A New Start! (the Reboot) The Front Office, Ownership, & Coaching Staff Thread

[JSSkinz]

 

That's good news on Brice, I'm ready to see what he can do.

[Llevron]

We had a coach of the Washington Washingtons actually say that we can learn from past mistakes and not repeat them. 

 

Thats worth it right there. 

[Riggo#44]

34 minutes ago, JSSkinz said:

That's good news on Brice, I'm ready to see what he can do.

 

It's going to be real, real interesting this Training Camp, we have a glut of very talented (albeit injury prone) RBs--AP, Guice, Love, McKissic, and Gibson should all make the team.

[88Comrade2000]

Del Rio just needs to stick to coaching.   Let the focus be him turning around our defense.  Waying into non-football stuff is nothing but a distraction and NFL coaches hate distractions.

 

Rivera is the man.  There's a reason he picked us and decided not to make himself available for other opportunities.  Dan has given him the power.  Riverboat Ron maybe the most powerful Team coach ever.  He wasn't likely to get the power he has here than with the other teams that had openings. 

 

He has unfinished work.  The NFL is littered with coaches who either didn't do well their first time around and won superbowls the next time around.  See, Shanny and Bellichek.  Also, NFL is littered with coaches who did well the first time around but didn't win a Superbowl. On their second team, they finally won a Superbowl.  See, Reid and Shula.

 

If things go well, I see Rivera joining Reid and Shula eventually.  The key to Rivera being able to do that, depends on the QB position.  

[Fresh8686]

1 hour ago, Rdskns2000 said:

Del Rio just needs to stick to coaching.   Let the focus be him turning around our defense.  Waying into non-football stuff is nothing but a distraction and NFL coaches hate distractions.

 

Rivera is the man.  There's a reason he picked us and decided not to make himself available for other opportunities.  Dan has given him the power.  Riverboat Ron maybe the most powerful Team coach ever.  He wasn't likely to get the power he has here than with the other teams that had openings. 

 

He has unfinished work.  The NFL is littered with coaches who either didn't do well their first time around and won superbowls the next time around.  See, Shanny and Bellichek.  Also, NFL is littered with coaches who did well the first time around but didn't win a Superbowl. On their second team, they finally won a Superbowl.  See, Reid and Shula.

 

If things go well, I see Rivera joining Reid and Shula eventually.  The key to Rivera being able to do that, depends on the QB position.  

 

This is the most optimistic post, I've ever seen you make. I hope you're right, not just because this is our team, but because it would be awesome to see a genuinely good man have success in this place again like Joe Gibbs Part 1.

Edited July 28, 2020 by Fresh8686

[88Comrade2000]

23 hours ago, Fresh8686 said:

 

This is the most optimistic post, I've ever seen you make. I hope you're right, not just because this is our team, but because it would be awesome to see a genuinely good man have success in this place again like Joe Gibbs Part 1.

I must have a fever, I am usually not positive.

[Skinsinparadise]

A lot has happened that no one could have expected when Rivera took over a 3-13 team with an inexperienced roster. But the disarray might create an opportunity. Those who have been with Rivera say he manages disaster better than anyone they know in football. They use words such as “calm” and “steady” and say he never rattles in moments of crisis. In several of his nearly nine seasons as the Carolina Panthers’ head coach, his teams stumbled at the start, only for the Panthers to get hot in November and December, salvaging seasons because no one broke when things seemed bleak.

“He has always maintained a composed demeanor, which helped me tremendously,” former Panthers center Ryan Kalil said this summer. “The NFL season is a roller coaster, and he won’t ride it — down or up. He’s an eternal optimist, and . . . his calm demeanor didn’t always reflect the reality of turmoil or defeat.”

 

 

The thing about a lot of NFL coaches today is that they panic. The pressure is huge, and many of them are getting head coaching jobs based less on their ability to stand before a group of alpha males and lead and more on their connections to a famous coach or knowledge of a particular offensive system. The reason many around the NFL have said Rivera will work in Washington, despite the franchise’s perpetual upheaval and team owner Daniel Snyder’s volatility, is that he doesn’t get sucked into the whirlpool of chaos.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/29/washingtons-nfl-team-is-engulfed-chaos-ron-rivera-has-history-thriving-it/

[Skinsinparadise]

She was a 42-year-old woman whose career had been spent on-air at regional sports television networks, walking into a powerful job with a team that had been exposed for a culture hostile to women. What would everyone think? Would she be welcomed? Would people resent that she was there?

