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

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

2 hours ago, NewCliche21 said:

 

I wonder if he wants out because we're ruining his name.

But I mean, don't sign up to be a firefighter if you can't take the slightest bit of heat.  This isn't new.

I have no doubt that he wants out, who wouldn’t?

 

I somewhat agree with you in regards to the fact that he should have known what he signed up for.  But at the same time, we have no idea what it’s really like being him.  I’d imagine at the time he was hired, Dan appeared to be humbled and made promises he didn’t keep.  To your point, that isn’t new and he should have known better.  But I still have a hard time not feeling a sense of pity for anyone that took on this gig no matter how much money he’s making to do it.

[Voice_of_Reason]

11 hours ago, Peregrine said:

.................Making things so miserable a coach quits after a couple of years is still part of "factually" running through coaches.  6 coaches in 19 years is horrific(6 of those being Gruden, so as of 2014 it was 6 in 14 years), as is any attempt to defend that.  The fact that you THINK that a coach every 3 years is actually a long time shows just how "running through coaches" Snyder has been over the years.  3 years seems like an eternity to you apparently, one where its okay for 4 of the 6 coaches to be fired, and a 5th quit.

Spurrior would have gotten another year if he wanted it.  He didn't want it.

 

Zorn was really collateral damage for firing Vinny.  And it was clear after the first press conference Zorn was out of his depth. He got 2 years.  He should never have been fired.  

 

Snyder has made exactly 2 bad coaching fires:  Marty and Shanahan.  And probably 1 bad "GM" firing when he let Bruce run off Scot MchLoughan.   

 

He's made a bunch of bad coaching hires: Spurrier, Zorn, Gruden, and the 2 executives he's hired have been debacles in Vinny and Bruce.  

 

Firing coaches/GMs is not his problem. At least not the major problem.  Did you really want to give Jay more rope to hang himself?  Dude was a BAD head coach who was only hired because Bruce and Jonny boy were buds from Tampa.

 

Did you want to see Zorn get more time?  I certainly didn't.  Again, shouldn't have been hired to begin with.  They landed on Zorn because the only other coach they could get to come work with Vinny I believe was Jim Fassel, and the fans revolted, so they ended up hiring their OC as HC.  Who had never been an OC before.  It was unbelievably embarrassing.  

 

Dan's problem is hiring incompetent ass hats and trusting them for WAY too long.  Think Vinny, Bruce, Jay, Eric Schafer, that head trainer nobody liked, Larry Michael, the list goes on and on.

 

Snyder doesn't have so much of a quick trigger finger on firing people.  He is completely, totally, and absolutely incompetent when it comes to hiring the right people. He hires yes-men, limited thinkers, and morally questionable people.  Then, when he lucks into somebody who's not those things, he undermines them.  Like he did with Shanahan.  

 

All was can hope for Ron actually is up for the task, and can reverse the trend.  He's certainly qualified to be a Head Coach.  GM?  Maybe not.  But he's the first "football guy" really running football operations since Marty was here.  Since then you've had Vinny and Bruce, and a whole lot of incompetence.

 

Look, I'm not defending Dan in any way.  I'm just pointing out where the failure is.  It's not in the firing, it's in the hiring.  He's still the worst owner in the NFL regardless. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

2 hours ago, NewCliche21 said:

 

From what I understand, he was part of a premiere consulting firm, like really high up there.  He was described as savvy, great when consumer-facing, and able to make changes.

He was all of these things until it got the slightest bit uncomfortable.

He was a partner at McKinsey.  One of the most premier consulting firms in the country.  To make partner at McKinsey you need to be able to:

- Know your stuff. They basically hire the best and the brightest from the best schools, so whatever your specialty is, you better be damn good at it.

- A GREAT salesperson.  Partnership means you run your own practice.  You might get help from here or there, but you have to build your practice to get promoted.  And to do that, you have to be a really, really good sales person.

- Be really good in front of people.  You've got to "present" well.  If you're REALLY good but not a good communicator, you get washed aside.

 

My qualifications for knowing this?  20+ years as a leader in consulting firms.  Our firm has 3 former McKinsey partners as leaders, and I work with them all the time.  

 

His qualifications are impeccable.  

 

HOWEVER. The one thing you have to be careful when you hire a consultant to run something (and I can say this as a consultant) is most likely they've never done it before.  They've advised, but they have not sat in the decision maker's chair.  In most cases.  So sometimes, a great consultant does not make a good "President" or "Chief".  

