Hatchet Job - Part Three

If you really think Dan listens to us then don't read this

Don't be fooled, Dan Snyder and that snake Vinny Cerrato have been deliberate in their efforts to ensure Redskins fans forget Gregg Williams and remember him not as the man that should have gotten the job but instead as the man that disrespected Joe Gibbs after the kindness that old man showed him by salvaging Gregg off the Buffalo Bills scrapheap. Curly R's three part series on Dan Snyder's hatchet job concludes today.

Part One: The Missing Man Formation
Part Two: Gregg Williams Disparages Joe Gibbs
Part Three: The Jim Fassel Non Hiring

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On its face it sounded bad. Gregg Williams gambled with ten men on the field and never told the boss or the owner. Then when confronted on it made matters worse by insulting the man himself, Joe Gibbs. The narrative prepared, the axe falls and Gregg Williams is ushered from Washington, not as the head coaching favorite passed over, but rather as the disrespectful hothead that could never be given the keys to Joe Gibbs kingdom.

Well it was all bullshit, Gregg was set up and the Redskins never wanted him, it didn't matter what the fans wanted.

But there is a third setup as well, it's a hatchet job on Redskins fans, treating us like we are children, it is a misconception Redskins fans should know about:

The Jim Fassel non hiring. When Jim's name surfaced as the quote mystery candidate unquote, the one that interviewed after Tennessee Titans defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz and before Gregg Williams' first interview, there was serious fan outrage, so much so that it made it into the print edition of the Washington Post.

Jim was offered, then un offered the job, and now says he feels manipulated by the Redskins and the process. That said Jim still remains a strong candidate for the job.

But there is a narrative out there that is untrue, one that pretends at giving Dan Snyder credit for listening to Redskins fans. The story goes like this: Jim Fassel interviews in secret, Jim Fassel is loved by Redskins ownership, Jim Fassel has talks about which coaches and coordinators he might be able to work with, the Redskins then go about rounding up those candidates.

Sensing a disturbance in the Force, wise beyond his years Dan Snyder takes the pulse of the Redskins fanbase and finds them to be almost universally displeased with the choice of Jim Fassel. Valuing his relationship with Redskins fans above all else, wise beyond his years Dan Snyder bravely terminates Jim Fassel's public candidacy, reveling in the mutual love flowing between owner and fans.

Sadly though this is bullshit and all part of a plan to lull Redskins fans into believing Dan Snyder gives a rat's ass about what fans think and what fans want for the team.

Dan did not reject Jim Fassel based on fan reaction. He's never done anything based on fan reaction, the lone exception being when he killed a selfish and silly plan to force all Redskins season ticket holders to purchase their tickets with the Redskins Mastercard.

In 2001 Dan hired Marty Schottenheimer to run the team and gave Marty total control. In the midst of an 0-5 start I distinctly remember reading about Dan, this was back when he still talked to the media, copping an attitude that basically no one should blame him, it was the fans and media that wanted him to hire a football guy so he did and look at what happened.

But I don't think Dan really succumbed to any kind of pressure, I believe Dan thought that is how you are supposed to do things, you hire a football guy and let him run the show. When Marty fired Vinny Cerrato as first order of business, Marty actually wanted total control over hiring, coaches, management and players Dan realized Marty did not respect Dan's football mind and that if Dan wanted any kind of say in things he was going to have to get rid of Marty which he did after one season.

When Dan hired Joe Gibbs after two miserable seasons of Steve Spurrier, Dan was not responding to fan concerns that the team was off the rails, he was practicing hero worship and frankly who would not, you're 40, you bought the Redskins and now Joe Gibbs is flying in for a meeting how cool is that I bet if Dan had any friends he would have called them all.

After Joe resigned this month Dan did not respond to pressure to hire a general manager, a real GM not a fake one like that snake Vinny Cerrato. One with independence from the owner and a rock solid contract so he does not have to look over his shoulder continually.

Further, Dan did not respond to fan pressure to hire Gregg Williams, the overwhelming fan and media favorite. If the team was really looking for some continuity over the next couple of seasons while it worked out its new plan for the longer term, the team would simply have made Gregg Williams the head coach the day Joe Gibbs resigned, much like Joe Gibbs' first retirement press conference was also Richie Petitbon's hiring press conference.

Same with Russ Grimm. He is qualified, his name has not come up once in connection with the team yet his name is almost universally preapproved by Redskins fans.

So why then do we believe the not hiring of Jim Fassel has anything to do with fans? Answer: it does not. The not hiring of Jim Fassel is all about Dan Snyder's search for the next big thing, what's over the next hill. Shit if I can get Jim Fassel this easily who else can I get? No need to make a quick decision, it's not like Jim is going anywhere.

Dan had a flash of Jim Fassel coaching the team and he backed down not because you or I thought it was a bad idea, but because he could conceive a better idea. That said, Jim may still be the coach, which would be fine with me at this point. With Vinny running the show now, I just don't know.

Dan did not budge on the GM thing despite fan outpouring, he promoted Cerrato (op. cit.) despite widespread fan displeasure, he discarded anything resembling real continuity when he shut Gibbs' staff out and started looking around for the next thing. The fans have never been a part of this process.



Hatchet in the head from here.