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John Keim, ESPN Staff WriterDec 3, 2024, 03:59 PM ET
- John Keim covers the Washington Commanders for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2013 after a stint with the Washington Post. He started covering the team in 1994 for the Journal Newspapers and later for the Washington Examiner. He has authored/co-authored four books. You can also listen to him on ‘The John Keim Report’, which airs on ESPN Richmond radio, and follow him on Twitter @john_keim
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Commanders‘ revamped power structure added yet another key piece Tuesday when the team hired Mark Clouse as their new team president.
Clouse, who has served as the President and CEO of The Campbell’s Company since 2019, fills the spot last filled by Jason Wright, who will be leaving the organization after the season.
Wright was hired as team president in August 2020 amid multiple issues plaguing the organization stemming from multiple allegations of sexual harassment during then owner Dan Snyder’s reign. Wright stepped down as team president in July and became a senior advisor.
Clouse, who will officially start at the end of January, will be the president of business operations and answer directly to majority owner Josh Harris. He will not be involved in the football operations, according to a source. General manager Adam Peters is the top football person in the organization and also answers directly to Harris.
Clouse graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point — where he also played basketball — and served for six-and-a-half years as a helicopter pilot. He rose to the rank of captain.
Clouse entered the business world in 1996 with Kraft Foods. He was named Campbell’s CEO in December 2018. The Campbell’s Company has partnered with NFL teams during his tenure, including Washington, as well as with the Harris Blitzer Sports Entertainment — which is run in part by JoshvHarris.
According to a team source, Clouse’s leadership skills and his reputation as a “culture builder” were a big factor in his hiring.
“He has a proven ability to strengthen both the organizations he leads and the communities he serves,” Harris said in a statement. “I am confident in Mark’s dedication to building a championship-caliber organization and to support football operations in our drive for excellence on the field.”
Harris also called him a dynamic leader.
“The great differentiator for success in life is leadership,” Clouse told Franklin & Marshall College students last year. “I like to seek out experiences that challenge me. I like to do things that make me a little uncomfortable and that put me in positions where I was learning — where I was trying something that I might not have been great at.”
The move is the last major one needed since Harris’ group purchased the team in July 2023. Since that time the Commanders have new leaders at the most prominent positions: Peters, coach Dan Quinn and now Clouse. They also have a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels, who could be the long-term answer at the position the organization has sought for decades.
These changes, plus an 8-5 record, have rejuvenated a fan base that had grown exhausted by the losing under Snyder, as well as multiple investigations into his and the organization’s behavior.