 

Sometimes they do. It's hard to tell which way it's going to go.  I've seen it go both ways with people I really like and have worked with for years.  Sometimes I'm absolutely shocked, and shocked in both directions.  I had a colleague leave for a job I thought would be really good for them, and he really struggled.  I saw another friend leave consulting to take a Chief Operating Officer job, didn't think it would work out as well, and she has been thriving.  

 

So, you never know. 

[Spaceman Spiff]

1 hour ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

 

 

So, you never know. 

 

Yeah....but in regards to the WFT, I think we all know.  

[Voice_of_Reason]

2 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Yeah....but in regards to the WFT, I think we all know.  

A broken clock is right twice a day?  (he asks hopefully?)

[Dissident2]

4 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

Sometimes they do.

 

[Riggo#44]

21 hours ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

A broken clock is right twice a day?  (he asks hopefully?)

Unless the broken clock is always 2 hours behind, no matter how many times you reset it.

[method man]

On 11/8/2021 at 11:28 AM, Voice_of_Reason said:

He was a partner at McKinsey.  One of the most premier consulting firms in the country.  To make partner at McKinsey you need to be able to:

- Know your stuff. They basically hire the best and the brightest from the best schools, so whatever your specialty is, you better be damn good at it.

- A GREAT salesperson.  Partnership means you run your own practice.  You might get help from here or there, but you have to build your practice to get promoted.  And to do that, you have to be a really, really good sales person.

- Be really good in front of people.  You've got to "present" well.  If you're REALLY good but not a good communicator, you get washed aside.

 

My qualifications for knowing this?  20+ years as a leader in consulting firms.  Our firm has 3 former McKinsey partners as leaders, and I work with them all the time.  

 

His qualifications are impeccable.  

 

HOWEVER. The one thing you have to be careful when you hire a consultant to run something (and I can say this as a consultant) is most likely they've never done it before.  They've advised, but they have not sat in the decision maker's chair.  In most cases.  So sometimes, a great consultant does not make a good "President" or "Chief".  

 

Sometimes they do. It's hard to tell which way it's going to go.  I've seen it go both ways with people I really like and have worked with for years.  Sometimes I'm absolutely shocked, and shocked in both directions.  I had a colleague leave for a job I thought would be really good for them, and he really struggled.  I saw another friend leave consulting to take a Chief Operating Officer job, didn't think it would work out as well, and she has been thriving.  

 

So, you never know. 

Tell me about it. My boss a few years back was a McKinsey partner who was hired as President at a late stage startup I was at. Great talker but was a disaster an operator. That experience made me have doubts about the Jason Wright hire at the start

[Voice_of_Reason]

1 hour ago, method man said:

Tell me about it. My boss a few years back was a McKinsey partner who was hired as President at a late stage startup I was at. Great talker but was a disaster an operator. That experience made me have doubts about the Jason Wright hire at the start

Flip side, the COO of my company is a former McKinsey partner, and he’s great.  He instilled some lacking process, discipline, and the company has excelled while he’s been here.

 

Its really almost a coin flip.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.  And it’s really hard to predict which way it’s going to go because all of the partners are polished commutators.

 

 

[Reaper Skins]

On 11/8/2021 at 10:23 AM, NewCliche21 said:

 

I wonder if he wants out because we're ruining his name.

But I mean, don't sign up to be a firefighter if you can't take the slightest bit of heat.  This isn't new.

He already said he wanted to name the team the "Warriors"  but realized we couldn't after taking the job.  Probably thought he'd come in and it would be over and done with super easily and he could coast through an easy rebrand.

 

It probably ended up being way more work than he thought

[SoCalSkins]

1 hour ago, Reaper Skins said:

He already said he wanted to name the team the "Warriors"  but realized we couldn't after taking the job.  Probably thought he'd come in and it would be over and done with super easily and he could coast through an easy rebrand.

 

It probably ended up being way more work than he thought

He’s is weak and a coward. There is no excuse for him to be in hiding this long. Everyone was giving him accolades for transparency and media availability as well as fan engagement. The guy doesn’t even need to answer for the on field performance. Yet he folded like a cheap chair the second he got a little adversity. This is definitely not the job for him. From day 1 I called it based on his all talk consulting background. He is a complete fraud. Utterly not a leader at all. Dude needs to be gone. 

[CjSuAvE22]

We need to file a class action lawsuit vs dan Snyder, He price gorged us while the product he gave us has been absolute crap not to mention the emotional distress etc etc in the land of the law there are ways , At least it would make some more headlines, we could probably settle with him $500 for each of us the maybe 50 of us whom are active on there forum to keep us as fans (even though none of us would leave tricks on him) but it would be a fun experiment, im sure his juiced up lawyers would get the case thrown out but still fun while it lasted. Also im kidding but I wish I could get the backing to actually file this suit it would be funny imo im so tired of him because no matter the turnover we have we will always have the same things wrong with the team. 

