tshile
Guest
3-13. Head coach fired, along with majority of his staff. Quarterback’s name drug through the mud; referred to by some as a potential coach killer. So much drama around the last 3 months of the season you’d be excused for thinking you were a fan of a soap opera.
Maybe the title is a bit misleading; most everything is up from rock bottom.
Lost in the conclusion of the Mike Shanahan era was the real analysis that, despite how messy our house appears at the moment it is finally in order. We have no coaching staff, how can it be in order? That’s a good question. Let me explain.
Dan Snyder has owned the Washington Redskins since 1999. In 2000 he brought in Marty Schottenheimer, gave him full control of the organization. After a year of that experiment Marty was fired. In came Vinny Cerrato, in what can easily be referred to as the Dark Years at Ashburn.
From 2001-2009 Vinny Cerrato functioned as a Yes-Man for Snyder. Whatever Snyder wanted to do, Cerrato made it happen. The organizational setup was so confounded that it’s impossible to separate Cerrato moves from Snyder moves; and given Cerrato’s press conferences it’s easy to pin them all on him, so we will. There were moments of hope, but they were false hope. Vinny Cerrato. Awful GM. Awful person. Die in a fire Cerrato.
Sorry, where were we? Ah yes, looking up!
Cerrato was fired mid-season in 2009, towards the end, and Bruce Allen was brought in. It was a precursor to the Mike Shanahan Era at Redskins Park. From 2009-2013 Mike Shanahan had final say on all moves; regardless of what comes out over the next few weeks about Shanahan not wanting to make certain moves, but Snyder insisting. Shanahan had full control. The bad moves ultimate rest at his feet. If he allowed Snyder to convince him to go against his gun, then that also rests at his feet.
Then came December 30th, 2013. On the heels of a 3-13 season full of drama Bruce Allen took the podium.
What Bruce Allen talked about was that Mike Shanahan had final say. That Morroco Brown and Scott Campbell had the paperwork to prove spot-on grading of free agents and draft picks; yet we are still lacking talent in too many positions. Like Mike Shanahan did when he was introduced as the man in charge, Allen gave Brown and Campbell a glowing review. What he implied was, that despite these spot-on reviews, Mike went a different direction in many cases. This is the same thing Mike implied when he took over following the Cerrato-Snyder crackerjack GM team.
He also announced, which seems to have been lost, an organizational structure for the Washington Redskins that has not been in place since Snyder took over the team. Bruce Allen will be Executive Vice President and General Manager. There will be a personnel department, consisting of Brown and Campbell, that will advise him on personnel. Allen will seek out a head coach. That head coach will evaluate the staff in place, get rid of those he doesn’t want and bring in those he does.
But final say will reside with Allen.
Ladies and gentlemen – on December 30th, 2013, the Washington Redskins finally announced an organizational structure we’ve been demanding for a long time. Remember this day.
If Allen sticks to his word this might turn out to be the most functional organization we’ve seen in a long, long time. We’ll have a coaching staff that will focus on winning the next game on the schedule, personnel staff focused on the future of our team, and a GM overseeing both departments and trying to strike the right mix of the two.
The stumbling block is that Allen isn’t known for being a personnel guy, so why him as a GM? The answer is simple – much like a head coach doesn’t have to be an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and special teams coach, the GM doesn’t have to be able to pick the talent. He needs to be able to put the right people in place to do that. Mike told us Brown and Campbell, and their staff, had stellar grades of people over the years before he got here. Allen told us the same. There’s reason to believe that, if they are finally trusted, we’ll wind up with a significantly more talented roster over the long haul.
We’re finally doing things the right way. It was a long, painful, and slow path to get here, but screw it – we’re here now and that’s all that matters going forward.
Doing things the right way doesn’t guarantee success. It doesn’t deliver us a super bowl, or even a contender. It’s a step in the right direction; nothing more, nothing less.
When you’re 3-13, been a perennial loser for 14 years under the current owner, and seemingly always full of drama, steps in the right direction matter. They matter a lot.
The task at hand is now for Allen to delegate responsibility to the right people, and put the right people in place; To hold them accountable; To establish a vision for The Washington Redskins, a vision that is independent of the current coach and current players, but instead is a long term plan that is actionable as a football organization.
A vision that caters to building through the draft and growing your own talent.
A vision that means not letting any one individual, coach or player, be more important that the team and the mission.
