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.
2 comments:
I think you are missing the point. The optomist in me wants to believe that Snyder and Cerrato are covering all of their bases. They are carefully and systematically conducting interviews of any and all available candidates. And now there is no reason to rush because the Redskins hold the only HC vacancy which means they can afford to wait for Spagnuolo and McDaniels to become available for interviews. I would rather they held 50 interviews and made sure they were making the right choice other than signing the first big name that comes along (read Spurrier, Steve).
I agree that we need some sort of continuity but at what cost? Saunders doesn't seem to believe in Campbell as the future. Williams D has been pretty good in 2 out of 3 years but his bend but don't break philosophy has hurt the team at times.
I would love for them to hire a younger guy who can bring in some fresh ideas rather than another old retread who the game has passed by, but there aren't many suitable candidates out there.
Is this team really as good as we all think they are? Are they really headed in the right direction? The O-line and D-line are both aging fast. Springs and Fletcher are probably the cornerstones of our D at the moment but they are both at or near the end of their careers. In the two years we made the playoffs, we had to go on ridiculous end-of-the-season runs to accomplish it. How different are those two seasons than the one in between (2006)? Between all 3 seasons, how many games were decided by less than a score? A couple bounces of the ball go the other way and we are looking at a sub .500 record again.
I have to agree with Paul on a lot of this. We were a few bounces away from sub .500 seasons in both of our playoff years. We probably aren't as good as we think we are, and a fresh upstart coach could do a world of good.
That being said, the pessimist in me believes that Snyder and Cerrato are fools. I heard Steve Czaban today compare them to Seth and Evan from Superbad. They are hopelessly in love (not in a gay way...I don't think...) with each other, and are the losers of High School (NFL) I dont think they are handling this situation well at all. They've hired their coordinators but no head coach. I read that those are two of the top choices for head coaching prospects Jim Fassel and Ron Meeks (who is interviewing again today) If thats true, I'd be ok with Meeks. I'd also be happy with either prospects from the super bowl teams.
I just dont want to go backwards for another two to three years trying to get new systems and coaches down. And I definitely dont want to revert to lavish spending sprees for draft picks this off season. We did good last year, and we have all but one pick so far for the draft. If we keep that streak going, then I'll give a bit more creedence to Snyders talk of continuity...
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