[SmallDaddy]

You guys are falling for Dan’s tricks again. Jason is not the problem. Dan is the problem. Every time you post about Jason, it is a win for Dan. Dan wants Vinny, Bruce, whatever current coach is failing, and Jason to be the ones to take the heat. Don’t fall for it. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

38 minutes ago, SmallDaddy said:

You guys are falling for Dan’s tricks again. Jason is not the problem. Dan is the problem. Every time you post about Jason, it is a win for Dan. Dan wants Vinny, Bruce, whatever current coach is failing, and Jason to be the ones to take the heat. Don’t fall for it. 

Beyond that, I find the vitriol for Jason rather amusing.  Vinny and Bruce are more understandable to severely dislike as they were at least partly responsible for on the field results.  And in Bruce’s case he was also severely unlikeable, hid from the media, and lied with a straight face whenever he did speak.

 

I’m curious why anyone cares so much about his role in the org to break out the pitchforks.

 

Like if he keeps profusely apologizing for any mishaps, that’s going to make anything better? I venture a guess he’s staying off social media and messaging because it’s met with nothing but insults, threats and just general negativity.  Probably better off just not saying anything at all because nothing he can say is going to appease anyone.

 

If he was responsible for what takes place on the field and hid from everyone, that’s a bit more damning.

Edited November 10, 2021 by BatteredFanSyndrome

[Andre The Giant]

15 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Beyond that, I find the vitriol for Jason rather amusing.

 

I’m curious why anyone cares so much about his role in the org to break out the pitchforks.

 

Like if he keeps profusely apologizing for any mishaps, that’s going to make anything better? I venture a guess he’s staying off social media and messaging because it’s met with nothing but insults, threats and just general negativity.  Probably better off just not saying anything at all because nothing he can say is going to appease anyone.

 

If he was responsible for what takes place on the field and hid from everyone, that’s a bit more damning.

 

Agreed ... he's wisely keeping a low profile until the dust settles from the Taylor number retirement debacle.  They don't want #FireBruceAllen 2.0.  He seems much more self aware.

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Andre The Giant

[Dissident2]

1 hour ago, SmallDaddy said:

You guys are falling for Dan’s tricks again. Jason is not the problem. Dan is the problem. Every time you post about Jason, it is a win for Dan. Dan wants Vinny, Bruce, whatever current coach is failing, and Jason to be the ones to take the heat. Don’t fall for it. 

 

Agreed. Jason seems like a well-intentioned guy. But there is simply no way he or anyone can succeed in this environment long-term (or even short-term) if they continually have to compromise their values and principles while trying to cover for this douche. That's why I personally was holding my breath when he first came on the scene. He was saying all the right things, but, quite frankly, so was LaFemina when he came here, and that didn't last long. I've also dealt with consultants in the past who love buzz-word speak but don't end up following through with much of anything, so that was always a concern as well. 

 

Jason is most likely finding out now what his real power is, and I'm sure that's much different from what he thought it would be. We'll see how he handles this realization. The more I see him heaping praise on Danya at this point (if he does), the more I'll know he's been assimilated and that his principles are truly suspect. The Sean Taylor FIASCO was truly one of the lowest moments in franchise history. That said, I think it was ultimately a pathetic cover up for a decision handed down from the clown in charge. THAT said, Wright has been utterly underwhelming from that point on, which is being kind. 

 

Ultimately, as long as Danya remains in its power thrall, there is no longterm hope for anyone who tries to really change things. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

4 hours ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I’m curious why anyone cares so much about his role in the org to break out the pitchforks.

He is being blamed for completely screwing up the Sean Taylor tribute/number retirement, and it touched a nerve with the fan base. Screwing up something about Sean Taylor is like the 3rd rail of WFT fandom: touch it and die.  

 

A few other thoughts:

 

1. I DO think they had planned to honor Sean in some way during the Denver Kansas City game. (Corrected due to oops pointed out by an astute poster)

2. I DO NOT think they were planning on retiring his number.

3. I DO think that Dan/Tonya came up with that idea and TOLD Jason to make it happen less than a week before the event in order to change the focus from the other unsavory stuff

4. I DO think that it was Jason's job to get that pulled off to the best of his ability, and I think it failed spectacularly.  However, given the short notice he had, It's hard to really fully blame him for it.  

