An open mind can be a good thing

[JonC56]

I am just looking at the situation and trying to think positve.

First if we do go the way of Jim fassel then a) he's taken a team to a super bowl and has a wining record and B)If you look at the cowboys, Parcells built the team, and then with an entirely different staff, they had a succesfull season.

We have a solid core group of veterans that will be returning, with an understanding of how to win and the team concept which Joe Gibbs instilled in them. One thing that we can agree on is the fact the Daniel Snyder has the best interest for the Redskins in mind. He may make questionable desicions sometimes, but he truly is just trying to win. I really believe that whoever takes over is inheriting a quality team that has a chance to contend for the NFC title, so why is the idea of a coach with a superbowl birth on his resume the end of the world.


On the other hand, if we do end up with Williams, then we have someone who is in touch with personal and we keep the same system in tact from the last two years(Al saunders system, if we keep him). With the talent we have right now, I think that either of the front runners will succeed.

Now if we start giving up first day picks for coordinators, then my opinion might change somewhat.

[REDEEMEDSKIN]

If you're gonna think positive, then think positive.

Since "Dan has the best interests of the Redskins in mind," then the trading of picks shouldn't change your positive perspective, should it?

Unless you not a positive thinker, but more of a fence sitter.

[DEHog]

I could understand if there was a "better candidate" out there but there just isn't. Why didn't Snyder just make good on his words to give GW a shot after Gibbs left. He should have given him a 3 year deal if didn't work out by then hopefully there'd be some better choices out there??

[cleg]

I One thing that we can agree on is the fact the Daniel Snyder has the best interest for the Redskins in mind. He may make questionable desicions sometimes, but he truly is just trying to win. .

I cannot agree to that. He is a twit who has spent the last 9 years running thr franchise into the ground and charging fans $5 for a bottle of water. All he cares about is money and his own ego.

[riggofan]

Look I'm sure everybody on this board will rally around the players and whoever the coach is come next July. It doesn't change the fact that Snyder is about to destroy any credibility he just built with the fans over the past few years with Gibbs.

I'm sick of hearing "he is trying to win". Of course he is. But he is doing a poor job of it.

[frankcal20]

Every media outlet is saying that the fans are 100% against this move. Who knows, Fassel could be a really good coach but for Dan to do whats right, its giving GW a shot. Not to mention all the players on the team want GW as their coach as well.

Its just best for all sides.

[BossHog]

Every media outlet is saying that the fans are 100% against this move.

Why do you think it was done this way?

By feeling out the fans by putting press snippets out there, Snyder is able to gauge how certain moves will affect what is most important to him... the bottom line.

And magically, what looked like a 'sure thing' yesterday is suddenly not so sure when the fans are saying stuff like, 'I'm dumping my season tickets if they make the move.'

Fassel's 'less sure' outlook today isn't a coincidence, it's a byproduct of the fan's reaction.

[BnGhog]

Every media outlet is saying that the fans are 100% against this move.

Why do you think it was done this way?

By feeling out the fans by putting press snippets out there, Snyder is able to gauge how certain moves will affect what is most important to him... the bottom line.

And magically, what looked like a 'sure thing' yesterday is suddenly not so sure when the fans are saying stuff like, 'I'm dumping my season tickets if they make the move.'

Fassel's 'less sure' outlook today isn't a coincidence, it's a byproduct of the fan's reaction.

Good point. But will it be enough to change his mind?

[BossHog]

Good point. But will it be enough to change his mind?

I'd say judging from the vibe of today's reportings of Fassel, it already has had an impact.

If I thought that Snyder cared about anything else, I'd say no... but since he's proven consistently that he makes ridiculous money off of a .500 team, I'm sure that the delicacy of the situation mandates that he at least considers it.

And since the Redskins are one of his only profitable ventures, I would suggest that he has little choice but to do everything he can to ensure that they keep making 100 million a year.

How else can he pay for his Hollywood aspirations?

