Jason Wright is on his way out as Commanders president, with word coming this offseason the veteran exec would make this season his last with the team. The franchise has a successor lined up.
Mark Clouse will take over in the role, the organization announced Tuesday. Like Wright, Clouse will oversee the business side of the Commanders. GM Adam Peters will still have control over the football side, as he will continue to report to owner Josh Harris.
A report this offseason indicated Wright would leave the team at season’s end, but he vacated the president role and has been working as a senior advisor. Clouse is an outside hire, coming over from the The Campbell’s Company. He had previously worked as CEO for Campbell’s and will be set to take over with the Commanders in late January. In addition to running Campbell’s, Clouse was in charge of a company portfolio that included Goldfish, Rao’s and Pepperidge Farm. Moving to overseeing an NFL team will, then, make for an interesting transition.
Wright had been in place as Washington’s team president from August 2020 until his offseason role change. Dan Snyder had hired the young exec, making him the NFL’s first Black exec to work as a team president. Remaining in place while the team changed owners, Wright moved out of the picture less than a year into Harris’ tenure. Wright interviewed for the Packers’ president role, a wide-ranging race Ed Policy eventually won.
Unlike Green Bay’s presidential gig, Washington’s does not feature football-side work. Clouse’s resume, which also includes a 15-year stint with Kraft Foods, would not support such a role. But he will join Peters as the other organizational pillar to close out Harris’ first full year at the helm.