JOHN COOKE --WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:41 am
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 03616.html
Great Article....Sad to read...For him and for us
Great Article....Sad to read...For him and for us
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JOHN COOKE --WASHINGTON POST ARTICLE
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 11:56 am
I just posted this in another thread along with a recap of his radio interview with Mike Wise. Really sad.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:00 pm
they probably should be emerged.
Sad very sad. ..I was all excited about my Yankees today and I ran across this article and I have been sulking all morning now.
God how much our Redskins lives would have been different.
This team is so unrecognizable to me but uniforms.
Sad very sad. ..I was all excited about my Yankees today and I ran across this article and I have been sulking all morning now.
God how much our Redskins lives would have been different.
This team is so unrecognizable to me but uniforms.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:08 pm
I can almost hear Mr. Cooke "My god man, what in the world are you doing to my lovely Redskins and those glorious fans. Have you no dignity?"
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:12 pm
- I'm speaking out because like the fan's, I'm fed up.
- Dan Snyder has not invited me to the stadium for a game.
- He would have met with Mike Vick to see if he realized what he did and if he was willing to change/correct what he's done. He would have forgiven him and looked to bring him in.
- Was appalled that Dan Snyder got rid of every qualified professional that they hired and blames that for part of the reason for the failure.
- IN the draft, they relied on the scouts and coaches advice. Listen to qualified people.
- We don't have anyone qualified to identify talent
- His Dad wasn't involved with selecting players in draft or FA
- Met with D. Snyder at an office of a mutual friend. Mr Cooke was not impressed with Snyder. Called a friend at Redskins Office and Mr. Cooke said that he wouldn't work with Snyder ever. Claims he's arrogant, etc and he would never work with Snyder.
- On gameday - TV is the best way to watch the games. Replay, no parking, etc. They made the sport for TV.
- Fan's being sued- he's outraged. the sport has had pretty bad owners but this is unheard of. If they are making so much money, why are they holding people up in the courts.
- Key to being a successful owner. Intuition. Riggins at one point wanted a huge contract. Father said no. John threatened to go to USFL and went and met with the owner of the Detroit team. John came back and they took his offer for $150,000.
- Jack Kent Cooke could not give the team to his son b/c if he did, he couldn't' start the youth foundation. Business wasn't as good at the time and the value of the estate wasn't as high as it once was.
- Best memory in JKC's last days - physically, he was not like what he was his whole life. Did not get support from his Wife. Last thing he said was "Come on down. Let's go to the stadium to see it's coming along." Well they didn't make it b/c he died an hour later. He died worried about his Wife b/c she wasn't there and he didn't know where she was at. He died of a heart attack after arguing with her about the issue. After the memorial, there has been no communication from his last wife and the kids.
- Talking about Gibbs - 1st Cerrato is no Bobby Bethard. Mr. Cooke was very frustrated at Gibbs b/c they lost 5 straight games. Pardee was coming off NFL Coach of the Year. Mr. Cooke wanted a coach who was a little more outgoing. The team photographer gave the advice to Mr. Cooke that there was suspicion around the NFL that this was not the atmosphere to run a club. So they went with Gibbs b/c he was coming off of a great season in SD.
- His Mom did not want to stay married to Mr. Cooke. She was patient but couldn't go on living with Mr. Cooke. He was a tough guy.
- Mr. Cooke always regreted not making it work with their mother.
- Mr. Cooke never hung out socially with the players. Can't fire them if it's your friend.
- Owner should only be relied on for player evaluation in coordination with everyone (coach, GM and scouts)
- How disappointing is he that he didn't get the team. He was very disappointed but they were very involved in communications (TV, Newspaper, etc). He decided to start a winery (Boxwood Winery). His sons are running the newspaper and daughter is running the winery.
- JCK would be very upset with the current state of the franchise.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:14 pm
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:18 pm
You've got to hear it ^. You can just hear the disgust in his voice throughout the interview.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:31 pm
frankcal20 wrote:You've got to hear it ^. You can just hear the disgust in his voice throughout the interview.
Oh I heard it. It brought me back to my elementary school days and really made me wish he still owned the team. Both of them, Jack and John. It's just not fair.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:33 pm
You hear all the time about a "Players Coach" or things like this. I feel like if John Cooke was the owner, he would have been a "Fan Owner." I think that the overall experience for the fan and the production of the team would have been better under Cooke. But hindsight is 20/20.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:38 pm
MEZZSKIN wrote:they probably should be emerged.
