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?