Washington Redskins must fix these problems
Aug 28, 2014; Tampa, FL, USA; Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, right, talks with general manager Bruce Allen before Washington plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
1. Management
The front office has some serious issues, starting with Dan Snyder himself. He’s stubborn for barely acknowledging the whole name change controversy — a name change is inevitable, whether it happens in the near future or in ten years. Snyder has a losing record (108-148) in his fifteen years of ownership and has won just two divisional championships (1999 and 2012) and two playoff games (1999 and 2005).
Snyder is also notorious for his willingness to make the “splashy” offseason signing, a signing that would often fail — take Albert Haynesworth for example. He’s also allegedly given special treatment to Robert Griffin III and his family — no player on a team should be treated better by the owner than others. As long as Snyder owns the team or has controlling interest in the team, it’s doubtful that Washington will be anywhere close to a consistent winning football club. Snyder isn’t the Washington’s only front office issue, however.
Former general manager Vinny Cerrato resigned in late 2009 and Snyder brought Bruce Allen in to replace him. Allen was expected to take control of all football decisions and Snyder was expected to sit back — Washington fans may have liked that plan, except for one thing: Allen hasn’t done anything since he came to Landover. The Donovan McNabb experiment failed. The blockbuster trade with St. Louis to get Robert Griffin III is close to failing.
The team was actually better before Allen inherited it. It was 4-12 in 2009, and in Allen’s last two seasons, it went 3-13 and 4-12. In the 2014 offseason, Allen had all the cap space in the world, and failed to make one impact signing other than DeSean Jackson (who was a late gift from the Eagles, by the way). Allen failed to bring in anyone impactful on the offensive line or on defense — Ryan Clark should’ve retired after last season and gone to ESPN; Jason Hatcher barely played all season.
How should Washington fix these front office issues? Well, the Redskins make Dan Snyder a fortune, so he’s not leaving anytime soon. Somehow, some way, Snyder needs to replace Allen with a competent general manager who makes all of the football decisions for the team, as Allen has clearly proven to be inept as a general manager in the NFL. It’s probably not happening this year, but Snyder seriously needs to consider purging his manager if Washington suffers another losing season, which may be likely.