Sad very sad. ..I was all excited about my Yankees today and I ran across this article and I have been sulking all morning now.
God how much our Redskins lives would have been different.
This team is so unrecognizable to me but uniforms.
yankdeez?
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:41 pm
The Cookes were OLD SCHOOL NFL owners --ala MARA'S ROONEYS etc
John might not have built an UBER dynasty but he would have adhered and respected the basic fundamentals of running an NFL Franchise operation
Cooke would have rather pinched his eyes with thumb tacts than SUE his fan base during a recession while fielding an embarassing low end product..
John might not have built an UBER dynasty but he would have adhered and respected the basic fundamentals of running an NFL Franchise operation
Cooke would have rather pinched his eyes with thumb tacts than SUE his fan base during a recession while fielding an embarassing low end product..
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:42 pm
I don't think that the product on the field would be the same as it is now.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:01 pm
good lord.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:36 pm
Good read. I was out of the area for a lot of that, so it's a good piece to catch up with. Thanks for posting it.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:47 pm
I listened to the Mike Wise interview this morning. Good stuff! I was surprised how harsh he was on Snyder, didn't pull any punches.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:54 pm
MEZZSKIN wrote:they probably should be merged.
Sad very sad. ..I was all excited about my Yankees today and I ran across this article and I have been sulking all morning now.
God how much our Redskins lives would have been different.
This team is so unrecognizable to me but uniforms.
its now afternoon and i feel the same way....what did we ever do to deserve Snyder's reign of Terror
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 2:56 pm
I guess I shouldn't bother to point out that once most of Bobby Beathards players retired and Gibbs left the first time this organization was ran by Casserly and John Cooke. The team that brought you Norv, Tom Carter, Heath Shuler, Big Daddy Wilkenson, Stubby, MMA Westbrook, Kenard Lang, and the worst first round draft pick in Redskins history Andre Johnson!
A record way below 500.
So lets not make this out to like by getting Dan we gave up Jack and Bobby, we gave up two guys that didn't run the show any better than Dan and Vinny.
Now I'll stand back and you can pick this over. Say what you want, but until Dumb and Dumber goes back to back 4-12 and 3-13 season and then drafts Heath Shuler I refuse to lament over the "good" old days of John Cooke and Charlie Casserly!
We, the fans, are somewhat responsible for this. The season after Danny fired Norv, do you think this market would have stood for Snyder saying that he was going to rebuild this team the right way? We, just like the owner, have always thought that this team is one or two player away from being a legit contender. A fan took over this team and it has been run by a fan trying to win now instead of an owner trying to build for the future.
And deep down most of the fans wouldn't have wanted it any other way!
I think most of the fans now see the writing on the wall (and I think the owner does too). We simply don't have enough talent on offense to contend and this team needs an enema. We need a good flushing so we can start out fresh. We need a QB, 4 new OL and OL backups, a #1 WR and a #2 and #3 if we get rid of Moss and ARE, we need a backup QB, a RB and a backup. Basically the only one we shouldn't want to lose on O would be
ey. I wouldn’t mind keeping Moss, ARE, and CP for another year, but know that if 2010 is uncapped they have to dump ALL of the high contracts and start completely over.
A record way below 500.
So lets not make this out to like by getting Dan we gave up Jack and Bobby, we gave up two guys that didn't run the show any better than Dan and Vinny.
Now I'll stand back and you can pick this over. Say what you want, but until Dumb and Dumber goes back to back 4-12 and 3-13 season and then drafts Heath Shuler I refuse to lament over the "good" old days of John Cooke and Charlie Casserly!
We, the fans, are somewhat responsible for this. The season after Danny fired Norv, do you think this market would have stood for Snyder saying that he was going to rebuild this team the right way? We, just like the owner, have always thought that this team is one or two player away from being a legit contender. A fan took over this team and it has been run by a fan trying to win now instead of an owner trying to build for the future.
And deep down most of the fans wouldn't have wanted it any other way!
