Ex-NFL coach appears to support Redskins nickname: 'They should go back'

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Native American group wants NFL 'Redskins' team name back

Native American Guardians Association's Billy Dieckman argues ‘Redskins’ is not offensive amid a push to bring back the team name.

Former Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano expressed his wish for the Washington Commanders to return to the Redskins nickname they used from 1933 to 2020.

Pagano made the remark while on "The Pat McAfee Show" Thursday. 

He was breaking down Thursday night's New York Giants’ matchup against the Dallas Cowboys.

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Indianapolis Colts head coach Chuck Pagano during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Dec. 23, 2017. (Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports)

He appeared to misspeak when he said the Giants should have beaten "the Redskins."

McAfee noted that team is "not in the league" as he tried to laugh it off.

"They should go back," Pagano said. "That’s why I said it."

McAfee and the crew laughed it off. Pagano said if there were a petition, he’d sign it.

"We’ll put that down as ‘noted,’" McAfee said.

Former team owner Daniel Snyder changed the team’s name from the Redskins to the Washington Football Team before the start of the 2020 season amid a summer of racial tension across the United States.

FAMILY OF BLACKFEET CHIEF, FACE OF NFL'S REDSKINS FOR 48 YEARS, WANTS HIS IMAGE BACK IN NFL

Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris looks on from the sideline during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at FedEx Field Dec. 31, 2023 in Landover, Md.  (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

He then rebranded the team as the Commanders.

Current team owner Josh Harris has made it clear a return to the old name was not going to happen.

"For obvious reasons, the old name can’t come back," Harris told reporters in August, via The Athletic. "But, right now, we’re focused on things to unify the team around our football team and unify the city around our football team. The first objective is we gotta start winning football games, and we need everyone supporting the team and not things that will drive people apart.

"Secondly, obviously, we’re trying to find a new home. Again, unifying (the) city around that is important and, so, the name is one of those things that have a lot of opinions … but I certainly haven’t forgotten about it. Like I said, I grew up here. So, I understand it."

Dan Quinn, who joined the Commanders as head coach earlier this year, wore a Redskins T-shirt at a press conference, which drew criticism.

However, there’s been a growing push to have the Redskins name returned to prominence in the organization.

The family of John Two Guns White Calf, a Blackfeet chief who served as the face of the Washington Redskins for 48 years, wants his image back in the NFL, relatives told Fox News Digital earlier this month.

Blackfeet Chief John Two Guns White Calf, left, was the inspiration for the face that appeared on Washington Redskins helmets and merchandise from 1972 to 2000. (FPG/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive and Will Newton; both from Getty Images)

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Two Guns White Calf’s proud portrait adorned Redskins helmets, T-shirts, playing fields and marketing materials from 1972 until 2020.

Fox News' Ryan Canfield contributed to this report.

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