[DEHog]

Every media outlet is saying that the fans are 100% against this move.

Why do you think it was done this way?

By feeling out the fans by putting press snippets out there, Snyder is able to gauge how certain moves will affect what is most important to him... the bottom line.

And magically, what looked like a 'sure thing' yesterday is suddenly not so sure when the fans are saying stuff like, 'I'm dumping my season tickets if they make the move.'

Fassel's 'less sure' outlook today isn't a coincidence, it's a byproduct of the fan's reaction.

But all $$$$ signs point to GW being the right choice...so why look elswhere???

Snyder has stay out of the media spotlight...since he took a bashing. I see no value in "free press for his team" to put himself back in it??

[PulpExposure]

I One thing that we can agree on is the fact the Daniel Snyder has the best interest for the Redskins in mind. He may make questionable desicions sometimes, but he truly is just trying to win. .

I cannot agree to that. He is a twit who has spent the last 9 years running thr franchise into the ground

Seriously, it's not like he inherited a team that was winning 10 games every season. Under John Kent Cooke, this team was a perennial loser... every year (from 1993-1999).

There are a lot of things you can fairly criticize Snyder for, but let's not pretend that but for Snyder, the Redskins would have been successful. We haven't had a history of sustained success for a long time.

[DEHog]

I One thing that we can agree on is the fact the Daniel Snyder has the best interest for the Redskins in mind. He may make questionable desicions sometimes, but he truly is just trying to win. .

I cannot agree to that. He is a twit who has spent the last 9 years running thr franchise into the ground

Seriously, it's not like he inherited a team that was winning 10 games every season. Under John Kent Cooke, this team was a perennial loser... every year (from 1993-1999).

There are a lot of things you can fairly criticize Snyder for, but let's not pretend that but for Snyder, the Redskins would have been successful. We haven't had a history of sustained success for a long time.

Hard to do that when you fire a coach every two years...before you mention Gibbs do you really think he would have given him this long if he wasn't Gibbs?

[markshark62]

Every media outlet is saying that the fans are 100% against this move.

Why do you think it was done this way?

By feeling out the fans by putting press snippets out there, Snyder is able to gauge how certain moves will affect what is most important to him... the bottom line.

And magically, what looked like a 'sure thing' yesterday is suddenly not so sure when the fans are saying stuff like, 'I'm dumping my season tickets if they make the move.'

Fassel's 'less sure' outlook today isn't a coincidence, it's a byproduct of the fan's reaction.

That is a very good theory. I hope that it is correct. Danny boy, however, is fairly narrowed minded and egocentric. He is going to do what he wants. Fassel is a horrible choice to be our next coach; there is no question about that. There is always the "who knows what can happen" mentality -- he may in fact, work out; but smart people make decisions based on past success and ones with less risk. Williams, at one season, doesn't have much history as a HC, but there is less risk with him. He has been successful with our defense and as long as Saunders stays as OC, we have a good thing going. I see no reason to change it.

Danny boy, however, has a history of impatience; which unfortunetly for us and all skins fans, may be the worst trait to have in this league.

[Riggmonkman]

Jim Fassel is the same card as Joe Gibbs...the 8 of Hearts (same as Tom Coughlin). That makes this whole thing interesting...

[PulpExposure]

Hard to do that when you fire a coach every two years...before you mention Gibbs do you really think he would have given him this long if he wasn't Gibbs?

Well, we didn't have a lot of success giving Norv all that time, either, did we?

Snyder's biggest mistake was canning Schottenheimer to get Spurrier. Everyone at that time thought Spurrier would make a great NFL coach. (That's pretty funny and still makes me laugh, just as an aside).

He canned Norv, but Norv had long enough to make his bed. Plus he was the holdover, and holdovers don't survive change of ownership well.

He canned Schottenheimer, and that was horrible.

He canned Spurrier, but man...that was well worth it. Spurrier was terrible.

Not sure what I can pull from this, though, really.

