The Washington Commanders will finish the 2025 season without former quarterbacks coach Tavita Pritchard, who was named Stanford's next head coach late last week. He remained on the staff long enough to coach his last game at Northwest Stadium on Sunday before heading west to help the Cardinal -- his alma mater -- rebuild following their 4-8 finish to the 2025 season.
But the Commanders had already given him a proper sendoff over the weekend, and Hard Knocks was there to catch every second of it.
The video, which the NFL released Tuesday afternoon to hype up the premiere of this year's in-season version of Hard Knocks, starts with Commanders veteran Jeremy Reaves stepping up to address his teammates during a meeting. Reaves gave some buildup to the announcement by saying Pritchard, a member of the coaching staff since 2023, is someone whose influence is seen "in every aspect of this building."
When Reaves announced that Pritchard was taking on "a new journey" as Stanford's next head coach, the players and coaches rose to their feet to applaud. Head coach Dan Quinn yelled out, "Holy s---!" and doused Pritchard with water. Players pumped their fists in celebration and cheered for the coach, who also got a hug from Quinn before he addressed the team.
"I feel full of gratitude right now," Pritchard said. "When I came into the league...I knew I was gonna learn ball. That's what you always hear. You're gonna get your PhD in football. What I wasn't prepared for since Q [Quinn] got here and AP [general manager Adam Peters] and you guys was that brotherhood...happens at the highest f-----' level. You guys have proven that; you've shown me that."
Pritchard, who played quarterback at Stanford from 2006-09 before coaching at the school for 12 seasons, said he would take the things he learned from the Commanders -- a culture based on brotherhood and competition -- with him to Stanford.
"I go back with a strong conviction that that's what it's all f-----' about," Pritchard said. "Thank you for that."
After the game, Quinn said that while the Commanders were sad to see Pritchard move on, they were "pumped" for him to get the opportunity.
"Tavita has been a great teammate for us, and I say that in the highest regard. That's one of the highest compliments that you can give a ball player or a coach, what they mean to the staff. And the development for him. So, for him being at Stanford for so long, as a ball player there, a GA, a coach, so pretty cool opportunity for him that he's connected with [Stanford General Manager] Andrew [Luck] ... I just think they got great things ahead there."
And Pritchard promised that the Commanders will have a contingent of fans out west cheering them on.
"My boys were like, 'Dad, are we still gonna cheer for the Commanders, right?'" Pritchard said. "And I'm like, 'F--- yeah, we're gonna cheer for the Commanders.'"
HBO's in-season edition of Hard Knocks debuts tonight at 9 p.m. ET.
