Fixing The Washington Redskins Won’t Be Easy And It Probably Will Never Happen

The Washington Redskins arrived at a new low Sunday losing to the St. Louis Rams 24-0. It was a disaster of a football game. At this point, the Redskins are essentially falling from a cliff without a parachute and I don’t even believe they’ve hit rock bottom, yet. It gets worse every single week.

For the past few weeks, we’ve discussed the deeply rooted dysfunction at Redskins park that includes not having a clear direction as a team. We also talked about how Owner Dan Snyder could be forced to make some very tough moves at the conclusion of this season. Today, however, we’ll take a look at how to solve these issues.

I should provide the caveat that I don’t think the Washington Redskins will ever do things the right way as an organization. They’ve given no one the impression that they’re capable of making not just drastic changes, but coming up with the right solutions. There’s so many issues in that building that stretches beyond football that it’s hard to believe they’ll ever get it right. But anyway, let’s take a look at some of the top issues.

Owner:

Dan Snyder has a mess on his hands. According to a high ranking source, who has met with Snyder several times this year, Snyder is “scared” to make the right changes. “Dan is well aware of what needs to be done, but is too gun-shy to actually make those changes,” the source told Pro Player Insiders.

The Washington Redskins were an organization on the decline prior to Dan Snyder purchasing the team. However, as a young owner, Snyder had no clue how to re-position the franchise into a consistent winner. With exception of Joe Gibbs 2.0, Snyder has continued to fail the organization with poor football decisions. As we’ve mentioned before, he’s running a marketing company. A marketing company that fails to even do that the right way. But let’s stick to football.

Dan Snyder needs a football guy in charge. He’s never had it. Snyder absolutely needs to step up and make the right moves. There’s so much nepotism in that building and Snyder doesn’t want to destroy relationships. It’s time he puts business over personal. It’s time to make the right football moves, because that’s really what has killed this organization.

General Manager:

Bruce Allen is not what the Washington Redskins need, he’s the epitome of what they are as an organization. He’s a politician and paper mover. His primary focus should be on the team name, alumni and the next stadium. But if Dan Snyder wants to do things the right way, he’d fire Bruce Allen. He knows it needs to be done, but for some reason he has this affinity for Allen. It’s likely because he’s the son of former coach George Allen. But again, that’s the very issue with how this organization is constructed.

The Washington Redskins have played 80 games with Allen as General Manager — they are 27-53 in that time. Ten of those wins came in 2012 courtesy of QB Robert Griffin III having one of the greatest seasons by a rookie quarterback. That’s simply unacceptable.

Solution: Dan Snyder needs to swallow his pride and move on from Bruce Allen. In my opinion, that would be the first step in the right direction for Snyder. But ultimately, the corresponding move is what will be the tell-all. Dan Snyder needs a general manager who has a history of scouting and has been around quality organizations.

One potential GM candidate could be Omar Khan, who is the current Director of Football Operations for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Khan began his career with the New Orleans Saints as a scouting intern and pretty much did all things football operations with them. He joined the Steelers in 2001 and has been a mainstay as one of the leading football minds behind the team’s success. That is a first class organization and Khan is a first class person. He not only understands the football side, but is very savvy on the business side. Khan is also good friends with former Steelers Head Coach Bill Cowher, who just so happens to be one of Snyder’s closest coaching advisers. He’s one of the few coaches Snyder trusts.

Another quality candidate the Redskins should look at is Green Bay Packers Director of College Scouting Brian Gutekunst. He has an excellent eye for talent and Green Bay is another first class organization.  

Other candidates could/should include: AJ Smtih, Redskins; Nick Caserio, New England Patriots; Matt Russell, Denver Broncos; Marc Ross, New York Giants.

Coaching: Assuming Dan Snyder does what he needs to do and fires Bruce Allen, he should hire a general manager and let him decide on if Jay Gruden is right for this football team.

As of right now, I can’t envision Gruden having success with the Washington Redskins. To be fair, however, I can’t see anyone having success in Washington with the way this organization is currently structured. But I’m not yet certain if his job is truly in jeopardy.

Dan Snyder has to pay Gruden $16 million and that’s guaranteed over the next three years. So Gruden has a lot of leverage. It was a horrible decision for them to guarantee a coach, with little experience, that much money.

Gruden, in my opinion, has not shown much of anything that would give the impression of him having future success. I’ve seen no glimmer of hope. He doesn’t have an identity and I think he’s clueless as to what he wants as it pertains to the structure of the football team.

