Could the Washington Commanders change their name again?
It may be that the Washington-based franchise is set to change its name for a third time, but as things stand that likely won’t happen for quite some time.
It was just four years ago in 2020 when Washington’s team briefly rebranded itself as the “Washington Football Team” following years of criticism about its name: The Redskins. Then, just two years later, the franchise changed its name once again in 2022, becoming the Washington Commanders. Now, there may be yet another change to come.
Fans don’t like the name “Washington Commanders”
Shakespeare once inferred that a rose by any other name would still be a rose in that it would smell as sweet. Apparently, that doesn’t seem to be the case in Washington following a recent poll among fans. Indeed, some 58% of those who participated said they didn’t like the team’s current name.
“As you would imagine, everybody has an opinion about the name,” Majorie Harris, the wife of Commanders majority owner Josh Harris said. “Some good, some bad, some in the middle. I think that we have a lot of work to do, so that name issue is gonna be on the side for now until we can get things going. Quite frankly, I had a whole day out in the community, and I kept referring to the team as the Commanders. And you know what? It sounds pretty good to me. So for now, it’s the Commanders.”
OK, so what do the Commanders do next?
Well, for the moment it would appear that Based on Harris’ comments, the team’s name isn’t the squeaky wheel that the front office intends to fix first. With the Commanders having finished at the bottom of the NFC East with a 4-13 record, it’s not hard to see why. This is to say that as much as Harris seemingly opened the door to a name change, it doesn’t appear that it’s happening anytime in the near future. What’s more is Harris also suggested that fans may in fact come around to the present name with time.
Of course, there was also the shirt recently worn by Commanders coach Dann Quinn which featured a reference to the team’s old logo. Could it be a sign of things to come? At any rate, what remains clear is that the franchise is focused on making the team a contender once again. Consider for a moment that Washington hasn’t seen a Super Bowl title since 1991, a title that came on the back of three others during the period between 1982 and 1991. In what will mark the first full season for Harris & Co. who purchased the franchise last summer, it will be important to start on the right foot.
“This year, it’s about our organization,” Harris said about the current focus of Washington’s ownership. “Last year was a little about finding our way and not being able to make the changes that we were hoping to make until we had the opportunity to do it. Now we did. We have an amazing quarterback (rookie Jayden Daniels) and we have an amazing coach (Quinn) and GM (Adam Peters) and we’re really putting the pieces together. We’re all really excited about what this team is starting to look like and what hopefully can happen with a little bit of luck and magic and skill and hard work.”