WPC: One name not under consideration

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http://www.warpathconfidential.com/?p=2432

One name not under consideration

By John Pappas
Warpath Confidential Editor

The Washington Redskins are in the midst of a horrible season. Possibly the worst seen around here in a generation. At 3-8, facing increasing injuries, and with a pretty tough remaining schedule, the question is not really whether the Redskins will win many more games. A better question is; will Washington win any more games.

It is the kind of season that will prompt a change in coaches following the season. Especially with this owner. The word on the street is head coach Jim Zorn has almost no chance of retaining his job. It is also possible that vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato may be dismissed, or have his role reduced.

This probable reality has pundits and fans conjecturing on who the likely coaching replacement will be, and if he will be granted team president status. Names such as Cowher, Gruden, Holmgren, and Shanahan have been bandied about. But reports say that Bill Cower won’t work here, Jon Gruden has signed an extension at ESPN, Mike Holmgren was publically critical of the manner in which Zorn was treated in having play calling taken away, and Mike Shanahan is already being courted by Buffalo, who got a head start on their search by firing head coach Dick Jauron in November.

And if Shanahan goes to Buffalo, what then?

Conventional wisdom says owner Dan Snyder wants someone with pedigree, who is a proven commodity. It is thought Snyder wants a coach who has already made a name for himself in the league.

There is one such former head coach who will likely be available this offseason. One who told friends in January that he would like to roam the sidelines again. One who committed to his team for only the current season. One with the juice to bring instant prestige to Washington.

Bill Parcells.

As a head coach Parcells has earned two Super Bowl rings, three conference championships, and eight division titles. He has appeared in the Super Bowl three times, and has taken two different teams there. He has had winning records in 13 of his 19 season as a head coach. Parcells has produced winning seasons at least half the time at every team he has coached. His coaching descendents are guys like Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, and Sean Payton.

And in the Redskins' heyday of the 1980s, Parcells bested Washington head coach Joe Gibbs 11 of 17 times in head-to-head matchups.

Best of all, Parcells knows personnel. He was instrumental in building the talent on teams such as Dallas and Miami. Many believe Dallas enjoyed their 13-3 season record in 2007 because of the team Parcells helped build. And the Dolphins went 11-5 and won the AFC East after Parcells took over as team president.

In Miami, he made a deal to bring in Chad Pennington at quarterback, and hired Tony Sporano as head coach; moves that paid off as Miami won their first division title since 2000, and made their first playoff appearance since 2001.

Parcells has proven he knows how to coach, and how to build a team. Two skills Washington is in dire need of.

But in order for Parcells to come here, he will probably want full control of the football operation. And this is something Snyder is reported to be reluctant to give up. Snyder tried this once before with Marty Schottenheimer, but let him go when Schottenheimer was unwilling to give up partial control of the operation his second year, despite finishing strong his first and only season. Joe Gibbs was given team president status, but it worked only because he gave Snyder a full seat at the table.

Reports say that Cowher will not come as he too wants absolute control, ala Schottenheimer. At the same time however, the current command structure of Cerrato in charge of operations with Snyder having significant input is not only failing, it may inhibit some coaches from coming here.

This leaves Snyder in a bind. On the one hand, things are so bad his fan base is leaving. On the other, giving up full control is anathema to him. But not doing so may prove to be an impediment to getting a marquee name to coach.

In Parcells, Snyder could have proven coach whose name alone would bring respectability back to Washington. His football and personnel knowledge could be instrumental in returning the team to success.

But to get him, Snyder would have to remove himself from the table. And this is not likely to happen.

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Man, as much as I can't stand Parcells, you can't deny he has something of a Midas touch when it comes to personnel. And he would definitely be a guy who would stand up to Snyder; he would make that clear from the beginning - maybe even refer to Danny as "she" in a press conference? :)
 
I’ve spent most of my football watching life despising Parcells. That said I’d be lying if I said he couldn’t come here and work the same kind of magic he’s worked everywhere else. The guy knows what he’s doing and unlike Gibbs hasn’t been away from football.

He worked with Jerry Jones who might be equally as big of a putz as our Dan when it comes to being involved in too many “football” decisions. I know it didn’t last all that long in Dallas but for a few years it was a dangerous combination of money and football smarts. Think what you want of Romo but bringing him to Dallas was all Parcells.

Parcells = No Vinny
Parcells = A renewed interest in the draft
Parcells = A legitimate big time coach that Danny wants
Parcells = Accountability

Honestly Parcells has crossed my mind in the past but this is the first time I’ve heard that he was interested in coaching again. Make the call Dan.
 
What I would like about getting Bill Parcells would be that it means Danny has given up control of football operations to him and Vinny would be gone.

Unfortunately, I think it would be only a stopgap measure. Parcells would only be here a couple of years, long enough to get the Reskins back to respectability, and then he would leave and Danny would go back to his previous modus operandi.