5. I DO think that Jason is literally taking one for the team here.  But he's between a rock and a hard place.  He really can't come out and say, "Hey, Dan and High Empress Tonya told me to do this on Tuesday, I told them it was a bad idea, they didn't listen to me, what exactly do you want from me?" He apologized to the best of his ability.  But it's not really enough.  

6. I also think, and this is REALLY REALLY hard, he should have just said "no, and if you make me, I quit."  It really goes against all of your instincts as a consultant, as consultants are by their very nature "fix-it" people. The good ones often see impossible tasks as challenges.  So it's very likely he was presented with the task, advised against it, when they wouldn't listen, he tried to make the best of it, and it went up in flames.   (Again, qualification for this statement: 20+ years as a leader in consulting firms. And fairly self aware about our industry and people in it.)  

It took doing the exact same thing 3 times in my job, trying to solve the unsolvable problem, failing, and then being blamed for it, to learn the lesson.  It's a hard lesson to learn.  The 4th time, which was just a few months ago, I had learned my lesson, and just walked away.  Everybody in my firm thought I had lost my marbles. Leaving a client and revenue on the table?  Why on earth would you do that? In some other firms (or if I was in a different place in my career), I would have been TOLD not to do it.  In the end, what I predicted would happen did happen, and there was going to be nothing I could have done to save it, and I'm really glad I wasn't part of the collateral damage of the nuclear level disaster. 

 

Another thing to keep in mind: Jason Wright is only 39 years old.  And he didn't go into Consulting until after his NFL career was over.  He joined McKinsey in 2013.  And left in 2020 as a Partner.  That's 7 years of experience.  That's NOTHING. Most people make the first level of entry level management by that point in their career.  He progressed EXTREMELY quickly.  He was also a partner for Workplace Inclusion and Diversity.  That's NOTHING like what he's dealing with here.

 

This might be my bias towards consultants, but everything he has shown is that he's bright, moral and capable.  I think he has 3 things working against him:

 

- The Snyders.  Enough said.  

- In terms of business acumen, he's a novice. He is being put into positions to handle things where he has not been in those positions before, and a lot of the things you need to be able to do are "learned" skills.  They can't be taught, and they can't be bought.  You have to walk through fire for a while before you figure out what the hell you are doing.  And he hasn't.  He's doing it now.  And I'm sure it's not that pleasant. 

- The team has sucked on the field for 30 years, he has a shrinking and apathetic fan base, a congressional probe into workplace misconduct which he had nothing to do with, shrinking team revenues, a new name to figure out (which everybody is going to hate), and a new stadium to build.  He's got a lot going on, and a really tough situation to deal with. 

 

I also think he's trying to find a back door out of the building. He's probably coming to realize he bit off more than he could chew.  But we'll see.  

Edited November 10, 2021 by Voice_of_Reason

[profusion]

Lesson to other budding executives: if the NFL recommends you for the WFT job, run the other way as fast as you can.

 

At some point, the owners are going to realize that they need to take out the Fredo in their midst, but apparently that lesson is slow to sink in. It'll probably take a lot more league-wide damage to make it happen.

[Wildbunny]

@Voice_of_Reason, regarding your point 5, I would have loved to see that. HE would have been fired, rightfully so, in the minute, but the guy would have reached ST stardom within fanbase in a minute.

 

Otherwise, I do agree on almost anything you said, especially that sometimes it's better to just not do it. Young guys tends to think they can do it all, when sometimes the fight is like Don Quichotte fighting windmills. Those are fight you're gonna lose no matter what. I'm trying to teach the youngsters in my new job to not go up for those fights, it's a waste of energy and can be really destructive.

 

Sure it isn't pleasant to be in Jason's shoes right now and he probably wonders what he's doing here. LaFemina was a more seasoned vet. He camed here with his people, and a few months later realized there was nothing he could do to turn this thing, so he just quit, and his people quit with him. That would be the best option for Jason as of now. Just quit the job. Say goodbye to it, and go find something else that would be as challenging but with less obstacles.

 

Let Dan and Tanya be frontline and assume their mistakes. Especially with the Congress stuff, I wouldn't want to be in the first line in whole this mess.

2 minutes ago, profusion said:

Lesson to other budding executives: if the NFL recommends you for the WFT job, run the other way as fast as you can.

 

That word is already out within the NFL when it comes to coaches and players.

[Dissident2]

6 minutes ago, Wildbunny said:

That would be the best option for Jason as of now. Just quit the job. Say goodbye to it, and go find something else that would be as challenging but with less obstacles.

 

That would absolutely be the best thing that could happen right now (short of Danya selling) for both Jason and US. Can you imagine the new level of scrutiny that would fall on Danya if Wright quit and all the questions that would raise? Who knows, that could even be the proverbial straw. 

