Ernie5 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 The fact that we're having this discussion doesn't speak well for the front office. Who is really in charge? Many of the best teams out there have a clear front office structure. We haven't had one in a while. Most fans of most teams have this kind of discussion. You should check out what they've been saying on the Broncos boards about their front office. Hoofa! My sense is that under Gibbs, we had a very clear front office structure: Gibbs was the final word. Snyder had the input many owners have. Cerrato headed up scouting and made recommendations, too. Post-Gibbs, same: Cerrato has the decision-making authority with input from Synder. Morocco Brown is in charge of scouting and makes recommendations. Y'all may not like it, but it seems fairly clear. We don't know exactly who does what and when, but the same could be said of lots of teams. In Philly, we know that Joe Banner acts as the GM, but we also know that Andy Reid wields some personnel authority. Do we know how that works? I don't. In New England, much credit has been given to Scott Pioli, but we know for a fact that Belicheck has the final word on a number of personnel matters. So, what was the actual structure there? It isn't clear exactly who was responsible for what. I don't see the Redskins as being much different in any of these respects. We just have a goofy, jaundiced view here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLongshot Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 The fact that we're having this discussion doesn't speak well for the front office. Who is really in charge? Many of the best teams out there have a clear front office structure. We haven't had one in a while. Actually, the reason for the discussion has little to do with the clarity of the FO structure. It has to do with people who dislike Vinny looking for things that they can blame him for. They are having a hard time because until last year, Vinny didn't have a lot of power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie5 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Yeah: I don't read this post as a way of saying "Vinny has no responsibility pre-2008." That's a bit of a strawman. The question is this: what kind of decision-making authority did he have? It seems is that answer is NOT MUCH. He had a role, obviously, and bears more responsibility for some decisions than others (based on his recommendations), but last year was the first year the buck stopped with him. I liked most of the decisions he made. The decision I didn't like -- Jason Taylor -- could have worked out fine, but for an unforeseen injury. I still wouldn't have made the deal with Parcells, but I don't agree with most GMs on every single move they make. Remember, Ozzie Newsome traded up in the first round to select Kyle Boller. That screamed mistake the second they did it. No one gets it all right all the time. Vinny's work in 2008 merits giving him time to establish more of a track record before we call for his head. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Gibbs was about 50/50 in his personnel decisions, which overall isn't too bad. As mentioned good teams stockpile lots of draft picks and it's a good class if you can hit on more than half of them. The main point though was not questioning the good Gibbs has done, but rather questioning the negativity toward Snyder/Cerrato for bad moves made during Gibbs' tenure. Snyder deserves as much blame as possible for those debacles pre 2004, as well as for firing Schottenheimer (who I think would have righted the ship much better due to his focus on the draft, like Parcells or Coughlin). Just look at the Chargers, lots of talent, just not a good head coach. If they were to have a decent head coach, things could be very different there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ttr77 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Well, it certainly is easier to place blame on those that are no longer around. It makes it easier to paint a rosy picture going forward. After all, now that the man that brought this team a taste of success and a lot of respect is gone, thankfully we can go back to the way it was before he was here. Oh, wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ernie5 Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Well, it certainly is easier to place blame on those that are no longer around. It makes it easier to paint a rosy picture going forward. After all, now that the man that brought this team a taste of success and a lot of respect is gone, thankfully we can go back to the way it was before he was here. Oh, wait... It also happens to be the truth. I think it's a lot easier to bash a guy like Cerrato who doesn't have a history of Super Bowls and is kind of goofy than it is to bash a Hall of Famer who is classy and legendary. It's not a matter of painting a rosy picture. It's a matter of (a) not being a doomsayer and ( giving Cerrato a chance to succeed or fail. Gibbs did many great things for us in both of his reigns here. He also did some less-than-great things (his first retirement coming in March, for example) and as a talent evaluator, he's never come close to matching his coaching ability or track record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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