We need a longer-term solution.
 
Hadn't thought of Parcells. Interesting idea.

I'd rather see him come here as the personnel guy than the coach though. As coach he'd just be a short-term solution to a long-term problem, like he was in Dallas and Gibbs was here.
 
Think what you want of Romo but bringing him to Dallas was all Parcells.


Actually, interesting fact - Romo was brought in by Payton. He followed his career closely, because Romo broke all of Payton's records at Eastern Illinois. Although, you could argue that since Payton was a Parcells disciple, Parcells has ultimate responsibility. Part of being a great football guy is surrounding yourself with intelligent football people.
 
Love the idea, but I'm with Henry in that I'd rather Parcells, the GM, instead of Parcells, the coach.

Either way, I'll take him. Even if he leaves in a few years, we'll at least have a solid foundation in the trenches. Once that's established, everything else becomes easier.
 
I rather like the role he is playing in Miami where he is the Team President or some such and hired both the GM and Coach. If he were willing to come here to fill that role and work with the new GM and coach for a couple of years to establish a new atmosphere that would be great.

I don't see him as the great coach he once was though. I got an up close view of things when he was with the Cowboys and he just doesn't have it in terms of on field stuff anymore.
 
I’ve said before that I liked the idea of hiring a guy like Zorn. I say idea on purpose because the idea of a fresh new face and approach was not a bad idea. My problem with hiring Zorn was/is he didn’t even have coordinator experience on the NFL level. Zip! Zilch! Zero! Its one thing to hire a fresh face, someone who is clearly ready to take the next step, but that wasn’t clear in this case. In fact it rightfully raised some eyebrows and further called into question the thinking of the organization in general.

If Parcells was brought in he certainly wouldn’t be a long term solution as a coach but I don’t see it lasting forever in the front office either. We’d most likely be looking at two or three years tops. I don’t see that as a bad thing though. He could set the stage for good things if we just let him. Gibbs thought he had left the organization with an heir and in decent shape when he retired the second time. Who knows how Williams would have worked out? He never got the chance.

The Parcells coaching tree is fairly impressive: Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton, Tony Sparano, Al Groh, Charlie Weis, Eric Mangini and Todd Haley. As Lanky pointed out, he knows how surround himself with good talent. That’s always the sign of a good leader.

BTW I didn’t know that detail about Peyton and Romo. That’s interesting and goes to re-enforce my point.
 
I'd be all for it but ONLY if he can bring in a Coordinator who could be his heir apparent after he hangs it up for good in three years or so. We would want some kind of continuity.

No matter how you slice it, though, getting rid of Zorn, Vinny and forcing Danny to fade into the background would be a GOOD thing.
 
i would be all for this on the condition that he immediately start to groom his successor to the GM and HC position.

when hes ready to quit...promote him to team president and give him a piece of ownership.

kind of like what was SUPPOSE to happen with gibbs / williams.
 
The thing we have to remember is that whoever The Man is today, he can only do so much to influence tomorrow. Parcells could come her and be wildly successful for 2 or 3 years and leave the most capable Head Coach candidate and FO personnel in the business behind but if The Dan does not like them or does not trust them, they will be out right behind Parcells. Much like Williams was just a couple weeks after Gibbs stepped down.
 
Apparently Vinny's radio show was canceled today because he's on a scouting trip. If he is scouting, that more than likely means he is not getting fired.

We are so effed. OH NO! WE SUCK AGAIN!
 
No one will come here to coach with Vinny in the mix.

Any bets on Charlie Weis? :)

Snyder will find someone to take his money. But if he and Vinny are still the helmsmen then that coach will only be coming here to get paid and then leave as others have done.

The odds by the way of Shanahan taking the Bills job where the team's revenue is shrinking and players don't want to go there are astronomical :laugh:

Shanahan is looking to go somewhere where the team has a national media following and an owner with deep pockets to make personnel moves in FA.

That ain't Buffalo.
 
True. I thought the rumors of Shanahan to Buffalo were a little suspect for the reasons you mentioned. The fan base in Buffalo is great but they aren't going to spend like some teams do. I have the same thoughts when his name is mentioned in Chicago. He might give them an interview, but it's just to be polite.

Charlie Weis will go back to being a coordinator somewhere and likely not get another shot at being a HC for a while. The guy has no juice at the NFL level. In saying this I'm almost trying to convince myself that that bozo Vinny wouldn't bring him in here. That better not happen.
 
Apparently Vinny's radio show was canceled today because he's on a scouting trip. If he is scouting, that more than likely means he is not getting fired.

We are so effed. OH NO! WE SUCK AGAIN!

This actually doesn't mean anything at all. Guys still do their jobs right up till they are let go. If Danny is planning on firing Vinny (or even considering it) he will not be talking to Vinny about it and the later will continue to do everything he normally would do.
 

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