Jason Wright named first president of the Black NFL team for Washington

Just under 48 hours after Jason Wright became the first president of the black National Football League team, it was expected to complete more than 30 interviews as he seeks to shape a new culture for the team. Dan Snyder Football Club in Washington, DC

Wright, 38, didn’t hesitate to take on the new challenges of work during his discussion with CNBC. The team is on the hunt for a new name after 87 years, and Wright himself has mentioned the club’s current independent workplace misconduct investigation.

“This needs to be taken with the utmost seriousness,” Wright said of the investigation focused on the allegations of sexual harassment against the team, which were first detailed in an explosive report this summer in the Washington Post. .

“I’m glad we’re where we are now. I think we’re in the right place,” Wright said of the controversial name change, another issue that has rocked Snyder’s side recently.

Wright also said he supported the decision to play without fans to start the season due to Covid-19. He also revealed the first phase of his business strategy for the Washington football team, including building the “right plan” and identifying those who are best able to implement his plan.

“Getting the right talent in the right places in the right plan is the essence of football,” said Wright. “It’s a skill game. You find the right person with the unique skills for the set of games you want to perform in this defensive game you are playing.”

Wright comes into the franchise with an impressive resume, which includes an MBA from the University of Chicago, a partner at consulting firm McKinsey & Company, and seven years playing in the NFL with four franchises, including the Arizona Cardinals, where he served. ended his career after the 2010 season.

Prior to retiring from the NFL to pursue his MBA, Wright also assisted the National Football Players Association (NFLPA) with work discussions during the NFL lockout in 2011.

Those who know him will notice that Wright’s preparation is a skill that can help pull Snyder’s team out of their current PR nightmare.

“He understands the business of football,” Troy Vincent, NFL vice president of football operations, told CNBC.

Rod Graves, the executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, said Wright would experience a “learning curve associated with this, but I suspect he will be able to handle it extremely well.”

Wright said his initial business strategy would be a “community process”. He will solicit comments from players, sponsors, fans, “the greatest leaders of the [D.C., Maryland and Virginia] so that the identity is representative of all that the club is. “

“I don’t know how to get a good answer without it [process]. The idea that we can lock ourselves in a room and go out with a name is ridiculous to me, ”he said.

He will focus on two areas by soliciting feedback, including the new team identity, which he says will be “a major driver of value for the franchise.”

“It’s going to set us up to engage with audiences in a different way, which generates that value for the franchise,” Wright said. “The new identity will be more than a logo.”

Wright added that if the team could establish their new identity the right way, it would “generate value” for Snyder’s $ 3.4 billion franchise, according to Forbes.

Wright also revealed why he took the job despite the squad’s current turmoil. He said he spent a total of 36 hours talking with Snyder and his wife, Tanya, about the “opportunity” to run one of the world’s most iconic franchises.

“To be able to shape the identity of an NFL franchise is a type of generational decision,” Wright said. “Who wouldn’t want to be at the helm of this?”

But while Wright accepts the enormous task of leading the business side of Snyder’s squad, while head coach Ron Rivera runs the football squad, the question is: how long will Snyder leave? to Wright to define the club’s new culture?

Snyder said all the right things in his statement when the team announced Wright’s hiring. He said that if he could “design a tailor-made leader for this important period in our history, it would be Jason. His background as a former player, coupled with his business acumen, gives him an unparalleled perspective in the world. league.”

“We won’t rest until we’re a championship-caliber team, on and off the field,” added Snyder. “Jason has a proven track record of helping businesses transform culturally, operationally and financially.”

But are Snyder’s comments just telling – the type provided when appointing a new hire, especially one who is the first black president of an NFL club?

Wright said Snyder was determined to change.

“Dan and Tanya Snyder have set a new direction, not just in word, but also in deed,” Wright said. “Take the bad apples out of the organization as soon as they are found. These are real tangible commitments. They are more than just talk.”

Another question: Will Snyder give Wright at least nine years to set the new tone, which is the time given to former team chairman Bruce Allen?

“Will [Wright] to have time? I believe so, “said Vincent.” You have a new head coach, a new culture and a new team president. [Snyder] understands that when you’re trying to straighten out a franchise, you can’t do it overnight. “

Graves, the former Arizona Cardinals general manager who signed Wright for his last NFL contract in 2009, has said Wright is up to the challenge.

“At the end of the day, results matter,” Graves said. “Jason has been tested. He’s been in high pressure situations. He’s been at the top of the game when it comes to performance in corporate America.

“He will settle for nothing less than good results,” added Graves. “I expect him to perform at a level that will encourage Dan Snyder to give him time because the results will certainly demand it.”

The task is great, especially for the first black president of the NFL. League commissioner Roger Goodell led the charge for the hiring of Wright, which Graves said could “give an inspiration of hope for what is to come”.

“I am careful to provide too much elation behind this because there has to be a sustained effort towards progress and the field of leadership diversity,” said Graves. “This is only the first step.”

Wright, however, is eager to get started.

“I almost want to walk away and get to work,” he said of the hype around his new job. Wright did not praise his hiring with the Blacks, because a team president in 100 years of existence of the NFL has nothing to encourage.

“But it’s important to sit down in the moment and recognize when you’re the first person of color in anything, it should be recognized, but not necessarily for you or me, but people like Rod,” Wright said. “When you’re a black player, and you see a black GM, subconsciously, it opens up possibilities in your mind of what you can be as a leader.”

He added Romeo Crennel, Anthony Lynn and Ray Anderson as those black NFL coaches and executives who served as “multiple points of contact” throughout his career.

About 27 minutes after one of the 33 interviews, and it was time for Wright to prepare for another interrogation from another outlet. He officially begins his new role on Monday.

“It’s going to be tough,” Wright said of his new job. “But I feel confident to get in there.”