Fassel is a horrible choice to be our next coach; there is no question about that. There is always the "who knows what can happen" mentality -- he may in fact, work out; but smart people make decisions based on past success and ones with less risk.

Not sure I subscribe to this theory. Williams was a terrible head coach in Buffalo. Fassel had success with the Giants. Just from a historical perspective, Williams is the riskier head coach pick.

Again, I want Williams...but it's not hard to see why Fassel is an option worth looking at.

[RayNAustin]

I agree that Fassel would not be the end of the world, but only IF Ryan agrees to coach the defense. However, if we can't secure a top flight DC like Ryan, the move looks much, much worse. That may be the cause of the pause right now....the Ravens not wanting to give up Ryan, and Spagnoulo unavailable to talk. (As well as Zorn staying in Seattle).

I think Snyder had made up his mind on a Fassel/Ryan/Zorn trio to replace the entire staff, but complications with Ryan and Zorn have thrown a monkey wrench into the plan.

Obviously, the need to ensure that the defense won't take a major step backwards in a post GW situation is of primary concern as hiring Fassel will surely mean the end of GW.

So GW has been strung along as the stop gap plan as the HC if a top flight DC is not attainable. Unfortunately, GW has to be fuming now, and whatever concerns that existed with him as the HC are now amplified, and the stop gap plan may no longer be viable because of this relationship damage.

Overall, if Synder can't at least get a Fassel/Ryan combo under contract, (or maybe Spagnoulo in place of Ryan) Snyder will have totally screwed this thing up to the point of disaster.

Based on what I've heard, the entire coaching staff is absolutely pissed about the situation, and rightfully so.

This may in fact be the low point in Snyder's ownership history to date.

[RayNAustin]

The timing of the Cerrato "promotion" anouncement and the wording of it couldn't have been more poorly conceived either.

In my view, The Synder-Cerrato combination is the primary problem. In this case two half brains equal no more than a half combined.

The old saying of two heads are better than one doesn't work if both heads are placed in anatomically impossible places

[Chris Luva Luva]

I know some will say that Xperson makes X amount of money but none of that really matters when morale is low. If GW ends up being just a stop gap, if they treat him that way, he'll be on the 1st plane out of here when a better opportunity shows itself... And we'll be right back where we are now.

[RayNAustin]

They're already treating him that way....and that's the big problem here. No body wants to feel marginalized, especially considering the fact the GW's unit out performed and in fact carried the team for the most part these past few years.

I can see Williams having major heartburn, since Gibbs gets all the praise when it was Williams unit that was the only one to meet or exceed expectations. The offense under Gibbs/Saunders never really produced in any of the 4 years. There has beed slight improvements, but fell way short of what should be considered acceptable.

With that said however, we don't know how much input and influence GW had on some of the disasterous personnel moves made with defensive personnel (Peirce, Clark, Archuletta, etc.). That could be the wild card here if he strenuously lobbied for these moves, because they were the most glarring personnel mistakes in the Gibbs II era.

[SkinsFreak]

By feeling out the fans by putting press snippets out there, Snyder is able to gauge how certain moves will affect what is most important to him... the bottom line.

And magically, what looked like a 'sure thing' yesterday is suddenly not so sure when the fans are saying stuff like, 'I'm dumping my season tickets if they make the move.'

Fassel's 'less sure' outlook today isn't a coincidence, it's a byproduct of the fan's reaction.

I'd say judging from the vibe of today's reportings of Fassel, it already has had an impact.

If I thought that Snyder cared about anything else, I'd say no... but since he's proven consistently that he makes ridiculous money off of a .500 team, I'm sure that the delicacy of the situation mandates that he at least considers it.

And since the Redskins are one of his only profitable ventures, I would suggest that he has little choice but to do everything he can to ensure that they keep making 100 million a year.

How else can he pay for his Hollywood aspirations?

That's exactly right. Snyder knows his choice here is going to be highly scrutinized by the league, media and especially, the paying fans.

