I have never been a big supporter of the Snyder-era in DC. When he took the ownership helm in 1997 it all seemed to slide downhill at a fast pace from there. He rubbed fans wrong when he changed the stadium name and appeared to take money over tradition, something that doesn't bide well with Redskins fans. But in the long run I can understand the philosophy behind that decision (hell the guy just paid $800 million for a football team, the most in all sports). While the team is worth (supposedly) more than that today, the fact of the matter it was a lot back then (still a lot today) and the man was simply trying to recoup his investment in the fastest way possible. To me it wasn't the changing of the name that mattered most, it was the manner in which he did it. He seemed to not care about the past, the traditions, the fans, or the team. He took the attitude of just wanting to make money. And so the media and fan obsession with bashing Snyder began pretty much the day he was handed the keys.
Since that time Snyder has been an easy target for everyone wanting to blame the team's failures on a single person. Just read the Washington Post or watch the DC news channels. Just listen to fans at the game or through online forums. It is all an attack on Snyder and his methods of management and apparent meddling in football operations that he knows nothing about. I can't say I disagree with everything that has been written or said about Snyder. He is/was a meddling owner who didn't/doesn't know squat about the day-to-day operations of a football team. But this attitude forces a return to the above paragraph. Here is a man who spent hundreds of millions on a team and wanted to make his money back (plus some). He needed (at least in his mind as a businessman) to take a stand, to do flashy things, to force coaches to make high profile drafts.
Am I taking Snyder's side here. Absolutely not. He is a big reason we have seen a dismal period for the Redskins since he has taken over. But this year's controversy is different.
From the start of the season it was evident the team did not look the same. Coming off of last season and the controversy surrounding Robert Griffin III's return and his total lack of playing time during the preseason it was evident something had changed within the team. They didn't seem to ever come together. They didn't seem like a team. What had changed? What had Snyder done or what is he doing now?
But let's return to last season for a moment. The minute RGIII was injured. It wasn't Snyder on the sidelines making the decision to continue playing RGIII. It was Shanahan and his team of coaches and doctors. I think it was at this moment that Shanahan fumbled any chance he had of a future with the Redskins. For in everyone's eyes he had let a player have control over him by insisting on staying in the game. Say what you want about Snyder, the Shanahan years did show that he would not meddle in football operations as publicly or openly as he had in the past. Was he changing?
Look at other owners and how they handled their purchases of sporting teams. Look at Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban, they both came in meddled and made big waves with their respective teams. But look at them now. Look what they have achieved. Was it overnight, absolutely not.
Some may say that the whole RGIII drafting being forced on Shanahan was a bad move or the "typical" Snyder meddling in football operations. But let's not forget this isn't the first time the Redskins have made a very similar move with almost similar results. Rewind to the 1994 season. We had just drafted, you guessed it, another Heisman Trophy winning quarterback in almost identical terms and draft picks. He was played up as the quarterback that was going to take the Redskins back to the glory days. How long did this last? One season. A no name quarterback, Gus Frerotte, came in to be the one who would actually liven the time up. But this was 1994 and guess what, Daniel Snyder was not the owner.
I guess what I am trying to say is that every owner does it at one time or another. They meddle. In fact all owners of major businesses do it to some extent. Steve Jobs did it with Apple, Bill Gates did it with Microsoft, Mark Zuckerberg does it with Facebook. Pick a company and find an owner who does not meddle. I realize there is a difference there in that these owners know their everyday business better than a sports team owner knowing how to coach, or even play, at the professional level. What isn't different though is that all these owners know one thing and that is money. They have investments and businesses to run and they do what they know best and unfortunately in the sports world that means meddling in team dynamics and operations.
What differentiates a good owner from a bad owner for a sports team though is knowing where to draw the line. Just how much control to give to the coaches and their support staff.
What is obvious, at least to me, is that it appears Snyder is learning just where this line is. In the four years that Shanahan was head coach it seemed each year that Snyder meddled less and less. He gave Shanahan control. Let him make his own decisions and run the team. And for a time Shanahan seemed to be doing a good job. Until that fateful day when RGIII was injured.
While the DC media and fans will continue to place the entire blame on Snyder, for once I think he did the right thing here in firing Shanahan. It was obvious from the outside that he had lost control. Players didn't play with their hearts this season. They seemed to do whatever they wanted and there was a complete lack of team unity or leadership. This season wasn't Snyder's fault in my mind, it was the entire team's fault. And when you place blame on an entire team, unfortunately it falls to the coach.
Others may try to blame this season on the outrageous penalty imposed by the NFL. Shit even Shanahan tried at one time. But you didn't see the Cowboys complaining or suffering at the level the Redskins did, and they faced a similar penalty. Although the Redskins' penalty was 3 times that of the Cowboys, you didn't hear the Cowboys placing blame on it like the Redskins coaches did. Shanahan wanted to pass the blame and that is exactly what he did in this situation.
While we as fans will probably never know what went on in the locker room or behind the scenes. What we will hear is rumors and controversy for another year, or at least until another coach is hired. So as we wait for the next big announcement of yet another head coach in the Snyder-era, let's just hope that he continues to grow and learn from the past. Let's just hope that he lets the players and coaches do what they know best. To him he needs to focus on making money. Lower the beer prices by at least a buck in the stadium (I may not be the smartest person, but I can tell you that you are absolutely undoubtly losing money from fans within the stadium with the prices of food/beverages). Get out there and do something for the fans. Show them you are not the meddling, piece of crap owner they perceive you as.
We are Redskins' fans we will move on and to us another off-season controversy is what makes the Redskins the team we hate to love.
I'll leave you with this little chart of Redskins' seasons over the years. A couple things to remember. First, Jack Kent Cooke took over as majority owner in 1974 and didn't take full ownership until 1985. Snyder took over in 1997. Since 1993 the Redskins have had 8 coaches, so to blame the entire coaching revolving door on Snyder is not 100% accurate. Let's not forget that Richie Petitbon (remember him) and Norv Turner were both pre-Snyder hires. That doesn't fully excuse the whole coaching revolving door at Redskins' Park, but it does at least drop 2 names off the list and in reality leave only 6 coaches over 13 years.
