Adam Peters hired as the Washington Commanders General Manager

Harris did it!

The Washington Commanders interview five executives for their General Manager position. San Francisco 49ers AGM Adam Peters and Chicago Bears AGM Ian Cunningham were the two finalists, and they were interviewed by the full selection committee that included three limited partners. Adam Peters has reportedly been hired by Josh Harris to lead the rebuild of the Washington Commanders.

Josh Harris has hired form NBA exec Bob Myers and former NFL exec Rick Spielman to lead their search for a new coach and head of football operations, and fired head coach Ron Rivera. Meyers has links to Peters, and his involvement could have had an impact on landing an executive that several teams were interested in hiring.

Peters started his NFL career as a scouting assistant for the New England Patriots(2003-04), pro scout(2005), area scout(2006-08). Peters joined the Denver Broncos as a regional scout in 2009, and was promoted to a national scout two years later. He was promoted again to assistant director of college scouting in 2014. and then again to director of college scouting in 2016. Peters finally joined the 49ers the following year as their vice president of player personnel. He served in that role for four years, and he has spent the last three as the assistant GM.

The only thing Peters hasn’t accomplished in six years in San Francisco is win a title (and that might be coming). The former UCLA player cut his teeth as a college scout in New England, rose as a personnel man in Denver under Josh McDaniels and then John Elway, and grew into a well-respected exec in San Francisco going to Super Bowls with all three teams. Peters nearly got the New York Giants’ job two years ago, and turned down interviews with the Titans and Cardinals last year. So he won’t leave a good situation for just any job (but the native Californian could be an interesting match for the Los Angeles Chargers, or even the Patriots).

“I think that if you’re a team looking this year, to put it bluntly, you would be dumb to look anywhere else,” an NFL agent said as part of The Athletic’s annual agent survey. “I think he is the best in the business.”

Agents also voted Peters among the league’s talent evaluators and front-office leaders they trust the most, rare mentions for non-general managers. He tied for first in the “Future GM to Watch” category with Khai Harley (Saints) and Nolan Teasley (Seahawks).

“Good, bad or ugly, Adam does it the right way,” the agent said. “He treats people with compassion even when it’s a bad situation. He’s always honest. You know where you stand. I’m surprised he has not gotten a general manager job to this point.”

Widely expected to be one of the top candidates in the 2024 hiring cycle, Peters is wrapping up his third season as John Lynch’s right-hand man in the 49ers’ front office. Peters previously spent four seasons as San Francisco’s vice president of player personnel and eight in the Broncos’ personnel department. Before that, he spent six years in scouting for the New England Patriots.

Peters, formerly a trusted confidant to former Broncos GM John Elway, helped Denver build its Super Bowl 50-winning roster. He was also a part of two Super Bowl teams in New England under Bill Belichick.