[Voice_of_Reason]

On 11/7/2021 at 2:39 PM, thesubmittedone said:

(and I find it weird anyone even gives enough of a crap to correct others on it, like, really?) 

I'll tell you why I chimed in on the correction, though it wasn't me who originally made the correction.  

 

To me it's lazy analysis to just say, "Dan fires coaches all the time."  When it's just not true, or at least it hasn't been true since 2001. Repeating a tired, old and factually incorrect party line to generate an emotional response and lack of actual thought is dangerous.  And the REASON I corrected it is it actually obfuscates the real issues , which I think you identified really well.   And especially in these times, where posting or tweeting something to generate an emotional reaction takes precedent over actually using accurate facts, I think it's important to point out the facts. And the originator of the original accusation of Dan is somewhat known for statements intended to drive an emotional response. 

 

Nothing you said was wrong. It was good post, and I agree with all of it. You clearly identified the real problems.   I personally think those are the things we should be focusing on.  Which is why I corrected the original poster when they just said "Dan fires coaches all the time" (or whatever the actual quote was).  

 

Also, and I don't know about other posters, but I personally NEVER tied the correction to a defense of Dan, or even a point to say it showed patience.  It shows gross incompetence to first hire Vinny and Bruce, and then not fire Vinny and Bruce. Again, speaking for myself, I never said it showed patience.  It might have shown cowardice, actually.  

 

And in some post I made somewhere in this discussion, I actually highlighted your #3 as one of the biggest problems: He is completely, totally, and in every way incompetent at hiring the "right" people to do do a job, and then letting them do it.  I highlighted the HIRING as more of the issue than the FIRING.  Again, that's the reason I personally chimed into the discussion. When we say "Dan just fires coaches willy nilly, we're focusing on the wrong things.

 

And I still said he was the worst owner in the NFL.  Which he undoubtedly is.  Maybe in US sports.  

 

Anyway, I'm sure you're going to come back and tell me I'm wrong about everything and it doesn't matter, so I'll wait for the 7,000 word repudiation.  (But please do keep in mind that I thought your post was spot on and extremely insightful, and I agree with it.)

[SoCalSkins]

29 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

 

This might be my bias towards consultants, but everything he has shown is that he's bright, moral and capable.  I think he has 3 things working against him:

 

-

He lied then doubled down on the lie. Did not qualify the lie. The guy has no morality and is scum. Simple as that. What has he done to demonstrate capability?
 

His job is to put butts in seats. The team is coming off a division championship after a year without fans. The team has the defensive rookie of the year and a lot of positive buzz to end the season. He was not able to capitalize on that. We have the worst attendance in the NFL. He has no ability other than spouting platitudes which he is too much of a coward to show his face to even do that now. He’s a dead man walking. His Washington days are over.

[Cooleyfan1993]

43 minutes ago, Voice_of_Reason said:

He is being blamed for completely screwing up the Sean Taylor tribute/number retirement, and it touched a nerve with the fan base. Screwing up something about Sean Taylor is like the 3rd rail of WFT fandom: touch it and die.  

 

A few other thoughts:

 

1. I DO think they had planned to honor Sean in some way during the Denver game.

Ummm....Kansas City game, right? Denver was an away game and would be pretty odd to honor him at an away game  
 

although who knows, maybe Danny boy figured more of our fans attend away games than home games cause the stadium sucks 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Cooleyfan1993

[profusion]

5 minutes ago, SoCalSkins said:

He lied then doubled down on the lie. Did not qualify the lie. The guy has no morality and is scum. Simple as that. What has he done to demonstrate capability?
 

His job is to put butts in seats. The team is coming off a division championship after a year without fans. The team has the defensive rookie of the year and a lot of positive buzz to end the season. He was not able to capitalize on that. We have the worst attendance in the NFL. He has no ability other than spouting platitudes which he is too much of a coward to show his face to even do that now. He’s a dead man walking. His Washington days are over.

 

HIs job is to eat ****, and he's eating plenty of **** lately. He can't depart from the company line if he wants to keep his job.

 

He's also completely new to sports administration and probably should have started at a lower level of management in a non-toxic organization if he wanted to make this his career. Say what you will about Bruce Allen, he'd been around the block many times and quickly figured out how to "succeed" with the Redskins--become Dan's fake friend and drinking buddy, telling him what he wants to hear. The guy lasted a decade with the team despite mostly abysmal results on and off the field.

[Cooleyfan1993]

I’m starting to think either Jason ****** in SoCal’s Cheerios, or ****** his wife