Cody Cejda joins the Commanders after most recently serving as the director of strategy at Teamworks in 2023.
Previously, Cejda served as the special assistant to the Head Coach for the Los Angeles Chargers from 2021-22. In his role with the Chargers, he worked as the liaison of the coaching staff, overall organization and oversaw communication for the football staff. He also helped streamline the day-to-day operation to help the team post its first winning season and playoff appearance since 2018. Cejda joined the Chargers after spending 12 years at Northwestern University, where he served as director of football operations and strategy under Head Coach Pat Fitzgerald. He held that role from 2011-2020. Prior to that role, Cejda spent two years as a coordinator of player development for the Wildcats. Before joining Northwestern's staff, Cejda worked as a consulting analyst for Accenture, a Global Fortune 500 company (2007-09).
With Northwestern, Cejda held several positions beginning as a coordinator of player development for the Wildcats, guiding the student-athletes through their academic and community endeavors, including their post-graduate plans. As part of his ascension with the Wildcats, he hired Northwestern's first staff position dedicated to football research and analytics and worked with the Kellogg School of Management to innovate strategy. During his tenure, he led the program's maturation into data-driven decision making both on and off the field. The Wildcats became one of the most aggressive teams in college football on fourth down and used insights to sharpen the efficient delivery of sports performance, nutrition and other support resources to the organization.
In his eventual role as director of football operations and strategy, Cejda oversaw and organized the day-to-day procedures of the team, while also managing the program's budget, coordinating team travel and collaborating with the coaching staff to establish team schedules.
A Traverse City, Mich. native, Cejda attended the University of Michigan, earning a bachelor's degree in business administration in 2007. He would later earn his MBA from Northwestern in 2017. Cejda and his wife, Kristin, have two daughters, Bailey and Sidney.
