ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders proprietor Josh Harris, whose different skilled sports activities organizations have robust analytics departments, made a primary step in ensuring his new group has the identical.
The Commanders employed Eugene Shen as their senior vice chairman of soccer technique Thursday. Shen will oversee their analytics in addition to the software program growth on the soccer facet. Shen will begin Nov. 6.
Shen has labored for 3 different NFL organizations. He was the director of analytics for the Miami Dolphins 2019-21 and for the Baltimore Ravens 2014-19. He served because the vice chairman of soccer analytics with the Jacksonville Jaguars 2021-22. He was working as a derivatives analyst for Millennium Administration International Funding when Washington employed him.
Harris, additionally the first proprietor of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, made it some extent of emphasis to bolster the analytics division in each franchises. Harris spoke on the 2020 MIT Sloan Sports activities Analytics Convention.
In a 2021 ESPN examine, Washington was named one of many least analytically superior groups — tied with the Cincinnati Bengals and forward of solely the Tennessee Titans.
Washington coach Ron Rivera mentioned this summer season that he was conscious of how a lot Harris’ different groups used analytics however added that, “We have achieved it; we have used it.”
“Bringing Eugene’s degree of experience to guide our analytics and software program growth permits us to construct on our knowledge capabilities to assist inform choice making,” Rivera mentioned Thursday in a press release. “Eugene brings a substantial amount of sensible NFL expertise, and we sit up for bringing him into our conversations concerning the imaginative and prescient of our group going ahead. The willingness of our possession group to comply with by means of on their pledge to allocate assets to knowledge and analytics is thrilling for the way forward for the franchise.”
