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Fail to the Redskins, and why one man shouldn't take all the blame
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And now, two words about the Washington Redskins.
Putrid.
Pathetic.
Don’t look at the players. Open the door to a pair of front offices.
You heard me. A pair.
What was considered one of the NFL’s proudest franchises has been reduced to little more than comic relief in a town that already has plenty of that in those buildings along or near Pennsylvania Avenue.
I truly believe Dan Snyder wants to win. I also understand what it takes to be an owner of any professional sports franchise, especially one in the NFL, and how fine that line is between hoisting a Super Bowl trophy and having your head hoisted on a petard in the pre-game parking lot.
I do not for one second believe Snyder is deliberately driving the Redskins to ground in an attempt to qualify for the next round of stimulus packages.
Though the thought had occurred to me. Briefly.
Snyder is the home town kid who saw the Redskins as his chance to spend any dollar necessary, bring the Super Bowl trophy back to the Nation’s Capital, (or several miles to the north, actually), then carve his name in D.C. area stone like so many other notable historic figures immortalized along the Potomac.
Of course, when those statues are crafted no one ever thinks of the boon it brings to the pigeon population.
Snyder is merely yet another in a long line of successful businessmen who believe throwing money at anything and everything can make all right with the world and the won-loss record. Especially in professional sports, where the cash keeps flowing unchecked thanks to a popular product, the somewhat Cro-Magnon man need for violence, and the extortion practiced by charging full ticket price for what amounts to big boy Pop Warner games in the preseason.
And therein lies the dual core of what is an abject failure in how to run an NFL franchise.
The Redskins became Dan Snyder’s property not because he had a legacy of successful sports ownership. Not because Jack Kent Cooke bequeathed him the team and Stadium with his dying breath. And not because NFL owners thought they could all get free lifetime passes to his “Johnny Rockets” hamburger chain.
He nailed the deal thanks to $800M, mostly borrowed money to leverage the deal and ring his fellow NFL owner’s bank accounts with an unheard of and, at the time, obscene amount of windfall revenue sharing profit.
Was the NFL concerned in the slightest about his ability to run and be caretaker for one of the more venerable and historic franchises in the sport? Not in the slightest. The NFL has a responsibility to those loyalists helping pay for their swank NYC offices. Even chain convenience stores insure their franchised locations are owned by someone who keeps the floors clean and the customers happy.
But hey, as long as you don’t have a network radio show to upset those lawmakers who help decide stadium funding, labor issues, and anti-trust regulations, then all it takes is a checkbook with plenty of zeroes. And a few more, And a few more, if you please.
The NFL has reached a point of popularity in this country, and around the world they hope, where certain franchises, the Redskins certainly among them, must be guarded, as sacred public trusts. The days of simply doling out franchises to the people printing money is both short sighted and damaging to the loyalty of die hard fans. There must be an investigative and vetting process insuring the best interests of the franchise, with real, live football knowledgeable people involved who can at least give the impression this is something more than a wealthy play toy.
And that speaks to Snyder’s greatest downfall. He’s a rabid fan and someone who grew up rooting for the franchise he now owns, perhaps the most dangerous thing for any sports owner to be. That emotional tug, the pride of boasting and living the high NFL life, and simple ego creates a myopic view.
He has no idea on how to be both an owner and effective leader of an NFL franchise. There is also no one to teach him, if indeed he sincerely wants to learn.
If Snyder truly wants to bring honor back to the Redskins, he needs to close that door to his office and stay completely and totally out of the day-to-day running of the team on the field. Thus far Snyder's record as a bad leader is rivaled only by Neville Chamberlain when he believed Hitler was just going on holiday in Czechoslovakia.
Convincing Joe Gibbs to come out of retirement was a colossal mistake. Instead of setting a new path for the team, Snyder tried to reach back for a name that would help sell more tickets. He succeeded on the ducats side, but it doesn’t take a genius to see Gibbs’ heart and soul wasn’t completely in his second go-round.
Vinny Ceratto has also been a dismal failure. Not only because he lacks the depth and experience to make the right personnel moves, but he too had to be re-hired after leaving the team to be a TV analyst. Marty Schottenheimer fired him the first time for burdening the roster with big but over the hill names like Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders. Sure, they sold tickets, but they did nothing to set the franchise up for the future.
The soap-opera featuring Head Coach Jim Zorn and Sherman Lewis merely heightens the desperate need for executive leadership with more knowledge of football than Sega provides. It's more about finding a new scapegoat than providing real answers.
Sell the team? Dream on, my hog-snouted friend. Not going to happen.
Snyder needs to take his checkbook and hire a reputable and respected franchise leader in the front office. And then sit in his skybox during games. Out of sight and out of mind.
Scott Pioli would have been the perfect choice. Then again, the quagmire Snyder created is so deep and dank it will take some real lobbying and again those paycheck zeroes to attract the right person.
But it can be done. It should be done. It has to be done.
The Redskins don’t deserve to be a League laughingstock. Those loyal faithful shelling out the 9th highest price in the NFL when it comes to the game experience haven’t earned a weekly smack in the chops.
They have earned respect for their loyalty.
Both the NFL and Dan Snyder need to learn whom they should be serving.
And to whom they currently show the back of their hand while counting the cash.
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