@DCGoldPants Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21035-2004Jan15.html washingtonpost.com Hiring Gibbs Is Great, but Also Hiring a GM Would Be Better By Sally Jenkins Friday, January 16, 2004; Page D01 It all looks very promising. Joe Gibbs is jetting around on Redskins One. So why can't I shake the feeling that nothing has changed, that the Redskins are right back where they were: with a popular new head coach of whom much is expected, but who must now play beat the clock with the easily disillusioned Dan Snyder? The real question is not whether Joe Gibbs can still coach at 63 years old. The question is whether Gibbs can coach without a general manager, and with an over-involved owner. Gibbs is a great hire. He's not only one of the great coaches; he's a great guy. Somehow he manages to combine focus with perspective, success with self-deprecation, and devoutness with humor. So it doesn't give me any pleasure to say that while he's a great hire, and he's hiring great assistants, I'm not convinced he's the whole answer for the Redskins. Why? I would be more convinced if Gibb's hiring had been accompanied by that of a general manager. The Redskins are one hire shy. Lost in all the shock, jubilation and impressiveness of the hiring of Gibbs was some ominous news. The news was this: The Redskins plan no additions to the front office. Uh-oh. It was like hearing the purr of an engine, and then a sudden clunk. Then came another clunker. Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato will continue to participate in player-related decisions. Who exactly is that supposed to impress? I've said it before and I'll say it again, Snyder's only participation in player acquisitions should be signing the checks. That's it. In five years, Snyder and his aide Cerrato have proven nothing except that they can trade the wrong player for every good one they bring in, and strip the team of quarterbacks. Something else was lost in the giddiness over Gibbs's hiring: the recognition that when Gibbs won three Super Bowls for the Redskins in the 1980s and early '90s, he didn't do it alone. He had the help of Bobby Beathard, one of the best general managers in the history of the NFL. As a duo, Gibbs and Beathard enjoyed a relationship of rare trust and goodwill for a decade. Beathard was the team's chief exec when it came to recruiting and judging talent, and Gibbs made the decisions about who to play and who to cut. As Gibbs once put it: "With us, Bobby was in charge of who came, and I was in charge of who went. We had a great run because we balanced each other out." Gibbs will not have Beathard this time around -- Snyder had his chance to hire Beathard two years ago and didn't do it. Instead Gibbs apparently will rely on himself and his staff, with Snyder and Cerrato's input. What does Beathard think of this arrangement? I asked him. He wouldn't comment on the Redskins specifically, but he did say this: "The role of a general manager is vital. There might be some rare exceptions when a coach can handle all of it, but not many." The relationship between the coach and the personnel decision-maker, Beathard said, "is one of the most difficult relationships in the NFL. It's a huge source of support for the coach. They have to have enormous trust and confidence in each other." Among the things Beathard did as GM was assemble and run a crack scouting department, visit college campuses every weekend eyeballing talent, and protect Gibbs from the more frivolous demands and criticisms of their owner, Jack Kent Cooke. An owner in the office, Beathard said, "Could be seriously disruptive to a coach's day." In 10 years, Gibbs and Beathard had only about four serious impasses. "Joe and I relied on each other," Beathard said. Snyder has said he will let Gibbs "chart the course" for the Redskins. But unfortunately there is no evidence to date that suggests Snyder will let Gibbs chart it for long. Five seasons is not a short amount of time, and in that time we've gotten a pretty good idea of Snyder's methods. Why should we think that anybody who treated Spurrier the way Snyder did will treat Gibbs any differently? Snyder enticed a legend to the NFL with every promise in the book, and it only took one full season before Snyder was firing players without his permission. Gibbs will probably get a few more months of grace, that's all. If Gibbs doesn't get off to a fast start with the Redskins -- or if he loses his first five games, as he did back in 1981 -- what then? How long before Snyder starts saying to him: "Coach, a lot has changed while you've been dealing with car transmissions. I'm going to help you make a few decisions." The problem with Snyder is that he doesn't know what he doesn't know. He's a classic example of the uninformed fan that thinks he understands football because he loves it. There are a lot of people like that, and it's a good thing that they can play in rotisserie leagues. It's not a good thing when they have enough money to buy the team, and it's even worse when they think they can run the team. Gibbs said some typically football-smart things at his opening news conference. "As everybody knows, the heart of a football team is special teams." Now, do you think Snyder understands, or believes, that the heart of a winner is special teams? The splashy nature of Snyder's head coaching hires belies his lack of knowledge. Steve Spurrier and Joe Gibbs are not implausible answers to the question of how to turn the Redskins around. But they are clearly answers arrived at by a guy who doesn't know what he's looking for. They are simply the most prominent headliners he could grasp at. Can you imagine Snyder figuring out that that guy John Fox in Carolina was going to be the next impressive NFL head coach? No. The hiring of Gibbs without an accompanying GM was a perfect Snyder moment. It showed that he believes you can fix a broken team with a splashy move at the top, and lay it on top of a lousy foundation. To Snyder, owning an NFL team doesn't seem to be about the interactions of hundreds of professionals, it just seems to be about stars. If all you know about sports is what you read in the papers and watch on TV, you believe that. No additions to the front office are planned. That statement showed that Snyder is not in the learning mode. He is not seeking information. He still doesn't know what he doesn't know. Otherwise, he would have left the door open for a GM. He would have said, "We're going to talk to Joe about what changes need to be made in the front office." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd24 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 She's blinded by her love of Abe Pollin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 He's a classic example of the uninformed fan that thinks he understands football because he loves it. There are a lot of people like that, \See must read extremeskins :laugh::rotflmao: :rotflmao: :rotflmao: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyKilmer Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Well lets hope She's wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heavy Jumbo Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Vinny really hasn't done anything wrong in my eyes. We do have a good pool of talent here. The only problem I have (and I really have no way of knowing) is that it seems Snyder ultimately gets his way, whether is was Watson or Woeful (neither of which are playing now) or whatever else it may be. I'm not really sure Vinny has as much say in player personnel as a "real" GM would. Maybe things will change since Gibbs has come to sae us. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mhd24 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Here's a person who thinks she knows Washington Sports even though she lives in New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OaktonSkins/BushFan Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 For the time being I'm willing to give Snyder the benefit of the doubt - he did land Joe Gibbs back with the Redskins. If that puppy look on his face during the Gibbs press conference is any indication, then hopefully we'll almost forget about Snyder. Hopefully, Snyder's puppy dog look is a good omen. If Snyder screws this up by taking any action which second guesses and underminds Gibbs, then he will NEVER be able to play down his reputation and will probably sink the franchise for a very, very long time to come. Careful Danny Boy..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panthro Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Her controversy sells papers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skeletor The Invincible Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Hey Sally, we do have a GM. His name is Vinny Cerrato. I'm not quite sure how bringing in a GM would "automatically" mean that our FO would be better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubba9497 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Originally posted by Skeletor The Invincible Hey Sally, we do have a GM. His name is Vinny Cerrato. :doh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarhog Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 'Hiring Gibbs is Great, but Also Hiring a GM Would Be Better'????? Sorry if I trust Gibbs more than someone who'd construct a sentence like that one. I'd like to delve into this full bore, but unfortunately I must attend to my first WP article submission: 'Gibbs Will Win and Also Not hiring a GM Won't Have Mattered' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wicked Wop Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I think the most idiotic part of this piece is that she believes Snyder can screw over Gibbs and get away with it. If anything, Snyder was smart enough to realize that Gibbs had to be his guy to get people excited about the again skins. This is a guy that Snyder watched and idolized as a kid, just like any other skins fan...and is the face of the Redskins forever. If Snyder is ballsie enough to screw over Gibbs, then he damn sure better be prepared to move the skins out of state....and I don't think Snyder is that stupid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 If Cerrato continues to do as fine a job as he just did getting the coach the players on his wish list, Gibbs will do fine. If not, Gibbs might have some difficulties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweet Sassy Molassy Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Why should we think that anybody who treated Spurrier the way Snyder did will treat Gibbs any differently? It's funny that people say Snyder interfered with Spurrier when he was there. But if you recall when the Ol' Ball Coach got to Washington, the first thing that happened was he and Snyder sat down and talked, and Snyder asked him what he wanted, and Spurrier said he wanted Snyder to help him. So, we don't know all of the details of what was going on behind the scenes at FedEx Field. I also think that Snyder is learning with experience, he's admitted that he tried to buy a Superbowl a few years back, and he admits it's not the way to go, he recognizes what he has to do to win. Give him a chance he might be better than some of us are willing to believe he is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Here's a person who thinks she knows Washington Sports even though she lives in New York. It is hard for me to take her seriously. I would like to know why the Post continues to employ her while she lives in New York. