The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland; its headquarters and training facility are in Ashburn, Virginia. The Commanders have played more than 1,300 games and have won more than 600. Washington was among the first NFL franchises with a fight song, "Hail to the Commanders", which is played by their marching band after every home game touchdown. The Commanders are owned by a group managed by Josh Harris, who acquired the franchise from Daniel Snyder in 2023 for $6.05 billion.
Joe Jackson Gibbs is an American auto racing team owner and former football coach. He served as the head coach of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) from 1981 to 1992 and then 2004 to 2007, leading them to nine playoff appearances, four NFC Championship titles, and three Super Bowl wins over 16 seasons.
Ronald Eugene Rivera is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played nine seasons as a linebacker for the Chicago Bears and was a member of their 1985 team that won Super Bowl XX. He became a head coach and was twice named the NFL Coach of the Year with the Carolina Panthers.
Jeffrey Marc Zgonina is an American football coach and former player who currently serves as the defensive line coach for the Dallas Cowboys. He played as a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers and was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round of the 1993 NFL draft.
The 2001 NFL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Football League (NFL), and the first season of the 21st century. The league permanently moved the first week of the regular season to the weekend following Labor Day. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, the NFL's week 2 games were postponed and rescheduled to the weekend of January 6 and 7, 2002. To retain the full playoff format, all playoff games, including Super Bowl XXXVI, were rescheduled one week later. The New England Patriots won the Super Bowl, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20–17 at the Louisiana Superdome.
Charles Robert Taylor was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver for 13 seasons with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for the Arizona State Sun Devils, he was selected by Washington in the first round of the 1964 NFL draft. With Taylor, the Redskins made the playoffs five times and reached the Super Bowl once (VII), after the 1972 season. A six-time All-Pro and eight-time Pro Bowl selection, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1984.
Leonard Ray Brown Jr. is an American former professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL) He played as a guard and tackle for 20 seasons. He became a coach, last serving as the offensive line coach for the Arizona Cardinals.
Russell Scott Grimm is an American former professional football player who was a guard for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He has also served as an assistant coach for the Redskins, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Tennessee Titans. As a professional, Grimm had multiple selections to both the All-Pro and Pro Bowl teams, and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. Grimm played 11 seasons for the Redskins and was a first-team selection to the NFL 1980s All-Decade Team.
Vernon Leonard Davis is an American former football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins, earning first-team All-American honors in 2005. Davis was selected by the San Francisco 49ers with the sixth overall pick of the 2006 NFL draft. In 2009, he co-led the NFL in touchdown receptions and consequently earned his first of two career Pro Bowl selections.
Albert J. Smith was an American professional football scout and executive. He served as a part-time scout for several NFL and USFL teams before joining the Buffalo Bills in 1986, serving as a scout and executive for them for 14 years. With the Bills, the team won four AFC Championships. He joined the San Diego Chargers in 2001 as a director of pro personnel, and was promoted to general manager and executive vice president for them two years later. He stayed with the Chargers until being fired following the 2012 season. Smith's son, Kyle, is the assistant general manager of the Atlanta Falcons.
Jim Hostler is an American football coach who is currently a defensive analyst for the USC Trojans football team. Most of his career has been in various offensive coaching roles in the National Football League.
The Body Bag Game was a Monday Night Football game that was played on November 12, 1990, between the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins at Veterans Stadium. The Eagles defeated the Redskins, 28–14. Its nickname comes from a pre-game boast from Eagles head coach Buddy Ryan, who told reporters his team would inflict a beating on Washington so bad "they'll have to be carted off in body bags". Then during the game, nine Washington Redskins players left with injuries, and an Eagles player reacted to one of those injured Redskins by yelling, "Do you guys need any more body bags?"
Terrance O'Neil Knighton is an American football coach and former defensive tackle. He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the third round of the 2009 NFL draft after playing college football for the Temple Owls. Knighton was nicknamed "Pot Roast" and "Mutton Chop" by his teammates. He also played for the Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins and spent time with the New England Patriots prior to the 2016 NFL season.
Sebastian Georg Vollmer is a German former professional American football player who was an offensive tackle for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Houston Cougars and was selected by the Patriots in the second round of the 2009 NFL draft and played his entire eight-year career with the team. He was named a second-team All-Pro in 2010.
Patrick Ryan Kerrigan is an American professional football coach and former player who is the assistant linebackers and pass rush specialist coach for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Purdue Boilermakers, earning unanimous All-American honors as a senior before being selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 2011 NFL draft.
Niles Paul is an American former professional football tight end who played eight seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a wide receiver at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and was selected in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins.
Joshua Ricardo Norman is an American professional football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football for the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers and was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft. Norman has also played for the Washington Redskins, and San Francisco 49ers, and was once considered to be among the best cornerbacks in the NFL. He also participated in the celebrity dancing competition show Dancing with the Stars, finishing as the runner-up of its 26th season in 2018.
Eric Stokes is an American football scout and executive. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, winning two National championships prior to being drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the fifth round of the 1997 NFL draft. He played safety for them for two seasons and was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the 1999 expansion draft before suffering an injury and retiring.
Zachary Adam Ertz is an American professional football tight end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal, earning unanimous All-American honors in 2012 before being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft. Ertz played nine seasons with the Eagles, making three Pro Bowls and winning Super Bowl LII with them. He holds the NFL record for most receptions in a season by a tight end and has also been a member of the Arizona Cardinals and Detroit Lions. His wife Julie is a former member of the United States women's national soccer team.
Matthew Ioannidis is an American former professional football defensive lineman who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Temple and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL draft. Ioannidis played six seasons with Washington before spending the seventh and final season of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers.
