The Cerrato Era is Cerrado

Buh bye

More breaking news less than an hour later: It would apppear that the Dan Snyder has already replaced Vinny, hiring former Raiders and Buccaneers general manager Bruce Allen as the Redskins new general manager. A surreal day for Redskins fans continues.

Not since the sudden departure of head coach Joe Gibbs has early morning Redskins news jarred me like this, ESPravda 980 and the Washington Post are reporting that Redskins shadow general manager Vinny Cerrato has resigned.

Yes you read that correctly, Vinny Cerrato is out in Ashburn.

In recent weeks the asymmetric war between head coach Jim Zorn, stressing improved execution and a renewed sense of purpose, and Vinny, insisting players he selected and a playcalling shakeup were the reasons for the Redskins improved offensive output has escalated with neither combatant seemingly interested in crediting the other. It is no secret that each had open scorn for the other.

The difference between them, as Marty Schottenheimer reminded us recently and as Vinny would have said to coach Zorn, was that Vinny had the owner's ear, and did for nine of Dan Snyder's first ten years as owner and the eleventh up until today.

It was always a foregone conclusion that Jim Zorn was out at the conclusion of this season, the only real question this season ever hanging over the team was, would the management team of Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato hunker down in the Ashburn bunker, sign some chump coach that would be ok with another two years of this shit then rinse repeat?

Or, would the owner see past the sycophant in front of him and make the hard choices that will be required to improve this football team.

Looks like we have the answer to that question.


More on this story as it breaks, with Mike Holmgren eyeing Cleveland and Bill Cowher showing no interest in Washington this would appear to clear the way for owner Dan Snyder to make a run at Mike Shanahan.


Other breaking coverage: Mark Newgent at Redskins Examiner, who noted that Vinny conspicuously left Jim Zorn's name off the list of awsum coaches he worked with in Washington; Matt Terl at the ORB (Official Redskins Blog) has the full press release; Kevin Ewoldt at Hogs Haven, and they are crassly already trying to capitalize on the event;



Vinny Cerrato: John McDonnell / Washington Post from here.