WP:Snyder Facing an All-Out Blitz

[TK]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16207-2003Nov8.html

washingtonpost.com

Snyder Facing an All-Out Blitz

Criticism of Redskins' 'Napoleon'-Like Owner Increases After Each Loss

By Nunyo Demasio

Washington Post Staff Writer

Sunday, November 9, 2003; Page E01

After the Washington Redskins' 2000 season, featuring the $100 million team that finished 8-8 and failed to make the playoffs, owner Daniel Snyder was dubbed "Sports Jerk of the Year" by Tank McNamara, the nationally syndicated comic strip. For several months, it portrayed Snyder as a mean, meddling, money-grubbing owner enraptured by marquee players.

To Snyder, those might seem like the good old days.

Mired in a four-game losing streak, the Redskins have become a national punch line. And Snyder is being pounded in newspaper columns and on network television and sports-talk radio as an arrogant, interfering amateur who, in the words of Fox Sports analyst Terry Bradshaw, is "taking a storied franchise like the Washington Redskins and virtually destroying it."

So far, at least, Snyder has remained uncharacteristically calm in the face of the criticism, according to sources close to the owner. He repeatedly has told people close to him that he will not fire Coach Steve Spurrier. He has backed away from his practice of recent seasons of calling reporters or broadcasters to challenge stories he believed were off base.

But Snyder's attempts to fix the Redskins by bringing in outside coaching consultants and new players have fueled more criticism that his moves are hampering the franchise.

For Snyder, 38, a Washington area native who dreamed of owning the Redskins and finally became rich enough to buy them, the public relations beating stings.

"I think I'm a pretty good target," Snyder said in an interview last July in which he made a rare public attempt to explain why he feels he is often excoriated. "I'm much younger than the other owners. People perceive me as this arrogant guy, but they don't really know me. Maybe it's my approach. I guess I make good sport."

Snyder declined to comment publicly for this article, citing his policy of not speaking to reporters during the season. But according to a Redskins official, who requested anonymity, Snyder believes the Redskins have been pilloried largely because both he and Spurrier share a swagger and ****iness that rubs many people the wrong way.

Snyder's image improved this summer after he made moves suggesting he had decided to build a team through acquiring budding stars -- instead of those in the twilight of their careers -- under a three-year plan tailored toward Spurrier, the University of Florida head coach he lured to Washington before last season with a five-year, $25 million contract.

Snyder received praise, including from past critics, for striking a new theme of continuity. But after a promising 3-1 start, the Redskins have lost four straight in their most embarrassing stretch in recent memory. Spurrier's Fun 'n' Gun offense has swooned from being atop the NFL following three games, to 22nd in the 32-team league. And Washington's defense -- one of the NFL's sturdiest last year -- is ranked even worse, at No. 25.

With each loss, the visceral reaction toward Snyder returned as intense as any time during his 4½ years as owner.

Washington Post sports columnist Sally Jenkins wrote that Snyder has a "Kim Jong Il" management style, comparing him to the North Korean dictator. USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno called Snyder "incompetent" and "the Napoleon of pro football."

Snyder hasn't been parodied in a comic strip this season. However, the negative attention has become so widespread that on Wednesday, the owner and his coach were the lead gossip item on Page 6 of the New York Post. Under the headline: "Ax May Fall on Redskins Coach," the story claimed that Snyder had surreptitiously given a contract to a new coach.

The Redskins derided the report, in which gossip columnist Cindy Adams wrote that following a loss, Snyder makes New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner "seem reticent."

Since paying an NFL-record $800 million for the Redskins -- and then-Jack Kent Cooke Stadium -- in 1999, Snyder has generated attention by being an unabashedly hands-on owner who involves himself intimately in the running of the team. Snyder is 36-36 during his tenure.

