Sooooo, coaxing Joe Gibbs, the most successful coach in Redskin history, and then having his team go to the playoffs 2 times in 3 years was not successful. Dan Snyder took over in 99 and all he has done is throw as much money possible to make this team a winner. To me he is a fans dream because he will spend the money on players. Now I understand that there is a learning curve, and I think that this franchise is on the right track. I mean it could be worse, imagine a guy like peter Angelos running the redskins.
The last three years where the most succesful the Redskins have been since 1991. It seems like people want to lambast the owner for any reason when the new staff we have in place hasnt even played a game, let alone a mini camp.
Snyder took the right step by hiring Gibbs, and hopefully we will have continued success as the owner matures.
One step forward: hiring the best living football coach.
Two steps forward: keeping quiet while the great coach worked humbly to rebuild the basic structure of the Redskins:
- small touches, like having retired players around Redskin Park, as "next best thing" to having maintained the winning tradition that began with George Allen's tough "old guys" and continued through the Gibbs teams
- bigger touches, like hiring more scouts...recall Don Warren?
- insisting that Redskin football starts with the Redskins being tougher than an opponent...even when that meant modifying some of the offense that Al Saunders brought in
- insisting, and demonstrating, that the team wins by holding together, supporting each other
- clearing out the silly players collected under Snyder, Cerrato, and Spurrier. Taking the criticism when some of the new players didn't work out, and just moving on...as Gibbs always did before (that is, who were the top draft choices between Darrell Green and Bobby Wilson? Jay Schroeder was the young "golden boy" QB, but who started SB 22?)
- hiring a strong DC and a respected OC (even though Gibbs has always been an offense guy). That looked like a foundation to lead the team after Gibbs retired...which he would have done next year, or three years from now, now matter what.
So Gibbs was great, and Snyder got him back. However, Gibbs does not own the Redskins. Snyder owns them, and has the same total control that George Preston Marshall did. What Gibbs could could in four years, Snyder can rip out.
GPM though he knew more football than any of the new-fangled general managers. As some of the other NFL founders gave up football control, GPM kept doing what he did best...and worst.
GPM ignored the repeated arguments from the great Shirley Povich...GPM ignored the arguments that Marshall's bigotry was immoral, and ignored Povich's plain practical argument that the Redskins could not possibly compete as long as Marshall insisted that the team hire only white players. It took the US Department of Interior, which (as best I remember) owned the new DC Stadium, to force Marshal to move an inch.
Even then, GPM never changed his basic approach until he had a stroke and others took the Redskins away from him.
That's where we are with Snyder: he has shown no signs of changing. He wants to be the general manager of the Redskins because...well, because he owns the team and he can do anything he pleases. We didn't elect him, and he won't come up for re-election, either.
Is that "negative"? Well, I think Snyder should hire a GM and restrict himself to marketing and such other things that he might know...or, at least, where he cannot do much damage.
Snyder disagrees. He likes things as they are...he does not think that the organization structure is broken. GPM was the same. It was painful, but we survived. And, who knows...maybe Snyder is a great GM just waiting to show us his skills. I doubt it, though.
- we might not agree on all things BUT your opinions are always respected here as far as I am concerned and I'm sure that many others feel the same. 
