So much for the in-depth conversations.... sorry for having expectations.
@SilentThreat - you have some great conversation going. Here's what I've learned in over a decade of helping to run fan forums - you can't really control posting or steer conversations - it's just hard to do. People are going to post however lengthily, broad, or short as they desire, or even respond with driveby's or jokes. It's human nature. It's a good thread, don't sweat it.
It's also a really tough question. I want to answer with what I think may already be going on but I know that's not what you're asking. I think fans turn coaches, players, and even owners into comic book caricatures but really these are complex humans who have all kinds of motives, priorities, personalities, and complexities. I'm sure that there are all kinds of dynamics going on and that there has been a lot of energy expended on having 'a plan' - we just don't know all of the data involved and what that plan is. As fans, when signs of obvious success aren't evident, we tend to veer towards the outlook that they are all idiots when things aren't going well, or that there 'is no plan'. The plan may not work (the past 20 years is compelling evidence of this), but I am certain there are a number of plans and contingencies. If you work for any large business or corporation, you know all of the dynamics that go on - and how those dynamics are managed can have a huge impact on whether a company kicks ass or fails.
To your specific question though - I think the first challenge is getting the right GM. You can give Bruce whatever title you want, but he is operating as the GM. I will continue to believe that he is not a savvy football guy. He's not going to put together a championship caliber team that has a 5-10 year run of sustained success. He's a great business guy and politician. But I don't think he's a football or even an organizational genius. He's a politically savvy guy who knows how to navigate shark-filled waters because he is the 2nd biggest shark IN the water.
So unfortunately, I think we may continue to struggle until Snyder finds a true football GM.
If I am the GM, I recognize that the biggest detriment to the success of the Washington Redskins since Joe Gibbs has been the coaching carousel. Look at every consistently successful franchise over the past 20 years and they all have one thing in common. They found a great head coach and they stuck with him for a sustained period. I won't run the numbers - we may not be
#1 , but we have had more head coaches over the past 20 years than nearly any other team.
Of course you could argue that we had to change head coaches because they failed. I would argue that the opposite is true - we failed because we kept changing head coaches. The caveat is - you have to hire a head coach that is NFL ready and knows what he's doing. You can't take a ringer on a Jim Zorn when there's no evidence he can get it done. If you do take a ringer on an unproven, you better give him a long contract and bear down for a lot of pain before he figures it out. The constant head coaching shuffle has doomed us. It has to stop. That means that if you can hang on to a Jay Gruden, who may not be perfect, but he certainly is competent, you do it. I'd give him an extension that says unequivocally 'you are our guy - get out there and build a winner'.
The other big barrier to long-term success is consistent mediocrity. I know that sounds silly, but what I mean is, what keeps some teams mired in mediocrity is never being 'bad enough' to be able to get a dominating player, particularly at the QB position. This has been the Redskins situation for quite some time. If you don't suffer through a 1-3 win season, how do you get a chance at a true franchise-changing QB? You don't, unless you are willing to give away the farm as the Redskins did for RG3, a move that set our cause back 5 or more years. When you've found a competent head coach (we have), he's probably going to find a way to win 6-8 games every year. So your QB options now rely on finding a hidden gem (more on that in a minute). We found our hidden gem in Kirk Cousins. It's not too late to retain him. He may not be the Hope diamond. But he's certainly a real nice sapphire or ruby. We can make our girl pretty happy with that. My biggest priority as a GM, regardless of this seasons performance, is showing him the love and commitment and signing that LTD. Plan B is letting Cousins go and being prepared to be that 1-3 win team for enough seasons to start over. That's really the only other option guys - so if it happens, you're going to have to suck it up as a fan and realize that's the rebuilding system in the National Football League. To get good, mediocre teams nearly always have to get worse.
We've also been hurt by our reputation as a franchise (whether deserved or not). The best coaches don't seem to want to come here. We've seen it when we are looking for our next head coach (every 3 years - see above) and other coaches. We hear names of great coaches mentioned and then they disappear like the morning mist. Even big $$ don't seem to matter. Great coaches believe it's best to stay away from DC. As the GM, I make it my mission to change that perspective. I tell Dan Snyder, eff the invisible owner act, if the perception of you as a meddling, SOB of an owner is out there, it's not going to change because the DC and national media decides to play nice - YOU need to change it. That perception is killing us, both in terms of attracting talent, and retaining it. I would have a major plan to change the perception of our owner by putting him out in front and dispelling some of the urban legend around him, and do whatever it took to make playing for Washington a much more attractive option. Getting off the pot and building the greatest fan stadium experience anywhere would also help.
Finally, the team needs an identity on the field. We're well into the Gruden era and I still don't know what we want to be when we grow up? As the GM, I know that without a clear understanding of what KIND of talent we need, it's going to be very difficult to put together a great team. BPA is fine, but we all know sometimes it's not about how talented a kid is, personality and character matter (see 'Su'a Cravens'), and more importantly, FIT with what we are trying to accomplish on offense and defense matters a lot. We've drafted and signed a lot of 'square peg/round hole' types over the years. We need an identity that everyone understands. Are we the greatest show on turf, Air America, or are we going to run over you with the most physical team in football? We don't appear to know...
Those are a few of my barely awake thoughts this morning...