Mark Cuban, 44, who has demonstrated a similarly bodacious manner since buying the NBA's Dallas Mavericks in January 2000, believes the lambasting of Snyder is unfair. "The media jumps on him because it's easy," said Cuban, whose club had missed the playoffs for a decade when he bought it, but is now one of the most successful in the league. "[building a winner] certainly is not easy. If it were, every team would get it right every time. A few good seasons changes everyone's perception."

But since he bought the Redskins and promptly fired two dozen team employees, Snyder's tenure has been marked by instability and controversy. Detractors point to the four coaches since he became owner as evidence of an impetuous streak. And they still cite the 2000 preseason, when Snyder was vilified for charging adults $10 plus $10 for parking to watch practices at training camp at Redskins Park. He dropped the practice of charging fans the following year.

There's also the wealth. Snyder -- who dropped out of the University of Maryland -- is the sixth-richest American under 40, according to Forbes magazine, with a net worth of roughly $664 million. In 2001, he paid $10 million to buy a 14-acre estate overlooking the Potomac River, formerly owned by Queen Noor of Jordan. Snyder recruits free agents in his private jet, a 12-passenger Challenger dubbed "Redskin One."

Floyd Reese, the Tennessee Titans' general manager, believes that the animosity stems mostly from Snyder's financial success at a young age. "What is he, 35?" Reese said. "He's a multi-multi millionaire. Probably 90 percent of that is jealousy. I'm jealous of him. I'd love to be able to own a team and have a jet. If you're 75 and have those things, your personality is easier to swallow."

Snyder's personality, which is variously described as brusque, overbearing and imperious, also doesn't help his image. "I wouldn't describe Dan Snyder as warm and fuzzy all the time," said Joe Theismann, the former Redskins quarterback. "But there are a lot of people who aren't."

In recent weeks, Snyder has provided ample material for his detractors. Two days after losing, 24-7, to the Buffalo Bills on Oct. 19, Snyder flew Joe Bugel, one of the best offensive line coaches in NFL history, to Redskins Park to review film of Spurrier's pass-protection schemes.

The next day, the Redskins released backup quarterback Rob Johnson. They tried to re-sign Danny Wuerffel to back up Patrick Ramsey, but Wuerffel rebuffed the minimum-salary offer because of the manner in which he was released before the regular season. Wuerffel had been cut by Snyder, who sided with Vinny Cerrato, the team's vice president of football operations, despite Spurrier's objections. The decision strained the relationship between the owner and coach, bringing rumors that Spurrier had contemplated quitting. Wuerffel's decision left the Redskins with two reserve quarterbacks who had never thrown an NFL pass and Snyder's critics howled.

The following week, Snyder signed defensive tackle Darrell Russell, a former Oakland Raider who hadn't played since 2001 because of a drug suspension. The move was viewed by some as a desperate attempt to end the losing streak.

"This really is, after all, the Dan Snyder Show, starring Dan Snyder, with Steve Spurrier and Patrick Ramsey," said Redskins great John Riggins. "For entertainment value, as far as drama goes, throw out the football stuff."

Internet message boards, which often provide the pulse of fans, are currently littered with threads relating to Snyder: "Dan Snyder Haters," "Snyder Bashing From Jealousy," "Snyder Height a Big Problem," and "This is Why Snyder is the Problem."

The exchanges involve the typical arguments over Snyder: He is passionate about the Redskins and doesn't spare costs in trying to win a Super Bowl. Or, he spends imprudently, surrounds himself with sycophants, and meddles too much for the club to have success or stability.

Theismann sees parallels between Snyder and Jerry Jones, who bought the Cowboys in 1989. Jones was vilified after firing legendary coach Tom Landry and general manager Tex Schramm. The $140 million Jones paid for the Cowboys was the most for a sports franchise. Jones redefined stadium economics, increasing the numbers of luxury suites while challenging conventional NFL business models. The criticism of Jones as a meddlesome, maverick owner diminished after the Cowboys won Super Bowls in 1993, 1994 and 1996. But Jones's negative press returned when Dallas foundered in recent seasons.