Bruce Allen, The Football Gods have chosen you to answer years, and years worth of prayers.
Make no mistake about it. We’re watching you. Good luck.
Maybe the title is a bit misleading; most everything is up from rock bottom.
Lost in the conclusion of the Mike Shanahan era was the real analysis that, despite how messy our house appears at the moment it is finally in order. We have no coaching staff, how can it be in order? That’s a good question. Let me explain.
Dan Snyder has owned the Washington Redskins since 1999. In 2000 he brought in Marty Schottenheimer, gave him full control of the organization. After a year of that experiment Marty was fired. In came Vinny Cerrato, in what can easily be referred to as the Dark Years at Ashburn.
From 2001-2009 Vinny Cerrato functioned as a Yes-Man for Snyder. Whatever Snyder wanted to do, Cerrato made it happen. The organizational setup was so confounded that it’s impossible to separate Cerrato moves from Snyder moves; and given Cerrato’s press conferences it’s easy to pin them all on him, so we will. There were moments of hope, but they were false hope. Vinny Cerrato. Awful GM. Awful person. Die in a fire Cerrato.
Sorry, where were we? Ah yes, looking up!
Cerrato was fired mid-season in 2009, towards the end, and Bruce Allen was brought in. It was a precursor to the Mike Shanahan Era at Redskins Park. From 2009-2013 Mike Shanahan had final say on all moves; regardless of what comes out over the next few weeks about Shanahan not wanting to make certain moves, but Snyder insisting. Shanahan had full control. The bad moves ultimate rest at his feet. If he allowed Snyder to convince him to go against his gun, then that also rests at his feet.
Then came December 30th, 2013. On the heels of a 3-13 season full of drama Bruce Allen took the podium.
What Bruce Allen talked about was that Mike Shanahan had final say. That Morroco Brown and Scott Campbell had the paperwork to prove spot-on grading of free agents and draft picks; yet we are still lacking talent in too many positions. Like Mike Shanahan did when he was introduced as the man in charge, Allen gave Brown and Campbell a glowing review. What he implied was, that despite these spot-on reviews, Mike went a different direction in many cases. This is the same thing Mike implied when he took over following the Cerrato-Snyder crackerjack GM team.
He also announced, which seems to have been lost, an organizational structure for the Washington Redskins that has not been in place since Snyder took over the team. Bruce Allen will be Executive Vice President and General Manager. There will be a personnel department, consisting of Brown and Campbell, that will advise him on personnel. Allen will seek out a head coach. That head coach will evaluate the staff in place, get rid of those he doesn’t want and bring in those he does.
But final say will reside with Allen.
Ladies and gentlemen – on December 30th, 2013, the Washington Redskins finally announced an organizational structure we’ve been demanding for a long time. Remember this day.
If Allen sticks to his word this might turn out to be the most functional organization we’ve seen in a long, long time. We’ll have a coaching staff that will focus on winning the next game on the schedule, personnel staff focused on the future of our team, and a GM overseeing both departments and trying to strike the right mix of the two.
The stumbling block is that Allen isn’t known for being a personnel guy, so why him as a GM? The answer is simple – much like a head coach doesn’t have to be an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and special teams coach, the GM doesn’t have to be able to pick the talent. He needs to be able to put the right people in place to do that. Mike told us Brown and Campbell, and their staff, had stellar grades of people over the years before he got here. Allen told us the same. There’s reason to believe that, if they are finally trusted, we’ll wind up with a significantly more talented roster over the long haul.
We’re finally doing things the right way. It was a long, painful, and slow path to get here, but screw it – we’re here now and that’s all that matters going forward.
Doing things the right way doesn’t guarantee success. It doesn’t deliver us a super bowl, or even a contender. It’s a step in the right direction; nothing more, nothing less.
When you’re 3-13, been a perennial loser for 14 years under the current owner, and seemingly always full of drama, steps in the right direction matter. They matter a lot.
The task at hand is now for Allen to delegate responsibility to the right people, and put the right people in place; To hold them accountable; To establish a vision for The Washington Redskins, a vision that is independent of the current coach and current players, but instead is a long term plan that is actionable as a football organization.
A vision that caters to building through the draft and growing your own talent.
A vision that means not letting any one individual, coach or player, be more important that the team and the mission.
Bruce Allen, The Football Gods have chosen you to answer years, and years worth of prayers.
Make no mistake about it. We’re watching you. Good luck.