Then came the women who work for the team. One-by-one they appeared at her office door or called on her phone.

“We need this,” Donaldson remembers one saying.

“We’re so glad you are here,” another told her.

 

Suddenly, Donaldson knew she had made the right decision to leave her previous job at NBC Sports Washington to step into an enormous unknown.

“I believe I can make a difference,” she says.

 

She did not come to Washington’s football team to be invisible. By description, her role will make her the face fans see when they click on the website or tune into the team’s daily television program. Her voice will be impossible to miss on the radio broadcast. Next to Coach Ron Rivera, she might be the organization’s most-visible non-player.

 

But Donaldson sees her job as more than being a face on TV or an executive in an office. The harassment story hit the team hard, several people who work there have said. It left many angry. Already, Rivera had been trying to instill a new culture of inclusion to replace one that many have described as toxic. Donaldson notices others attempting this, too. She believes the organization is trying to remake itself. She has her own story, too, a painful one, and she wants to be a part of the team’s fresh start.

“I did my homework before taking this job,” she says.

 

When Washington first contacted Donaldson just hours after Michael retired, she was wary. She knew a significant story about harassment was about to break. As a reporter, she had covered the barren last years of former team president Bruce Allen’s reign. She understood the team’s problems and wasn’t sure she wanted to make them her problems, too.

 

...“I don’t want to join an organization I’m not proud of,” she said to owner Daniel Snyder’s wife Tanya, with whom she had worked with on charity projects.

“We’re working on changing that,” Tanya Snyder replied.

Slowly, Donaldson began to feel better about the job. She called more people, including friends and parents and the mentors whose words had always been the most honest in the past. She called people she knew who hated the team and couldn’t stand Snyder. Donaldson says almost everyone said the same things: The new executives were smart, the team wanted to move away from the past, she could be a part of the change. Finally, she knew. She had to take the job.

 

...She feels that everyone in the building wants this to be a fresh start, to end the gloom that has hovered over the franchise.

 

One of her favorite memories of the interview process was a meeting she had with Rivera, who, after hearing her story, said: “What this tells me about you is you’re a fighter.”

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/07/30/julie-donaldson-washington-football-team/?arc404=true

Edited July 30, 2020 by Skinsinparadise

[FootballZombie]

I liked the Julie hire when I first heard it and I am loving it even more now. I can’t state enough how much impact this will have on our public perception. And all of this is before she works with her former colleges on a more national level.

 

If I could invest in Julie Donaldson stock, I would. It would be a No-brainer (Zombie Pun)

[88Comrade2000]

Another reason to think positive on Rivera is that he’s hungry. He hasn’t won a Super Bowl and his Carolina tenure ended with him being fired.

 

Rivera will want to be successful this time around and leave on his terms.

 

Gibbs 2 was the legend returning home, to try to turn things around.

 

Shanny already won the rings; he just wanted another nfl job. 
 

Rivera still has stuff to accomplish.

[wit33]

Fascinated to see what the offense becomes under Rivera.
 

Rivera has a history of ground and pound and by chance he ended up with Newton a dual threat QB and at the forefront of this type of offense that contributed greatly to a Super Bowl run. The offense was innovative, but it was a form of ground and pound meshing well with Rivera’s philosophy. 
 

My hope is Rivera cultivates an offensive environment filled with ingenuity and innovation during his tenure.

 

This is a unique type of power he has, so we’ll see. I lean towards the positive and feel him being an older coach with great experience should help tremendously. Less ego driven at this juncture of his life. 

[Malapropismic Depository]

Gibbs seemed like an excellent judge of talent, and I think he would have made a great GM, in his post-coaching days.

I assume he just didn't want to commit to it.

[88Comrade2000]

10 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

Gibbs seemed like an excellent judge of talent, and I think he would have made a great GM, in his post-coaching days.

I assume he just didn't want to commit to it.

No.   Gibbs strength was coaching. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

10 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

Gibbs seemed like an excellent judge of talent, and I think he would have made a great GM, in his post-coaching days.

I assume he just didn't want to commit to it.

