1999: Dan Snyder buys Redskins, inherits Norv Turner as head coach. Turner goes 10-6 that year, then is fired by Snyder in 2000 after a 7-6 start to the season. Terry Robiskie replaces Turner in an interim role and the Resdkins finish 8-8.
2001: Snyder hires Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, and fires him after an 8-8 season.
2002: Snyder hires Steve Spurrier as head coach. Spurrier resigns aftter two losing seasons to return to college coaching.
2004: Snyder brings Joe Gibbs out of retirement. Gibbs retires again after four years, two winning seasons, and one playoff win.
2008: Snyder hires Jim Zorn and fires him after one 8-8 and one losing season.
2010: Snyder hires Mike Shanahan and fires him after 4 seasons, 3 with double-digit losses and one winning season.
2014: Snyder hires Jay Gruden as head coach and fires him mid-way through the 2019 season after an 0-5 start. Gruden had two winning seasons but no 10+ win season, and one double-digit loss season. Bill Callahan completes the season as an interim.
2019: Snyder fires Bruce Allen, who had been in charge of football operations since 2009. As of this writing, it is expected he'll hire Ron Rivera as the next head coach.
Over 21 seasons under Snyder ownership, the Redskins had five playoff appearences and six winning seasons overall, but none better than 10-6. They've had 12 losing seasons, 7 of them 5-11 or worse.
What's interesting is that of the six coaching hires, only Zorn was a terrible hire; Snyder hired him for the Offensive Coordinator position before he had even hired a head coach, then decided to make Zorn the coach. But Schottenheimer had a great track record; Spurrier was viewed as a great football mind with fantastic college success, and Gibbs, though coming out of a 15-year retirement, was actually the most successful coach in Snyder's reign. Shanahan had won two Super Bowls previously, and Gruden, unlike Zorn, had at least coordinator experience (with success) and was wanted by other teams. Bruce Allen, likewise, was well-qualified for his position with a record of success.
Snyder, to his credit, also had much greater patience with Shanahan and Gruden than he had earlier in his tenure. And Rivera would also be a good hire. But it reminds me of the Zorn hiring process; why did Snyder hire the OC before hiring a head coach, and why wouldn't he have let the head coach choose his staff? Likewise, why would Snyder hire a head coach before hiring a GM? Yes, the owner should have final say in the head coach hire, but the GM, whom the coach would report to directly, should be installed first; the GM and coach must be confident they can work well together.
In a way, Snyder seems like a poor man's Jerry Jones. Jones fired Jimmy Johnson out of extreme pettiness. Barry Switzer resigned, and then Jones fired Chan Gailey after two seasons and two playoff appearances. Jones then strangely became patient with three 5-11 seasons under Dave Campo.
Bill Parcells revived the franchise and then resigned after four years. Wade Phillips was let go in 2010 after a 1-7 start, but had three winning seasons previous to that. Jason Garrett has been the head coach ever since. In nine seasons, the Cowboys have had as many 8-8 seasons as winning seasons (4), but only one losing season.
Garrett's teams seemed to consistently fail to live up to their potential, yet Jones has remained patient with him, just as Snyder was patient with Allen despite under-performance. Although Snyder and Jones both are more patient than in the past, one wonders if they were patient with the wrong guys.
If I aspire to be a head coach or GM, I'd probably take the first opportunity. But if I was in demand, I'd look at the owner's track record of hiring and firing, and neither Jones nor Snyder would be my first choice to work for.
2001: Snyder hires Marty Schottenheimer as head coach, and fires him after an 8-8 season.
2002: Snyder hires Steve Spurrier as head coach. Spurrier resigns aftter two losing seasons to return to college coaching.
2004: Snyder brings Joe Gibbs out of retirement. Gibbs retires again after four years, two winning seasons, and one playoff win.
2008: Snyder hires Jim Zorn and fires him after one 8-8 and one losing season.
2010: Snyder hires Mike Shanahan and fires him after 4 seasons, 3 with double-digit losses and one winning season.
2014: Snyder hires Jay Gruden as head coach and fires him mid-way through the 2019 season after an 0-5 start. Gruden had two winning seasons but no 10+ win season, and one double-digit loss season. Bill Callahan completes the season as an interim.
2019: Snyder fires Bruce Allen, who had been in charge of football operations since 2009. As of this writing, it is expected he'll hire Ron Rivera as the next head coach.
Over 21 seasons under Snyder ownership, the Redskins had five playoff appearences and six winning seasons overall, but none better than 10-6. They've had 12 losing seasons, 7 of them 5-11 or worse.
What's interesting is that of the six coaching hires, only Zorn was a terrible hire; Snyder hired him for the Offensive Coordinator position before he had even hired a head coach, then decided to make Zorn the coach. But Schottenheimer had a great track record; Spurrier was viewed as a great football mind with fantastic college success, and Gibbs, though coming out of a 15-year retirement, was actually the most successful coach in Snyder's reign. Shanahan had won two Super Bowls previously, and Gruden, unlike Zorn, had at least coordinator experience (with success) and was wanted by other teams. Bruce Allen, likewise, was well-qualified for his position with a record of success.
Snyder, to his credit, also had much greater patience with Shanahan and Gruden than he had earlier in his tenure. And Rivera would also be a good hire. But it reminds me of the Zorn hiring process; why did Snyder hire the OC before hiring a head coach, and why wouldn't he have let the head coach choose his staff? Likewise, why would Snyder hire a head coach before hiring a GM? Yes, the owner should have final say in the head coach hire, but the GM, whom the coach would report to directly, should be installed first; the GM and coach must be confident they can work well together.
In a way, Snyder seems like a poor man's Jerry Jones. Jones fired Jimmy Johnson out of extreme pettiness. Barry Switzer resigned, and then Jones fired Chan Gailey after two seasons and two playoff appearances. Jones then strangely became patient with three 5-11 seasons under Dave Campo.
Bill Parcells revived the franchise and then resigned after four years. Wade Phillips was let go in 2010 after a 1-7 start, but had three winning seasons previous to that. Jason Garrett has been the head coach ever since. In nine seasons, the Cowboys have had as many 8-8 seasons as winning seasons (4), but only one losing season.
Garrett's teams seemed to consistently fail to live up to their potential, yet Jones has remained patient with him, just as Snyder was patient with Allen despite under-performance. Although Snyder and Jones both are more patient than in the past, one wonders if they were patient with the wrong guys.
If I aspire to be a head coach or GM, I'd probably take the first opportunity. But if I was in demand, I'd look at the owner's track record of hiring and firing, and neither Jones nor Snyder would be my first choice to work for.
Comments
Post a Comment