I think most of the fans now see the writing on the wall (and I think the owner does too). We simply don't have enough talent on offense to contend and this team needs an enema. We need a good flushing so we can start out fresh. We need a QB, 4 new OL and OL backups, a #1 WR and a #2 and #3 if we get rid of Moss and ARE, we need a backup QB, a RB and a backup. Basically the only one we shouldn't want to lose on O would be
ey. I wouldn’t mind keeping Moss, ARE, and CP for another year, but know that if 2010 is uncapped they have to dump ALL of the high contracts and start completely over.Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 4:55 pm
He did say that they fired Norv too soon. Too soon as in halfway through a season when they were still in contention for the playoffs? Yes. Seven years wasn't enough time to evaluate? No. It was too soon in the 2000 season, but about three years too late.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 6:15 pm
skinsfan#33 wrote:I guess I shouldn't bother to point out that once most of Bobby Beathards players retired and Gibbs left the first time this organization was ran by Casserly and John Cooke. The team that brought you Norv, Tom Carter, Heath Shuler, Big Daddy Wilkenson, Stubby, MMA Westbrook, Kenard Lang, and the worst first round draft pick in Redskins history Andre Johnson!
A record way below 500.
So lets not make this out to like by getting Dan we gave up Jack and Bobby, we gave up two guys that didn't run the show any better than Dan and Vinny.
Now I'll stand back and you can pick this over. Say what you want, but until Dumb and Dumber goes back to back 4-12 and 3-13 season and then drafts Heath Shuler I refuse to lament over the "good" old days of John Cooke and Charlie Casserly!
We, the fans, are somewhat responsible for this. The season after Danny fired Norv, do you think this market would have stood for Snyder saying that he was going to rebuild this team the right way? We, just like the owner, have always thought that this team is one or two player away from being a legit contender. A fan took over this team and it has been run by a fan trying to win now instead of an owner trying to build for the future.
And deep down most of the fans wouldn't have wanted it any other way!
I think most of the fans now see the writing on the wall (and I think the owner does too). We simply don't have enough talent on offense to contend and this team needs an enema. We need a good flushing so we can start out fresh. We need a QB, 4 new OL and OL backups, a #1 WR and a #2 and #3 if we get rid of Moss and ARE, we need a backup QB, a RB and a backup. Basically the only one we shouldn't want to lose on O would be
I was wondering when someone would point that out about John Cooke. But the thing is that John Cooke was at least a very nice guy, and I don't remember Casserly bringing up his super bowl rings every time someone asked him a question. The current two are just as bad at their jobs and jerks to boot.
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 10:09 pm
skinsfan#33 wrote:I guess I shouldn't bother to point out that once most of Bobby Beathards players retired and Gibbs left the first time this organization was ran by Casserly and John Cooke. The team that brought you Norv, Tom Carter, Heath Shuler, Big Daddy Wilkenson, Stubby, MMA Westbrook, Kenard Lang, and the worst first round draft pick in Redskins history Andre Johnson!
A record way below 500.
So lets not make this out to like by getting Dan we gave up Jack and Bobby, we gave up two guys that didn't run the show any better than Dan and Vinny.
Now I'll stand back and you can pick this over. Say what you want, but until Dumb and Dumber goes back to back 4-12 and 3-13 season and then drafts Heath Shuler I refuse to lament over the "good" old days of John Cooke and Charlie Casserly!
Thanks for pointing this out amongst the nostalgia fest. John Kent Cooke is undoubtably a nice guy, but he was an awful owner. Not saying Snyder is a good owner (because he's clearly not), but the Redskins under Cooke had a worse record than the Redskins under Snyder. Just think on that one.
I thought this quote from Sonny Jurgenson in that article was appropriate:
Sonny Jurgensen, the Hall of Fame quarterback who now broadcasts the team's games, said: "John is a good man. But if his dad thought he was capable of running the franchise, I think he would have given it to him. They could have taken care of the charitable trust when John sold the team."
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:41 am
PulpExposure wrote:Thanks for pointing this out amongst the nostalgia fest. John Kent Cooke is undoubtably a nice guy, but he was an awful owner. Not saying Snyder is a good owner (because he's clearly not), but the Redskins under Cooke had a worse record than the Redskins under Snyder. Just think on that one.
The first trip to the playoffs of the Snyder era with Norv Turner was a result of the work done by the previous ownership. So, it is not as clear to me what owner really has obtained worse results. But I do know who is the worse owner for many more facts than the record: Daniel Snyder.
Snyder is destroying the traditional loyal fan base. He moved the team into the corporate world. He "thinks" that he is a good GM and knows anything about football. He interferes with players and coaches.