I disagree entirely.  I think Gibbs would have made an atrocious GM.  The reason the teams he coached in Part II were good is because his coaching and leadership ability were able to overcome his ridiculous personnel decisions.  If he WASN'T the coach, those teams would have all been poop on a stick.  If he was selecting players for a coach who wasn't (and couldn't be) as good as he was, the teams would suck.

 

We can blame Vinny and Dan all we want for the personnel debacles (especially in 2006) we want to, but Gibbs had the final personnel voice, and there was absolutely NO way Dan or Vinny were going to overrule Coach Joe.  None.  Nada.  Zip. Zilch.  Not gonna happen.  

 

13 minutes ago, Rdskns2000 said:

No.   Gibbs strength was coaching. 

I'd say leadership more than coaching, with coaching being second.  You could argue those two things are the same thing, but I separate them a bit.  Gibbs didn't know all that much about NASCAR when he got there, but he knew how to lead, responsibility, accountability, etc, and that's what makes him successful in everything he does.  

 

It didn't hurt he was an offensive genius as well, at least in the first go-around.  

[Voice_of_Reason]

On 7/30/2020 at 1:09 PM, wit33 said:

Fascinated to see what the offense becomes under Rivera.
 

Rivera has a history of ground and pound and by chance he ended up with Newton a dual threat QB and at the forefront of this type of offense that contributed greatly to a Super Bowl run. The offense was innovative, but it was a form of ground and pound meshing well with Rivera’s philosophy. 
 

My hope is Rivera cultivates an offensive environment filled with ingenuity and innovation during his tenure.

 

This is a unique type of power he has, so we’ll see. I lean towards the positive and feel him being an older coach with great experience should help tremendously. Less ego driven at this juncture of his life. 

Something to note: Newton was selected as the #1 overall pick the year Rivera took over the Panthers, so his coaching career started with a dual threat QB.

 

(as a side note, GOD 2011's QB class sucked ass in the first round after Newton.  It went 

#8 - Locker: Titans (Bust)

#10 - Gabbert: Jags (Bust)

#12 - Ponder: Vikings (Bust)

 

Yowza. That sucks.  The next 2 off the board were Dalton, who has had a good career, and Kaepernick.  

 

It would have been interesting if the stars had aligned, and lets say Luck was coming out a year earlier, and they had the first overall pick, and selected Luck.  I'm guessing the offense would have looked a lot different.  

 

I give Rivera a ton of credit, because he kinda did with Newton what Shanahan did with Griffin.  He knew they couldn't run a drop-back system with Newton.  Newton has a ton of skills, but he's not the most accurate guy, and you've got to use him in a way that most scares defenses.  So they started from that position, and built an entire offense around him, and in 2015, they went to the SB.  

 

Rivera fully accepted what he had and maximized it.  That's the mark of a good coach.  What he's got in Haskins is completely different.  I don't think the offense will look the same at all.

 

I think there are components which will look similar.  I think they're going to throw a lot of passes underneath to running backs.  Mostly because we have no TEs.  So the RBs are going to be featured heavily.  Carolina did this to great effect as well.  

 

But I think you're going to see a more wide-open offense than you saw in Carolina.  I think they have some speed and flexibility they didn't have in Carolina, and they have a QB who has the arm talent to stretch the defense both vertically and horizontally.  I could be wrong.

 

[Malapropismic Depository]

1 hour ago, Rdskns2000 said:

No.   Gibbs strength was coaching. 

 

1 hour ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

I disagree entirely.  I think Gibbs would have made an atrocious GM.  The reason the teams he coached in Part II were good is because his coaching and leadership ability were able to overcome his ridiculous personnel decisions.  If he WASN'T the coach, those teams would have all been poop on a stick.  If he was selecting players for a coach who wasn't (and couldn't be) as good as he was, the teams would suck.

 

 

 

I wasn't minimizing his coaching or leadership, by any means.

But his talent evaluation was under-rated.

That was evident in his 2nd tenure.

That's because he had more of a voice in personnel decisions, than the 1st time around. And he still put together decent teams.

He could see intangibles in a player, that other teams didn't realize, and made those "over-looked" players key parts of playoff teams.

[Voice_of_Reason]

1 hour ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

I wasn't minimizing his coaching or leadership, by any means.

But his talent evaluation was under-rated.

That was evident in his 2nd tenure.

That's because he had more of a voice in personnel decisions, than the 1st time around. And he still put together decent teams.

