Commanders leave door open for a possible name change, but doesn’t appear to be happening anytime soon

The Washington Commanders are open to changing their name, but that doesn’t appear to be something that will happen anytime soon. 

Washington finally changed its name in 2020 amid continued backlash. The franchise briefly re-branded as “Washington Football Team” in 2020 (winning the NFC East that year) before going with the Commanders in 2022. A whopping 58% of fans said they don’t like the team’s new nickname in a poll recently conducted by the Washington Post. 

“As you would imagine, everybody has an opinion about the name,” Majorie Harris, the wife of Commanders majority owner Josh Harris, recently told NBC Sports. “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.” 

Based on Harris’ comments, it appears that, while they are open to a name change, Washington’s brass has other things it wants to tackle first. Even if a name change eventually happens, it doesn’t appear to be happening anytime in the immediate future. 

Harris also alluded to fans possibly coming around to the Commanders’ nickname, despite the Post’s recent poll results. That likely contributed to Harris’ comments about not rushing to change the nickname. 

Along with the recent poll results, Commanders coach Dan Quinn’s recent shirt that included a reference to the team’s old logo is further evidence of the fans’ desire to see a name change, likely in favor of something that is a homage to the franchise’s history. 

Instead of worrying on the team’s name, however, Harris and Co. are instead focused on getting Washington back to a championship-contending level. The franchise hasn’t won a Super Bowl since 1991 after winning three (and playing for a fourth) four times over a 10-year span from 1982-91. Washington’s new ownership is in its first full season running the show after purchasing the franchise last July. 

“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.”