In the offseason, Jones made an uncharacteristic hiring, signing Bill Parcells, one of the NFL's most independent-minded and respected coaches. Under Parcells, Cowboys are atop the NFC East with a 6-2 record.

"I admire Jerry," Snyder said in July, "but there are some very distinct differences. I don't sit in on coaching meetings; I'm not on the sidelines. I'm more of a delegater than Jerry."

Then Snyder quickly added, "He's got a lot more Super Bowl rings."

Despite Snyder's negative press, the Redskins remain the most valuable sports franchise in the country, said Dean Bonham, a leading sports marketing consultant. Last season, the Redskins set the NFL record for attendance. According to Forbes magazine, the Yankees are the only professional sports team that generates more revenue.

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has placed Snyder on the league's broadcast committee and ventures committee, which deals with licensing and marketing. The broadcast committee is considered a prestigious group with only seven owners, almost all of whom have extensive NFL backgrounds.

"The commissioner and league hierarchy are very comfortable having Dan Snyder as part of the inner circle," said Marc S. Ganis, president of Sportscorp Limited, a sports-industry consulting firm. "It also tells you that they respect his opinion."

Despite these modest successes, Cuban believes there is only one way for Snyder's public image to change. "Winning cures all," Cuban said. "A couple of good years, and you guys will be calling him a genius. That's just the way it works."

© 2003 The Washington Post Company

[bulldog]

Snyder made some bad hires as coaches and front office execs.

Marty seemed burned out after the Chiefs players appeared to quit on him in 1998 as the club finished 7-9.

Spurrier is a coach without much sophistication. He has been a large predator in a small pond at Duke and Florida and now is in a pool of real sharks and has been slow to adapt to his new environment.

Let's not even talk about Cerrato, whom I think is a big part of the problem of the 'fit' of this team on the field.

I think Snyder took the wrong lesson away from the Marty year.

He did the right thing in looking for a coach with proven NFL ability who had a reputation for making players work hard to achieve.

Dan merely made a mistake in the PARTICULAR man he choose to fit that role with the Redskins.

After Marty departed, Snyder merely had to apply what is a very good model to the task of finding the RIGHT person to step in.

Someone a bit younger than Marty, better able to relate to younger players, but still with enough on his resume for the players to respect him.

Instead we got Spurrier, who just doesn't have a clue about being successful at the NFL level.

All you really had to do was look at the tape to see that Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel were not NFL caliber starting quarterbacks and yet Spurrier somehow thought he had the magic bullet to turn them around and have them perform as they never had before.

It was and still is like being in a dream world.

Spurrier to me has never had the MOMENT, you know the A-Ha! where the light goes on and you see movement from the HC and staff to energize the team and get things going on a more positive track.

Instead they are stuck in the water and the coach has admitted after each of the past 3 games that he has no answers as to how to turn this thing around.

[jimster]

#1 Why are we a national punch line when there are teams with worse records and many teams that have been worse for longer?

#2 The media would compliment any other team for an owner sticking by his coach

#3 Anybody else see Jerry Jones on the sidelines last week telling Larry Allen to go back in the game? That's not meddlesome?

#4 Titans owner hit the nail on the head "He's a multi-multi millionaire. Probably 90 percent of that is jealousy. I'm jealous of him. I'd love to be able to own a team and have a jet. If you're 75 and have those things, your personality is easier to swallow."

#5 Any "journalist" that has to refer to someone as Napoleon is an idiot. I used to think the Post was a little more professional then that.

[bulldog]

yeah, especially since Napoleon was far from being a 'loser' in the sense they are using the word :laugh:

I think we could stand 14 years of winning almost every battle we fight and being masters of a continent :laugh:

[Yomar]

the Napolean of football? We can't even pull off an invasion of Dallas

[mhd24]

The USA Today guy called Snyder Napolean, not the post.