He could see intangibles in a player, that other teams didn't realize, and made those "over-looked" players key parts of playoff teams.

The 2006 off-season would beg to differ.  They released Ryan Clark and Matt Bowen. Clark went on to have a really successful career in Pittsburgh, playing on outstanding defenses.  

 

They signed ARE, Andre Carter, Adam Archuleta, traded for Brandon Lloyd, and TJ Duckett.

 

Archuleta is tied for the second worst FA signing (with AH) behind Jeff George in the Dan Snyder era. After giving him a huge contract, he ended up as a personal punt protetor, and couldn't play.  ARE was absolutely the wrong fit, Lloyd did nothing, and Duckett was not useful, and they traded a third for him.  Hell, he might not have even been active on gameday a lot, I can't remember.  

 

Gibbs also traded UP to get Jason Campbell, gave away too much for Portis and Brunell.

 

The team had some talent.  However, if the team was not coached by a HOF caliber coach, they would have had a worse record.  And Gibbs didn't even manage to coach the team to a positive winning percentage.

 

Gibbs the GM let Gibbs the coach down on numerous occasions.  Gibbs the coach bailed out Gibbs the GM a lot too.

 

Sorry, you're not going to convince me Gibbs was a good personnel guy.  He is my all-time favorite Redskin player or coach ever, is one of the 5 best coaches in the history of the NFL, is probably the best leader in all of sports.  But he was not a great, or even a good GM.

[Voice_of_Reason]

-------------------------------------

As a complete aside, SOMEBODY in the media core needs to sack up and ask Rivera about Del Rio's tweets, and if he is worried it might be an issue for players in the locker room.

 

It's a fair question, and needs to be asked.  I've long said the beat reporters who cover the WFT are a bunch of pansies and wussies, and they are afraid to ask the tough questions because they're worried they will lose sources.  I like a lot of them, especially Keim and the guy from the Richmond Times Dispatch who's name I'm blanking on for some reason.  But even they don't ask the tough questions.  

 

If this was New York, or even Dallas, somebody would have asked Ron about it.  Not in a mean spirited way, just in a "how's this going to play, have you talked to him about it?" kind of way.

 

I can't believe nobody has pressed the issue on it at all.  

[wit33]

 

 

2 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

I give Rivera a ton of credit, because he kinda did with Newton what Shanahan did with Griffin.  He knew they couldn't run a drop-back system with Newton.  Newton has a ton of skills, but he's not the most accurate guy, and you've got to use him in a way that most scares defenses.  So they started from that position, and built an entire offense around him, and in 2015, they went to the SB.  
 

 

I’m with you 100% This is such an underrated trait for a coach and Rivera seems to be wired in this way. 
 

The caveat being his level of power and leverage with an organization has never been this large. I lean towards him managing it well through delegating and letting assistants thrive and being okay with not having his fingerprints on everything. 

 

2 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

 

I think there are components which will look similar.  I think they're going to throw a lot of passes underneath to running backs.  Mostly because we have no TEs.  So the RBs are going to be featured heavily.  Carolina did this to great effect as well.  

 

But I think you're going to see a more wide-open offense than you saw in Carolina.  I think they have some speed and flexibility they didn't have in Carolina, and they have a QB who has the arm talent to stretch the defense both vertically and horizontally.  I could be wrong.

 

I just don’t want to see a ground and pound approach with Haskins. I think running the as a primary focus of an offense has a great ceiling with the gifted athletic QBs and the top tier elite QBs (Ex. Brees and Brady— ability to command the game and make timely audibles to create run advantages), but is “ho hum” for all others and limits the potential of the team.

    —This thinking is also me wanting Haskins to become a “poor mans Mahomes”, be elite, threaten teams consistently in games down the field, and be a game changing QB (be the reason why Skins win games consistently). 

If Ron comes in with an edict that the team will be about running the football, then I’ll be worried about the ceiling of the team. Not that this style wouldn’t have success, just a limited ceiling. For example, this style and approach would be great for an Alex Smith type, but I hope for more out of Haskins. Don’t want the philosophy of the coach to limit the ceiling of the QB.
 

All conjecture on my part and I lean towards Rivera delegating a great deal on offense, but worry when friction in a season takes place and “comfort zones” become the ruler in moments of chaos. 

