So Much for Continuity

Greensboro, NC -- Well, Dan Snyder is at it again! As a professed "Danny Boy" hater, I must say that my thoughts of Snyder changed immensely after the superb way that he handled the Sean Taylor tragedy -- chartering his private plane (Redskin One) for the team to attend the funeral in Miami, hanging the Sean Taylor #21 banner in the stadium, etc. I really thought the guy had turned the page and was starting to "get" what Joe Gibbs has always referred to as the "Redskin" way. The last thing Danny Boy needed to do with his vacant Head Coach position was to blow things up and hire someone from outside the organization. No one would have faulted him for hiring Gregg Williams; fans and players alike would have applauded him for doing what is right, which is keeping the team's momentum from this year going into next year. However, it appears Danny Boy is going to be Danny Boy and he will do what he and his pawn, Vinny Cerrato, Executive Vice President of Football Operations, want to do, regardless of what his 53 players or his millions of fans want. By doing so, he will set this franchise back another two to three years and completely undermine any chemistry, continuity, and stability that Gibbs left behind. So, it seems Danny Boy is flying Redskin One to all corners of the country to hire another "yes" man, Jim Fassel, and then assemble his staff for him! Doesn't anyone else think that it's odd that Snyder is hiring the head coach and then is hiring his coordinators for him?

Gregg Williams must really feel loved with the 4 interviews and all. I thought there was a clause in his contract that when Gibbs retires, he'll assume the Head Coach position? Or, if he doesn't get the job, he gets $1M. He could pull a mini-Cowher and retire for a year, play with the kids, and then come back in 2009 as a head coach or defensive coordinator for a better organized team. Right now, if he was even their 3rd option for Head Coach, they would have already named him by now. When he leaves (and he will), the team will be in trouble because the players really liked him and wanted him to get the job. The problem is that Danny Boy and Vinny are running things and neither of them are qualified to do so. They're out-thinking themselves, trying to make some brilliant hire or big splash when all they need to do is make a safe one. Yes, there are some holes and surely some others will develop during this offseason, but the team was starting to "get it". Now, they'll have to relearn two brand new systems, and come together all over again.

Assessing Gibbs 2.0

Greensboro, NC -- When Joe Gibbs stepped down as the President and Head Coach of the Redskins last week, the natural inclination was to compare his second stint to the Hall-of-Fame first go-around. Coming off of a disastrous 5-11 season in 2003 under The Ol' Ball Coach, the first objective after signing a 5-year, $27.5M contract was to build his coaching staff. Knowing that there's no salary cap for coaches (and the Redskins take full advantage of that every year), Gibbs hired "Double G" Gregg Williams to coach up the D and old pal "Buges" Joe Bugel to restore the offensive line. Obtaining a power running back in Clinton Portis, a tackling machine at linebacker in Marcus Washington, and a premier cornerback in Shawn Springs was next on the agenda. The 2003 roster needed a major shake-up to clean out Spurrier's fun n' gun players.

Gibbs' record during his 4 seasons:

• 6-10
• 10-6
• 5-11
• 9-7

I think the 5-11 2006 season was a fluke. The defense regressed so dramatically. The Skins were also in a quarterback transition from Brunell to the youngster Jason Campbell. But look at the players that were acquired by Gibbs:

Draft

S. Taylor, C. Cooley, J. Campbell, R. McIntosh, C. Rogers, L. Landry

Free Agents

L. Fletcher, C. Rabach, A. Randle El, S. Springs, M. Washington

Trades

C. Portis, P. Kendall, S. Moss

I seriously though Gibbs would stay for the five years that he refers to each offseason. Turning down a 2-year extension wasn't a big deal; it was a sign that 2008 would be his last year. But all fairy tales must come to an end. I was told that his grandson, Taylor, is ferociously battling leukemia, and if something were to happen to him this fall, it would put Gibbs in a major bind. So, don't blame Joe for walking out a year early. Let's just tag the line to him what the Cowboys said about Parcells: "He left the refrigerator full of groceries."

The Best Job

Greensboro, NC -- Before I tap into the resignation of Joe Gibbs as head coach of the Washington Redskins, I'd like to point out one of the quirkiest positions in the history of professional sports. As everyone knows by now, Joe Gibbs stepped down as President and Head Coach of the Redskins yesterday. What a complete shock -- I seriously thought that Gibbs would fulfill his 5-year contract and step down after the 2008 season. With two positions to fill, I researched the front office structure of the Redskins to see if any suitable candidate could be promoted from within. Listed under the title of "Director of Player Personnel" was Vinny Cerrato.

We all know that Gibbs had a heavy hand in free agent signing and drafting. We also know that Dan Snyder signs the checks (before Gibbs, he was the defacto GM). What in world does Vinny Cerrato do?

Old pal Faris Ghareeb of the satirical blog, "toddcoll15.blogspot.com" mentioned to me that Cerrato is Snyder's racquetball partner! Snyder needed an opponent to match his particular skill level. I've also seen him smoke cigars with Snyder at training camp, often sitting in the same golf cart together. When the Skins' season took a turn for the worse last year (2006), it was all of a sudden Cerrato's fault! However, during the two playoff seasons, we didn't hear a peep about Vinny. Seriously, what does he do? Professional loafer? Snyder's personal assistant? He reminds me of Smithers on The Simpsons, the type of guy who would lay his Armani suit jacket in a rain puddle so that Snyder wouldn't smudge his Bostonians. I attempted to look up Cerrato's salary figure, but it was nowhere to be found. One thing is for certain, we all know that Snyder pays well. But what exactly is he paying for?

In with the new (year)

Greensboro, NC -- I haven't "blogged" all year. That's the running joke during this first week of the year... I haven't done so n' so "in a year." At B's Bistro, we like to combine the best of music and sports, specifically focusing on sports in the Southeast. To celebrate the new year, I thought of some tunes that would help us transition into a fresh, new start. Let's do all songs and bands that feature the word, "new" in them... because 2008 will be nothing short of great.

• U2 - "New Year's Day" - The first song that I hear every year (on purpose). My favorite bar in Winston-Salem jammed this song out at the stroke of midnight. Well done!
• Paolo Nutini - "New Shoes" - The lyrics are simple, but I can see this song being a very catchy and big hit.
• New Radicals - "You Get What You Give" - The definition of a "one hit wonder." This particular song rocked the airwaves in the late 90's/early 2000's.
• Beck - "The New Pollution" - How does Beck write lyrics with words that have nothing in common, yet rhyme so beautifully?
• The Shins - "New Slang" - 9 out of 10 people would say that they've never heard of this song, and probably 8 out of those 9 have heard of this popular hit.
• Inxs - "New Sensation" - IMO; quickly becoming one of the most underrated bands. Bono loves Michael Hutchense's work as they were friends.*
• Ryan Adams - "New York, New York" - A "guilty pleasure" song.
• New Bohemians via Edie Brickell - "What I Am" - Did you follow the connection there?
• Sting - "Brand New Day" - Did you know that Stevie Wonder plays the harmonica on this tune? This song is very well done and definitely flys under the radar.
• Duran Duran - "New Moon on Monday" - Similar to Inxs, I wasn't really into this band growing up, but now I'm a full fledged fan.

* Brendan Magee once told me to listen to bands that your favorite artists grew up listening to. As a hardcore U2 fan, The Ramones and The Beatles would come into play, and I enjoy their music. As I mentioned before, with Bono and Michael Hutchense being good friends before Hutchense's death, I can now see why I'm an Inxs fan.