this provides less conflicts of interest than some moves we’ve seen in Bristol. At any rate, it will certainly be interesting to see what Myers does with the Commanders. And it will be interesting to see such a suddenly-prominent NFL figure appearing on ESPN regularly, even if it’s to talk about a different sport.
[ESPN; image from a Myers appearance on NBA Countdown in October]