[method man]

4 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

The 2006 off-season would beg to differ.  They released Ryan Clark and Matt Bowen. Clark went on to have a really successful career in Pittsburgh, playing on outstanding defenses.  

 

They signed ARE, Andre Carter, Adam Archuleta, traded for Brandon Lloyd, and TJ Duckett.

 

Archuleta is tied for the second worst FA signing (with AH) behind Jeff George in the Dan Snyder era. After giving him a huge contract, he ended up as a personal punt protetor, and couldn't play.  ARE was absolutely the wrong fit, Lloyd did nothing, and Duckett was not useful, and they traded a third for him.  Hell, he might not have even been active on gameday a lot, I can't remember.  

 

Gibbs also traded UP to get Jason Campbell, gave away too much for Portis and Brunell.

 

The team had some talent.  However, if the team was not coached by a HOF caliber coach, they would have had a worse record.  And Gibbs didn't even manage to coach the team to a positive winning percentage.

 

Gibbs the GM let Gibbs the coach down on numerous occasions.  Gibbs the coach bailed out Gibbs the GM a lot too.

 

Sorry, you're not going to convince me Gibbs was a good personnel guy.  He is my all-time favorite Redskin player or coach ever, is one of the 5 best coaches in the history of the NFL, is probably the best leader in all of sports.  But he was not a great, or even a good GM.

He was probably average to below average. He did draft Cooley in the 3rd, trade Coles for Moss (although Portis initiated this), draft ST over Winslow (Portis too) and sign Marcus Washington, Cornelius Griffin and Shawn Springs as FAs.

 

[Darth Tater]

7 hours ago, Rdskns2000 said:

No.   Gibbs strength was coaching. 

Another agreement. If he'd been a great talent guy, we'd not have fallen off the cliff in 1993, remember after Bobby left, we really never refreshed like 1981 and 1985.  Gibbs was great at getting max-effort with what he had, realizing guys strengths or weaknesses quickly (including those of his opponents), game planning and other parts of coaching.  Further, I always thought he was a bit of a targeter and thought too strongly in terms of needs when it came to the draft and FA. He had Beathard give up 2-1s for a guy who only played 3 seasons for us

[Kosher Ham]

Eh, was Pat Riley successful after the Lakers? He and Gibbs both have the ability to maximize potential. That equates to winning even when you are on paper underdogs. Gibbs probably would have bought the Redskins if he could have at the time. 

[Burgundy Yoda]

6 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

-------------------------------------

As a complete aside, SOMEBODY in the media core needs to sack up and ask Rivera about Del Rio's tweets, and if he is worried it might be an issue for players in the locker room.

 

It's a fair question, and needs to be asked.  I've long said the beat reporters who cover the WFT are a bunch of pansies and wussies, and they are afraid to ask the tough questions because they're worried they will lose sources.  I like a lot of them, especially Keim and the guy from the Richmond Times Dispatch who's name I'm blanking on for some reason.  But even they don't ask the tough questions.  

 

If this was New York, or even Dallas, somebody would have asked Ron about it.  Not in a mean spirited way, just in a "how's this going to play, have you talked to him about it?" kind of way.

 

I can't believe nobody has pressed the issue on it at all.  

I don't think the team is concerned about this, which is good. This is one of those things that should only come to light if it becomes an issue. Otherwise you're just creating an issue out of nothing.

 

Is he hardcore conservative? Maybe the team understands and respects that a man can have his own beliefs and opinions. Seems to me like maybe the focuses are elsewhere on this team and not locked into social media and who posts what. 

Edited August 2, 2020 by Burgundy Yoda

[Shakazullo21]

Michael Jenkins was just laid off by NBC Sports.  Hmmm.  Doesn't he know a certain woman who just got a high ranking media job with a local football team who shall remain nameless?  Would love to see him anchor some pre/post games shows, have segments on Washington Football Team Daily, or Training Camp Daily.  It would be so sweet if he got laid of by NBC Sports, but then got hired by WFT, and then had to come back and do TV Shows on NBC Sports.  Comeuppance.  

[FootballZombie]

9 hours ago, Shakazullo21 said:

Michael Jenkins

 

 

Local face recognition, already has connections with a lot of current and former players, he is available so there is no competition… He checks a lot of boxes.

 

I’ve heard worse suggestions. I’d be cool with him. And not just because zombies are generally cool all the time with our lack of body temp and whatnot.