None of these flaws can be attributed to John. John knew that he did not know. Snyder does not even know that. Snyder's ego is as large as the size of his cluelessness.
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:16 am
Redskin in Canada wrote:PulpExposure wrote:Thanks for pointing this out amongst the nostalgia fest. John Kent Cooke is undoubtably a nice guy, but he was an awful owner. Not saying Snyder is a good owner (because he's clearly not), but the Redskins under Cooke had a worse record than the Redskins under Snyder. Just think on that one.
The first trip to the playoffs of the Snyder era with Norv Turner was a result of the work done by the previous ownership. So, it is not as clear to me what owner really has obtained worse results. But I do know who is the worse owner for many more facts than the record: Daniel Snyder.
Snyder is destroying the traditional loyal fan base. He moved the team into the corporate world. He "thinks" that he is a good GM and knows anything about football. He interferes with players and coaches.
None of these flaws can be attributed to John. John knew that he did not know. Snyder does not even know that. Snyder's ego is as large as the size of his cluelessness.
To piggy back RiC---alot guys are not getting the point of what John Cooke and Mike Wise were saying...NOBODY WAS SAYING ...we would have won under Cooke...
But the Cooke has traditional NFL ownership values and that were thrown out the window DAY ONE SNYDER walked in...what we do know under Cooke
#1-he WOULD NOT be suing fans!!!
#2-he would have adhered to Traditional NFL org charts and Football men would be running the Redskins..
#3-he would stressed Continuity and patience
#4-he would NOT HAVE commercialized The Redskins and charge the fans for everything except the air they breath in FEDEX
TO THE FANS ---that rip John Cooke''s tenure...Give the guy break...first off it was 6 YEARS!!!..His dad was dying and the Franchise was under a fierce bidding for part of it.
#2...Study NFL HISTORY!!---Wellington Mara was an umitigated disaster of owner in terms winning after he took ove for his dad..the 60's and 70's were brutal for giant fans..My uncle talks about it all the time..
but he stuck to traditional NFL ORG CHARTS--never meddled with personnel...and eventually he hired the right guy GEORGE YOUNG...rest is history
The Rooneys AND THE STEELERS DID NOTHING FROM 79-UP UNTIL COWHER (mid 90's)
all the while the Rooneys stressed patience and continuity..and wala..it all paid off for them
COOKE was made and raised from that mold...
Snyder is the epitome of Modern day wealth. arrogance and meddlesome and commerliaze your asset to the uptinth degree. and hold your Fans in very low regard
just MY opinion but we would have been light years better off with Cooke.
Win or lose..They would have been our Redskins
Now the teams seems so foriegn to me , ownership has detached us from this team in so many ways....Just ones man thought
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:49 am
What Cooke did or didn't do has no bearing and does not excuse the goings on during the DS era!!
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:14 am
JansenFan wrote:He did say that they fired Norv too soon. Too soon as in halfway through a season when they were still in contention for the playoffs? Yes. Seven years wasn't enough time to evaluate? No. It was too soon in the 2000 season, but about three years too late.
Yeah, they were in no danger of making the playoffs.
Even at 10-6 (providing that Norv won all three remaining game) they still would have finished third in the NFC East.
I cover that and more here
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:16 pm
Redskin in Canada wrote:PulpExposure wrote:Thanks for pointing this out amongst the nostalgia fest. John Kent Cooke is undoubtably a nice guy, but he was an awful owner. Not saying Snyder is a good owner (because he's clearly not), but the Redskins under Cooke had a worse record than the Redskins under Snyder. Just think on that one.
The first trip to the playoffs of the Snyder era with Norv Turner was a result of the work done by the previous ownership. So, it is not as clear to me what owner really has obtained worse results. But I do know who is the worse owner for many more facts than the record: Daniel Snyder.
Snyder is destroying the traditional loyal fan base. He moved the team into the corporate world. He "thinks" that he is a good GM and knows anything about football. He interferes with players and coaches.
None of these flaws can be attributed to John. John knew that he did not know. Snyder does not even know that. Snyder's ego is as large as the size of his cluelessness.
Dude, again, I wasn't making a comment that Snyder was a good owner. He isn't. But....neither was Cooke.
And mezz, we'd have a much nicer owner, and we'd essentially be the Lions (while 3 playoff trips under Snyder stinks, we had ZERO under Cooke). Would you be happy with that?