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Brown #43 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Originally posted by The Wicked Wop I think the most idiotic part of this piece is that she believes Snyder can screw over Gibbs and get away with it. If anything, Snyder was smart enough to realize that Gibbs had to be his guy to get people excited about the again skins. This is a guy that Snyder watched and idolized as a kid, just like any other skins fan...and is the face of the Redskins forever. If Snyder is ballsie enough to screw over Gibbs, then he damn sure better be prepared to move the skins out of state....and I don't think Snyder is that stupid. This is a good point, TWW. On the positive side, you would think (hope, pray?) that Snyder couldn't possibly make the mistake of disenchanting the most beloved figure in Redskins history. However...if he does somehow manage to run Gibbs out of here, or manages to make him unhappy, he may as well move the team to Egypt. DC will not forgive him if this doesn't end well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonnyJ Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 This is just an asinine piece. Jenkins clearly has it in for Snyder (Kornheiser even jokes about it). She makes all these assertions but provides zero evidence to back them up. None. I realize that it's a column, but how do the editors let this slip through? She's claiming that Snyder is only hiring Gibbs simply because it's a "splashy move"????!!!!! You've got to be kidding me! WHO WOULDN"T HIRE JOE GIBBS? Should Snyder have said to Gibbs "Thanks for inquiring. I'm going to dig around and find the next impressive coach, which no one knows who it is, but should be painfully obvious to everyone but me. I'll get back to you once I've made a decision on all the candidates." ???? Aside from the incorrect facts about the Gibbs-Beathard relationsip (is she mad at Casserly, too?), who does she ask about the importance of a GM? Well, an ex-GM, of course. Who would know better and give an unbiased opinion, right? Was she expecting Beathard to say "Ya know, I can't believe people were paying me all these years for this job. It was like stealing - what a useless position." ? Another person on the hire a GM for the sake of hiring a GM bandwagon. And I love how people who've never done a job counsel others about how to do that job. "Just sign the checks and get out of the way." Personally, I spend hundreds of millions of $$$$ on something, I'm probably going to be somewhat involved in it. I like to think that I would be smart enough to know what I don't know, and put appropriate people in place, but, still, I would want to get in on things. She would gain a shred of credibility if she actually showed how Snyder was so meddlesome and destructive to the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yomar Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 I have no problem with the article, certainly nothing personal about it. Gibbs was a gift, mana from heaven, but Gibbs was a happy turn of luck. We were well on our way to the Jim Fassell or Ray Rhodes era and as far as I can tell, there is no real evidence that Snyder has learned from his prior mistakes with one exception, his targeting of Coles last year with the idea that his best years were still ahead of him. But as far as running the organization, he was continuing to run it into the ground until Gibbs showed up unexpectedly. Cerrato is Snyder's rubber stamp, his stooge and insurance that if there is a disagreement with a coach he can "democratically" overrule the coach, the biggest hope right now is that Joe Gibbs is too big an icon to treat the same way as Snyder's past coaches were treated, and thats a pretty sad thing to be pinning one's hopes on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BD Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Her personal bias on Snyder has been clear for at least two years now. She should stick to writing about New York. Idiot. BD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuckinIA Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Originally posted by luckydevil It is hard for me to take her seriously. I would like to know why the Post continues to employ her while she lives in New York. What does she look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cowboykilla Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Sally Jenkins is a dumb you know what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Consigliere Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Some of you guys really remind me of how my brother and I used to defend Albert Belle. Well, he did hit a fan w/a baseball but the fan called him an N-Bomb, well, he did attack some kids w/his SUV but they did egg his property, well, he did run over fernando Vina, but Vina was in the baseline, well, he did cork his bat, but everyone cheats in baseball. The problem is, eventually everything adds up, even if there are excuses, eventually you've also got a trend that begins to define someone. I don't have a problem w/the piece. Yes she needs to support things w/more specifics, but her arguments in my view, are right on. Some of you guys take loyalty a bit too far too me. Being a Redskin fan doesn't mean you have to be a Snyder apologist, doesn't mean you have to be a hater either, or a homer or anything. That being said, I can't see why some of you refuse to really criticize or accept that our owner does some amazingly stupid things, and these aren't the sort of things that are easily forgivable, since he isn't learning from these mistakes (in my view), particularly in regards to running the draft, and scouting, and free agent decision making. Now bash away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheDoyler23 Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Sally Jenkins sucks..been saying that for some time now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luckydevil Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 What does she look like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuckinIA Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Originally posted by luckydevil nevermind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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