In my younger and more vulnerable years, my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my head ever since.“Whenever you feel like criticizing the Redskins,” he told me, “just remember that they are a well-run organization.”
He said this, of course, during the team’s salad days, back when Joe Gibbs was calling plays, Darrell Green was the fastest man in the National Football League, Art Monk’s mustache ruled the day, and Jack Kent Cooke was still amongst the living.
This was also back when my father and I were still on speaking terms, which was a very long time ago and perhaps helps explain why I no longer follow the ‘Skins.
That and Daniel Snyder.
Under Snyder’s watch, the Redskins are an abysmal 82-99, 17 games under .500. The highlight of his tenure is two lousy playoff victories, with his teams sitting out January football eight times in 11 seasons. He’s spent an exorbitant amount of money on big name players in pursuit of the quick fix over the future. Washington, for instance, went without a first-round pick in 2003, 2006 and 2008.
Snyder’s also burned through countless assistants, front office executives and six head coaches, including Norv Turner, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and, most recently, Jim Zorn, who was hired only after every other available candidate passed on the job once considered one of the best in all of professional football.
In fairness, Zorn deserved to be fired. During his two seasons, the ‘Skins went 12-20, losing 18 of their last 24 games. This year, Zorn’s squad finished 4-12, their worst record since 1994, Turner’s first year. And, halfway through the year, Zorn was forced to hand over the playcalling duties—a skill set he was specifically hired for—to a man two weeks’ removed from calling bingo games at a senior center.
Not only have Daniel Snyder’s Redskins been bad, they’ve devolved into a league-wide joke. A shame, really, given their storied history. A franchise with a fight song as kick-ass as this deserves better. Much better.
This morning, though, brought word that Snyder hired Mike Shanahan as head coach, his seventh—seventh!—since 1999. (Snyder is also expected to name Shanahan vice president of football operations).
Speculation abounds that Shanahan will bring with him to the nation’s capitol his son, Kyle, currently the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans, and Mike Zimmer, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator. A league source told the Washington Post that Bob Slowik, Shanahan’s defensive coordinator in 2008 in Denver, would likely join Shanahan’s staff, though not as a coordinator.
Is this the start of something good for the ‘Skins? Does this mean Snyder’s finally willing to step aside and let someone who knows how to build a football team take over?
Some seem to think so. Some have even gone so far as to predict a fourth Lombardi Trophy for Washington.
Count me among the skeptics.
Look, Shanahan is a solid coach, and his track record as an executive is respectable, if not not exactly remarkable. I understand that. But he’s also 58, more than a decade removed from his second Super Bowl victory, and only 12 months removed from three-straight disappointing seasons in Denver, a string of failures that ultimately led to his termination.
He’s also been forced into a working relationship with Bruce Allen, son of former Redskins coach George Allen and the team’s recently hired executive vice president and general manager. (Believe it or not, Allen is the first person to hold the title of GM during Snyder’s reign of terror). It remains to be seen if Shanahan and Allen can work in concert. To wit: Shanahan reportedly has final say on all football decisions, according to ESPN. Does this mean he has the right to overrule Allen at any point, including during the 2010 NFL Draft?
Speaking of which, Washington owns only five picks this year, about half-a-dozen picks or so short of being able to address even their most basic needs: quarterback, offensive line, defensive line, running back, secondary, and special teams, in no particular order.
No small feat, this rebuilding of the Redskins.
Shanahan is also faced with the unenviable task of dealing with the vague eccentricities of his uber-rich, petulant owner. Who’s to say, for instance, Snyder wouldn’t fire Shanahan 24 hours after the conclusion of the 2011 season, if the Redskins finish under .500. Or if some other high-profile coach, like Bill Cowher, bats his eyes in Snyder’s general direction?
Therein lies the rub. The Redskins’ fortunes rise and fall with Snyder, arguably the worst—and most impatient—owner in all of sports, demonstrably more so than the Steinbrenners, Jim Dolan or Jerry Jones. Snyder will continue to throw bad money after bad money, refreshing the franchise every few years with new personnel, repeating the same mistakes again and again and again, regardless of how many times he makes them. As far as I’m concerned the Shanahan hiring is no different than the Gibbs hiring or the Spurrier hiring, just as Albert Haynesworth is no different than Bruce Smith, or Deion Sanders, or Adam Archuletta.
I could be wrong. A few years from now, history might show that Snyder finally got it right with Shanahan. Seventh time has to be the charm, right? But, as of this morning, I’m more inclined to think Shanahan’s tenure, like Gibbs’ second go-round, will end not with the bang of a Super Bowl victory but with the whimper of 9-7 seasons, as longsuffering ‘Skins fans beat on, awaiting their franchise’s return to glory, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
That and Daniel Snyder.
Under Snyder’s watch, the Redskins are an abysmal 82-99, 17 games under .500. The highlight of his tenure is two lousy playoff victories, with his teams sitting out January football eight times in 11 seasons. He’s spent an exorbitant amount of money on big name players in pursuit of the quick fix over the future. Washington, for instance, went without a first-round pick in 2003, 2006 and 2008.
Snyder’s also burned through countless assistants, front office executives and six head coaches, including Norv Turner, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and, most recently, Jim Zorn, who was hired only after every other available candidate passed on the job once considered one of the best in all of professional football.
