Commanders make hire to bolster analytics dept.

ASHBURN, Va. — Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris, whose other professional sports organizations have strong analytics departments, made a first step in making sure his new team has the same.

The Commanders hired Eugene Shen as their senior vice president of football strategy Thursday. Shen will oversee their analytics as well as the software development on the football side. Shen will start Nov. 6.

Shen has worked for three other NFL organizations. He was the director of analytics for the Miami Dolphins 2019-21 and for the Baltimore Ravens 2014-19. He served as the vice president of football analytics with the Jacksonville Jaguars 2021-22. He was working as a derivatives analyst for Millennium Management Global Investment when Washington hired him.

Harris, also the primary owner of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and NHL’s New Jersey Devils, made it a point of emphasis to bolster the analytics department in both franchises. Harris spoke at the 2020 MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

In a 2021 ESPN study, Washington was named one of the least analytically advanced teams — tied with the Cincinnati Bengals and ahead of only the Tennessee Titans.

Washington coach Ron Rivera said this summer that he was aware of how much Harris’ other teams used analytics but added that, “We’ve done it; we’ve used it.”

“Bringing Eugene’s level of expertise to lead our analytics and software development enables us to build on our data capabilities to help inform decision making,” Rivera said Thursday in a statement. “Eugene brings a great deal of practical NFL experience, and we look forward to bringing him into our conversations about the vision of our team going forward. The willingness of our ownership group to follow through on their pledge to allocate resources to data and analytics is exciting for the future of the franchise.”

Advertisement