The real sad fact is, no coach thus far has been able to brake this organization out of the funk it's been in since Norve was coach. Not the hard ass coach, the hall of fame coach, or the hot prospect. The blame has to be directed somewhere, so people blame the person doing the hiring of the coaches, when the coaches are the ones that have failed.
If Cowher or Shanahan came here next season, most would be happy as pigs in slop. If they failed over the course of a season or two, it would be Snyders fault for hiring them. :doh:
Right ?
Yes, absolutely...110%
right. Being fair, I can sort of see why you think the way you do. Assuming I'm understanding you correctly, as you see it, Snyder is merely the guy who signs the checks. End of story. Unfortunately, there are a few problems that make that view really hard to maintain if you give it a bit of thought.
The first is the most simple. Ever heard the expression "The buck stops here"? Owning something means you have a responsibility to do more than sign checks. You bear the ultimate responsibility for whether it does well...or not. That by definition is pretty much what leadership is.
In the case of a business like an NFL franchise, if you're not a "football guy" your one and only job as it relates to the on-field product, is to find and hold accountable someone competent to run football operations. That's it. Period. In Snyder's case, he simply has
not done that. Not by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, he actually made things worse by breaking one of the cardinal rules of management and becoming best buds with his personnel guy. He even did the same with some of the players over the years.
Second, is the fact that Snyder has from the beginning been a hands-on owner. Had he been a laissez-faire owner, one could then perhaps make the case that he simply hasn't paid a lot of attention because he only sees it as a business and isn't interested in the football side of things, nevermind the responsibility I mentioned above. Obviously, that's not been the case with Snyder.
On the contrary, Snyder has been hands-on from the beginning and only really stepped back when Marty and Gibbs were running things. In the real world, that means his moves are going to be scrutinized. Heck, even if he were a laissez-faire owner, people would still scrutinize the team's winning pct. under his tenure. That's just the way of the world.
The reason for that at least in part, is a recognition that successful organizations start from the top down. So sure, you need a great coach. But the great coach one selects has to be a good fit with the team's personality, talent and overarching goals. Furthermore, that great coach needs a pipeline of talent to have much success. He also needs to be sure that he has the support of management in handling personnel and other issues.
In short, the player on the field is a distal end product that is the result of a process that
starts and ends in the F.O. It doesn't just "happen" out of the blue without a hand to guide it and demand accountability for results. JKC was a master at this. Snyder? Well, I hear he and Tom Cruise are buds.
I'm sorry but Snyder has been found wanting in the on-field product, among other things (don't get me started on that stupid tinytron). Even worse, he's done more than simply not win, he's done so while flailing around aimlessley with no real strategy or purpose, all the while being crass and embarrassing the franchise in the process. Well, I for one am
as hell and I'm just not going to take it any more.
Many fans have been saying JC couldn't cut it for at least two years now. What insulates Snyder from the same assessment after 10 years of absolute futility?
Oh....
oh, ok....uh...sorry. Got a bit carried away there.
(wipes sweat from brow and spittle from lips). /