Nice article about Darth Snyder seeming to take personal accountability for the Zorn disaster...the Zornsaster.
When the Redskins hired Jim Zorn, Daniel Snyder described him as "the right guy." Evidently not; two years later, Zorn was fired, after one of the most embarrassing seasons in franchise history.
I haven't heard much self-doubt from Snyder on this issue, but he provided plenty in his interview with the bloggers from Hogs Haven Tuesday night.
"It starts with me," he said, of his decision to fire Zorn. "It starts with really understanding where we were as a franchise, understanding that hey, I made a wrong decision...admitting that to yourself."
He returned to the topic later, when asked about getting blamed for the Redskins' on-field woes.
"You know...you're responsible as the owner of the team... so because you own the team, it's your fault," Snyder said. "On the other hand, I don't look at it that way. I really see this as a stewardship...it's something that the fans own the team and my responsibility is to try and do the right thing. I think Joe Gibbs...for four years you didn't hear anything about me, and when someone would say anything, Joe would go and say, "Let me tell you what the truth because we better be clear." And then I hired a rookie head coach and we went in a...poor direction. It's the past and I look forward to the future. I've got myself a Hall of Fame head coach, and a fantastic General Manager so we're in good hands."
There's much, much more in there, but the issue sort of came up one last time, when the Hogs Haven guys asked if firing Vinny Cerrato was meant as a symbolic lifeline to Redskins fans that they could start to have hope again.
"That wasn't the driver," Snyder said. "For me the driver was: my intentions are pure. I'm trying to win, OK? I'm trying to do good in the community. I'm trying to be a good father for my kids, trying to be a good family man. I'm also trying to get this franchise to where it belongs which is the Super Bowl and championships, and the highest level both on and off the field. And we were headed in the wrong direction. It's very simple. And the first thing you have to do is look in the mirror and you have to say-and be honest with yourself, you can't say well, 'Hope springs eternal and it's going to get better and what Vinny Cerrato or Jim Zorn says is going to be great.' No, reality is reality. You know, I didn't call two fake field goals in a row."
Which is a shame, because until that point, Snyder had managed not to throw the first-time head coach completely under oncoming traffic. But hey, he deserved it for that one. I just watched The Swinging GateGate again this morning. Man, was that bad.
Oh, and I believe Snyder offered his first public comments on the decision to ban all signs from FedEx Field last season.
"The front office has been changed," he said.
I want to believe, but I know I shouldn't.
