Hatchet Job - Part Two

This is just bullshit, Gregg is his own man, he did not insult Joe

It was not enough for Dan Snyder simply not to give the Redskins head coaching job to Gregg Williams. He had to be sure Gregg left town in disgrace, to ensure fans do not revolt and to minimize the shock of an all new face on the sideline next season, when Gregg, the guy the fans and players wanted was already right there. Curly R's three part series on Dan Snyder's hatchet job continues.

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

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When the Redskins' on field tribute to Sean Taylor is somehow turned into a political loyalty test and the man behind the tribute fails that test then you know something foul is afoot. But wait it gets worse. A tidbit from those four interviews was leaked, a tidbit that would purport to reveal Gregg Williams as a heretic in the eyes of Redskins fans:

Gregg Williams spoke disparagingly about Joe Gibbs during his interviews. While this may well be a story related to management's anger over the Bills game, that Gregg's alleged disrespect of Joe may have been the failing to tell him about the ten man formation, it is being represented as a separate matter. The narrative here is that in the process of interviewing for the head coaching position that Gregg Williams somehow insulted Joe or his methods or something. Even though all parties have now denied that there were bad words (op. cit.), that it was all a miscommunication, the old saying goes a lie is halfway round the world before the truth gets out of bed.

If this were true, if the story that Gregg Williams insulted Joe Gibbs is accurate as represented then it would signal the end of Gregg in Washington. Joe Gibbs is, always has been and always will be a revered figure in this town and by these fans, he is untouchable, we will need to see another three Super Bowl victories before anyone can even come close to Joe. He is the Redskins, the Redskins are Washington.

But this story is bullshit. There are so many things that get said in any conversation, much less an interview for a million dollar position like head coach of the Redskins, that if one party has a motive to misrepresent or discredit the other that anything can be taken out of context and made to look bad.

What I think happened here is that when all parties sat down to begin the interview Gregg thought it was already a negotiation, he probably started in on priorities, how he would run things. Dan, ever the little man, wanted Gregg to be more formal, even obsequious to His Danness and when Gregg was all business, er, all football it offended Dan and they chose to hear criticism from Gregg about Joe when there was none. Could have been a leading question to Gregg, like what would you change about the team? And when the answer was I'd run a more uptempo offense Dan rubs his little hands together and says there it is, he just insulted a Hall of Fame coach's methods, there's the petard, all I need now is a hoist.

Personally I believe Dan was never really interested in Gregg Williams. Like Marty Schottenheimer, Gregg is blunt and all he cares about is football. Gregg is more like stoneface Bill Belichick than backslapping Steve Mariucci, Gregg is cut from the Buddy Ryan cloth, not the Steve Spurrier. Because Gregg only cares about football and not whose ass he needs to kiss and how much to kowtow to the owner and that snake Vinny Cerrato he could never work there. Gregg is not Joe Gibbs, the only man with enough wattage to outshine Dan Snyder.


Curly R's Hatchet Job concludes tomorrow with part three, The Jim Fassel Non Hiring.



Hatchet in the head from here.