By John Pappas
Warpath Confidential Editor
It’s time for Dan Snyder to start letting some people go. After a 2-6 start to the season, and 4-12 since this point last year, the owner of the Washington Redskins should acknowledge that whatever formula he thought was going to work post-Joe Gibbs has failed, and fire the people associated with it.
Snyder has a mess on his hands, and it’s not getting any better. In fact it is getting worse. His team is horrible. The guy in charge of football operations seems incompetent. And his head coach is in over his head and appears lost.
Worse, the fans are more upset than at any point in modern times. Attendance is down, as is merchandise sales. There are websites dedicated to criticizing Snyder, and organized fan efforts are underway to boycott merchandise and publicly express dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile a media storm rages around the team, due to moves made by the vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato. Cerrato brought in former Mike Holmgren assistant Sherman Lewis as “an extra set of eyes” after the team struggled early in the season. But then Cerrato handed over play calling duties to him three weeks later. In doing so, he undermined head coach Jim Zorn, and set the wheels in motion for Zorn to leave if improvement was not achieved rapidly.
But the offense has not improved in the two games since. And there is little else Cerrato can do to try and jump start the team. The offensive line is shot. And no matter how much Cerrato asserts he gave Zorn a playoff-caliber team, Cerrato soiled the bed by not addressing obvious needs on the line over the past two off seasons, despite injuries and major surgeries to starters.
As for Zorn, he has been rendered impotent by the demotion, and the widespread belief he will be fired at the end of the season. He does not appear to inspire the team, and he doesn’t seem to have any answers for fixing things. This has been the case since this time last year. And lately, his press conferences are surreal in how he cheerfully answers questions despite the embarrassing losses the team is suffering.
The players for their part still play hard, and still say all the right things. But the fact is they realize they play for people that won’t be there next year. They are associated with one of the worst franchises in the league, and they probably cannot wait until the season is over.
These add up to a team that may not win again this year, despite half a season remaining. Given this, there is no reason to wait until year’s end to make changes.
Snyder’s image is tarred with every loss. And every loss provokes fans to anger with the current team structure. But he could buy some time by making changes now that will help him make more significant changes this offseason.
He should start by firing Cerrato and Zorn. They are the two most responsible for the current state of affairs. This is doable as he could place Morocco Brown in charge of the front office, and name Jerry Gray interim head coach. Two guys considered competent.
This would lessen the media storm, and let fans know that Snyder is serious about getting the team on track; no small matter as fans are walking away from the team in large numbers until something significant is done. And it would serve to lower expectations for the team’s play for the rest of the year.
The other thing it would do would be to give Snyder a head start on finding a general manager or equivalent, and the next head coach. Snyder got in a bind last time when the coaching search lasted longer than expected. He could avoid that this year by starting early along with a new front office man.
Otherwise he can let the current situation ride and face eight weeks of bad football, fan anger, and negative media coverage. And wind up in the same place he is now.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Extremeskins Staff, Mark Newgent and Warpath Confidential, Bryan Egolf. Bryan Egolf said: RT @MarkNewgent: Amen Brother Pappas! http://tr.im/EFy4 #Redskins #Skins #NFL [...]
“Attendance is down, as is merchandise sales. There are websites dedicated to criticizing Snyder, and organized fan efforts are underway to boycott merchandise and publicly express dissatisfaction.”
Absolutely NOT!! No such thing is going on. There is NO fan discontent. There is NO decrease in merchandise sales. The Redskins are on the verge of winning a glorious victory over The WaPo and the other media infidels.
As we speak, our huge and talented offensive line is preparing to crush the opposition. Our superb quarterback is sharpending his passing knives to better carve up our opponents.
Yes, Super Bowl XLIV will be the mother of all victories for the Redskins and our imperious leader, Mr. Daniel Snyder!!!
Hail Snyder!! Hail Snyder!! All Hail Snyder!!
….’er make that All Hail MR. Snyder!!