In fairness, Zorn deserved to be fired. During his two seasons, the ‘Skins went 12-20, losing 18 of their last 24 games. This year, Zorn’s squad finished 4-12, their worst record since 1994, Turner’s first year. And, halfway through the year, Zorn was forced to hand over the playcalling duties—a skill set he was specifically hired for—to a man two weeks’ removed from calling bingo games at a senior center.
Not only have Daniel Snyder’s Redskins been bad, they’ve devolved into a league-wide joke. A shame, really, given their storied history. A franchise with a fight song as kick-ass as this deserves better. Much better.
This morning, though, brought word that Snyder hired Mike Shanahan as head coach, his seventh—seventh!—since 1999. (Snyder is also expected to name Shanahan vice president of football operations).
Speculation abounds that Shanahan will bring with him to the nation’s capitol his son, Kyle, currently the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans, and Mike Zimmer, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator. A league source told the Washington Post that Bob Slowik, Shanahan’s defensive coordinator in 2008 in Denver, would likely join Shanahan’s staff, though not as a coordinator.
Is this the start of something good for the ‘Skins? Does this mean Snyder’s finally willing to step aside and let someone who knows how to build a football team take over?
Some seem to think so. Some have even gone so far as to predict a fourth Lombardi Trophy for Washington.
Count me among the skeptics.
Look, Shanahan is a solid coach, and his track record as an executive is respectable, if not not exactly remarkable. I understand that. But he’s also 58, more than a decade removed from his second Super Bowl victory, and only 12 months removed from three-straight disappointing seasons in Denver, a string of failures that ultimately led to his termination.
He’s also been forced into a working relationship with Bruce Allen, son of former Redskins coach George Allen and the team’s recently hired executive vice president and general manager. (Believe it or not, Allen is the first person to hold the title of GM during Snyder’s reign of terror). It remains to be seen if Shanahan and Allen can work in concert. To wit: Shanahan reportedly has final say on all football decisions, according to ESPN. Does this mean he has the right to overrule Allen at any point, including during the 2010 NFL Draft?
Speaking of which, Washington owns only five picks this year, about half-a-dozen picks or so short of being able to address even their most basic needs: quarterback, offensive line, defensive line, running back, secondary, and special teams, in no particular order.
No small feat, this rebuilding of the Redskins.
Shanahan is also faced with the unenviable task of dealing with the vague eccentricities of his uber-rich, petulant owner. Who’s to say, for instance, Snyder wouldn’t fire Shanahan 24 hours after the conclusion of the 2011 season, if the Redskins finish under .500. Or if some other high-profile coach, like Bill Cowher, bats his eyes in Snyder’s general direction?
Therein lies the rub. The Redskins’ fortunes rise and fall with Snyder, arguably the worst—and most impatient—owner in all of sports, demonstrably more so than the Steinbrenners, Jim Dolan or Jerry Jones. Snyder will continue to throw bad money after bad money, refreshing the franchise every few years with new personnel, repeating the same mistakes again and again and again, regardless of how many times he makes them. As far as I’m concerned the Shanahan hiring is no different than the Gibbs hiring or the Spurrier hiring, just as Albert Haynesworth is no different than Bruce Smith, or Deion Sanders, or Adam Archuletta.
I could be wrong. A few years from now, history might show that Snyder finally got it right with Shanahan. Seventh time has to be the charm, right? But, as of this morning, I’m more inclined to think Shanahan’s tenure, like Gibbs’ second go-round, will end not with the bang of a Super Bowl victory but with the whimper of 9-7 seasons, as longsuffering ‘Skins fans beat on, awaiting their franchise’s return to glory, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
BEN:
Well, I'm reluctant to persuade an angry fan to hope. I know how it feels to start hoping for a championship even while preparing to lose it again. I believe it's what Fitzgerald called "the orgiastic future that year by year recedes before us." But, still--you sound like a fan in pain. And the thing is, the Redskins aren't THAT bad.
They needed to fire Zorn. Unquestionably. He was never qualified to be the coach in the first place. Yes, it certainly does look like a bad pattern, but Shannahan is a very successful coach with a good mind for offense. Plus, Haynesworth easily has 4-5 more productive years ahead of him, and likely more; and the defense, though probably exhausted from constantly jogging back onto the field after a three-and-out, was still one of the better ones in the NFC. Taking into account the depth at quarterback in this year's draft, and the Redskins' high draft position, it's not so hard to imagine a marquee player being added to the team next year. The Rams and Browns will get first crack at the position, but many prognosticators see the Browns drafting for defense. This means Washington could get one of Sam Bradford or Jimmy Clausen, both of whom show elite potential in the NFL.
Is that enough to make the playoffs? No, not really, not in the NFC East. But a little momentum--a winning season, even--could really help this team turn things around. Shannahan may not be a miracle-worker, but he's a damn sight better than Zorn; and in my opinion he's better than all of the other coaches Snyder has tried over the last decade. (This is said with deference to Joe Gibbs' first go as a coach, which was very different from his second one.)
They'll still need a running back, another wideout, and probably some help on the offensive line. But the defensive nucleus is there, with Haynesworth, Smoot, Hall, and Orakpo. And I think they've got a shot at a legitimate quarterback this year. Maybe they won't win today, and maybe not tomorrow, but I think they're headed in the right direction.
MILES:
I'm feeling oddly nostalgic this week. Here's a collection of highlights from Super Bowl XXVI, featuring MVP Mark Rypien, Pat Summeral and John Madden, the best in the business.
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