I don’t know if Dan Snyder will be willing to part with Jay Gruden while owing him $16 million over the next three seasons. But a scenario of some type of settlement could happen. For example, there’s been speculation of some college teams including Michigan reaching out to Jay Gruden’s reps. Gruden can make a lot of money in college and that could be an ideal spot for him to gain additional experience. I wonder if he would come to some sort of agreement with Snyder for him to not have to pay him $16 million. It’s not likely, but I bet it will be explored.

As for the coordinators, I’d be floored in any scenario that Jim Haslett is retained. He’s part of that family Bruce Allen has attempted to reunite. He is not and has never been a good defensive coordinator.

I’ve also mentioned in the past that I don’t understand the love fest for offensive coordinator Sean McVay. He’s spent most of his coaching career in Washington. Other than his grandfather being a former successful general manager, I see nothing that justifies the sentiments of him being a “rising star.”

Solution: I’m undecided on this. I don’t know if Jay Gruden’s job is legitimately in jeopardy. But I do think it should and that it would be better for Snyder to wash his hands sooner than later. I’m not going to list head coaching candidates because I’m not at that point. But I do believe if Washington were to fire Gruden they should go with a non-offensive minded head coach.

They need someone with a different mindset and perspective. The team has not had a non-offensive minded coach since Richie Petibon, who was hired by former Owner Jack Kent Cooke. Although his one-year stint as Head Coach didn’t go too successfully. Dan Snyder has never hired a non-offensive head coach, so I think he should try that. He was close to hiring former Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams, but he messed that up badly. I think Williams would have been perfect.

Players:

The Washington Redskins have several players on their current roster who have played for first-class organizations. They’ve tasted success and know what a well-run franchise looks like. Those players, and understandably so, have been frustrated with the way Washington handles business. I thought Safety Ryan Clark, who had his best seasons as a Pittsburgh Steeler, said it the best after Sunday’s game:

“Anytime you need to get a new coach, that means you weren’t a very good team the year before – probably with the exception of guys in Pittsburgh retiring because they were coached for many years. We [Redskins] weren’t a very good football team last year. We aren’t a very good football team now – period. We have to find an identity. Good football teams have an identity. Good football teams have go-to’s. I don’t necessarily consider the Rams a very good football team, but they are a good football team. They’ve been winning games to have an identity – great pass rush and they don’t make mistakes on offense. That’s what we have to do as a team. We have to figure out where our strengths are and play to those. The problem is we find new problems every week. One week, we don’t rush well. One week, we don’t cover well. You can’t do that. You have to be consistent in one part of your team.”

Ryan Clark hasn’t played well this year, however, he’s absolutely right with that statement. Some of that is on the players, some of that’s on the coaches and some of it is attributed to the front office. Together the Redskins are terrible and that’s pretty much their identity.

Moving forward, from a player standpoint, the Redskins need to get rid of the guys who find it necessary to run their mouths anonymously about the team. As the saying goes, “loose lips sink ships.” The Redskins need guys who genuinely care about playing football. They need guys who will shed blood out there on the gridiron.

As for the quarterback, I have no idea what they’re going to do with Robert Griffin III. I’m not convinced he stays and I’m not convinced that he goes. One thing that I do know is his family loves it in Washington. Griffin, however, is mentally shot. He needs a sports psychologist.

As we reported Sunday morning, Dan Snyder has advisers he trusts. One of those people he gets advice from is the greatest coach in Redskins history, Joe Gibbs. As told to Pro Player Insiders from a former player, Joe Gibbs still believes in Griffin. He believes Griffin can be a functional pocket passer but the team needs to be patient. Another close adviser, Bill Cowher, publicly urged the Redskins not to make any “rash decisions” with Robert Griffin III.

“I just know right now that I’ve seen this kid throw; I think that he can be a quarterback in the National Football League,” Cowher told CBS radio. “I think he does have some outside things that, maybe, I don’t know. At this point, he’s hit rock bottom. I hope that he has, because I think from that standpoint he can now not worry about what the perception is, and deal with the reality that you have to become a better football player at your position.”

Solution: So maybe Dan Snyder listens to those guys and decides to keep Griffin for another year. I don’t know. I would hold on to him and bring in another quarterback or two for a open competition. Let the best man win and if it’s not Griffin, you have eight weeks prior to the trade deadline to trade him.

Conclusion:  There’s so much wrong with this team that I don’t even think they know how to make it right. I’m not sure if Snyder has the gumption to do what’s right. We’ll see. There’s a lot up in the air. For the first time, the next step isn’t clear at all. Most years everyone knew the coach would be fired. Or back in the Jim Zorn era, pretty much everyone expected GM Vinny Cerrato to pack his luggage with Zorn. This year, I don’t know. In all honesty, does it even matter? This team is hopeless.

*Thanks to PPI’s NFL Features & History Writer Drew Hall for the pictures from Sunday’s game. 

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