I believe Snyder is completely cognoscente of the fact that an unpopular decision could be disastrous on so many levels. As BH mentioned in another thread, and this one as well, the attention drawn to this is not coincidental.

All of a sudden, less than 12 hours later, Fassel, Ryan and Zorn are less likely to happen. Wow, what a surprise. And the media got all of us to buy into that crap, as if it were a done deal. As I previously mentioned, every candidate to have the most recent interview, has become the "leading contender" and "expected hire". Yeah, right. Snyder very well could be stirring things up and getting everyone in a frenzy, only to do what he initially intended to do, keep the continuity, and look like a hero in the end. Hollywood couldn't script it any better.

[DEHog]

Hero? That would make him look stupid imho. If that happened and GW turned him down...now we have a great script !!!

[SkinsFreak]

If that happened and GW turned him down...now we have a great script !!!

That would.

Remember, the media and the fans have been quick to criticize him here, and he hasn't said anything. This guy's the front runner... no, now it's this guy... wait a minute... this guy is expected to be hired. Whatever. A week ago, we were all thrilled Dan was taking his time and performing his due diligence. What's changed? Oh yeah, JLC and his factual reporting.

[markshark62]

Well, we didn't have a lot of success giving Norv all that time, either, did we?


Fassel is a horrible choice to be our next coach; there is no question about that. There is always the "who knows what can happen" mentality -- he may in fact, work out; but smart people make decisions based on past success and ones with less risk.

Not sure I subscribe to this theory. Williams was a terrible head coach in Buffalo. Fassel had success with the Giants. Just from a historical perspective, Williams is the riskier head coach pick.

Again, I want Williams...but it's not hard to see why Fassel is an option worth looking at.[/quote]

Norv was our coach during our best season since we won a superbowl.

If you just sit and look at HCing records, yes GW wasn't as successful. But not considering the circumstances surrounding those records would be straight up ignorant and shallow right???

GW tenure as HC of the bills was vastly different than that of Fassels. At the end of the 2000 season, the Bills were totally striped of their identity. Thomas, Reed, and Bruce Smith were cut. Their GM left for the Chargers and took Flutie and Wiley (who made the pro bowl in San Diego that year). GW was only there for about 2 and 1/2 seasons before most knew he was going to be fired. Fassel, on the other hand, was with the Giants for 7 years. He inherited a very good team in 1997 and made the playoffs in his first season. That proved to be one of his best. He was able to put together HIS team and play with them. After that first season, he only made the playoffs twice in 6 years. Since then, he compiled a .500 record and was most recently fired from his post as offensive coordinator for the Ravens -- an offense that was in the bottom five both seasons.

I, however, see a tremendous amount of risk in selecting a HC that has a .500 coaching record over 6 years in the NFL and most recently failed miserably coaching an offense. On the other hand, we have a very successful defensive coordinator eager to make a statement who has learned quite a bit in the last 5 years since his last HC job.

Also, if we change coaches and staff now, it will take yet another year for the players to adjust to a new playbook and offensive/defensive sets.

If you want the skins to be .500 at best, then Fassel is a good choice. But, for me, I want this team to WIN and win championships. Fassel is not the guy that is going to do this. He was in the league too long before to not win. Most NFL coaches win a championship within their first 5 years with a team. This guy is 2-3 in the playoffs. I would prefer having someone with a fire in his eye with something to prove.

[jeremyroyce]

I could understand if there was a "better candidate" out there but there just isn't. Why didn't Snyder just make good on his words to give GW a shot after Gibbs left. He should have given him a 3 year deal if didn't work out by then hopefully there'd be some better choices out there??

But why should GW get the job? What has he done as a head coach?

[Chris Luva Luva]

But why should GW get the job? What has he done as a head coach?

Look at what he's done since he's been here! Does he get 0 credit for getting HIS defense together after Taylor died?! Gibbs gets all of the credit? He deserves a lot but Gregg needs to be honored for that too.

I'm trying to care about this situation either way but lets act like Gregg is Don Breaux.