Washington Redskins: 10 Worst Personnel Disasters of Dan Snyder's Career

[Sarge]

I'd forgotten about a couple of these

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...-10-personnel-disasters-of-dan-snyders-career

The Washington Redskins were once considered one of the premier franchises in the NFL.

Three Super Bowls, two NFL Championships and a handful of Hall of Famers amassed over more than 70 years of existence can attest to their storied history. But something terrible has happened to the Redskins since the glory days of Super Bowls and success in the 80s and 90s.

Daniel Snyder bought the team in 1999 and nothing has been the same since. His penchant for splurging on big names and disregard for the draft has given Snyder a reputation as one of the most meddlesome owners in the NFL.






The real intriguing story of the first years of Snyder's reign come in regards to former defensive coordinator Mike Nolan. During the 1999 season, Snyder was displeased with Nolan's vanilla playcalling. He allegedly left a gallon of 31 flavors ice cream with a note saying, "This is how I would like your playcalling to be like." Nolan apparently responded with a thank you note.

Following a loss to Dallas that year, Snyder left five gallons of ice cream to melt in Nolan's office.

 

[Goaldeje]

I have two issues with this list: first, Fat Al should be higher. Easily above McNabb. It's easy to see the McNabb trade as a disaster in hindsight, but at the time, most were, at worst, ambivalent about it.

Second, Vinny should be at the top. Mistake number 1. Because of his ineptitude, most of these decisions were either made by him, or endorsed by him. He is the face of failure at Redskins Park.

 

[Ax]

I thought number 1 should have been, "He fired my Mommy!"

Question: As a franchise, how many losing seasons have we had, and, how many of those occurred while Snyder didn't own the team?

Also, will the penis envy ever just, go away?

 

[InsaneBoost]

While I agree with the list, I don't really see how we can pretend the Redskins have been this winning franchise they've never been. We've had some years where we shined, but correct me if I'm wrong, we've been more of a losing franchise than a winning one, even before Snyder.

Didn't we go from 40 something to 70 something without a playoff appearance?

 

[Henry]

The list is ok, though as much as I disapprove of many of Snyder's personnel decisions over the years there is a bit of revisionist history going on in that article. We were not good in the 80s and 90s. We were good in the 80s. We had been awful to mediocre for a good 6 years before Snyder bought the team, and had made some jarringly bad personnel decisions during that time (Desmond Howard, Bobby Wilson, Al Noga, Heath Shuler, Sean Gilbert, Andre Johnson, Dana and Big Daddy, Heath Shuler, Michael Westbrook, Heath Shuler) that we felt the effects of years later.

And I think the article is far too kind to Norv Turner. I agree that firing him mid-season was dumb, and on top of that bad form, but he was awful.

Snyder has been enough of a disaster of an owner without having to embellish things to prove it.

 

[Neophyte]

Henry, I think you left Heath Shuler off your list.

 

[servumtuum]

While I agree with the list, I don't really see how we can pretend the Redskins have been this winning franchise they've never been. We've had some years where we shined, but correct me if I'm wrong, we've been more of a losing franchise than a winning one, even before Snyder.

Didn't we go from 40 something to 70 something without a playoff appearance?

From 1946 through 1970 the Redskins had a record of 119-199 with no finish higher than 2nd and a best season record of 8-4 occurring in 1955

Twice since then the Redskins have had six consecutive winning seasons, from 1971 through 1976 with five playoff appearances and from 1982 through 1987 with five playoff appearances.

An interesting comparison is three six year periods in recent Redskins history.

1993-1998 a record of 36-59 with no playoff appearances and a best season of 9-7 in 1998

1999-2004 a record of 44-52 with one playoff appearance and a best season of 10-6 in 1999

2005-2010 a record of 42-54 with two playoff appearances if you count the Wild Card playoff loss to Seattle, and a best season of 10-6 in 2005

 

[Kel Varnsen]

From 1946 through 1970 the Redskins had a record of 119-199 with no finish higher than 2nd and a best season record of 8-4 occurring in 1955

Twice since then the Redskins have had six consecutive winning seasons, from 1971 through 1976 with five playoff appearances and from 1982 through 1987 with five playoff appearances.

An interesting comparison is three six year periods in recent Redskins history.

1993-1998 a record of 36-59 with no playoff appearances and a best season of 9-7 in 1998

1999-2004 a record of 44-52 with one playoff appearance and a best season of 10-6 in 1999

2005-2010 a record of 42-54 with two playoff appearances if you count the Wild Card playoff loss to Seattle, and a best season of 10-6 in 2005

And what started in 1993? Free agency. True free agency like we know it now. This shows that the Redskins have not done well at all in the free agency era. It hasn't mattered who the owner was.
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[Rymanofthenorth]

meh, if hiring nolan was a mistake, then wtf was hiring Haslett? and until shanny proves otherwise, the guy who is directly responsible for two of those epic fails (mcnabb because he pushed for him and AH because he canned the defence) might be on that list next year at the very top.