Sally J.'s latest is spot on

Very well said.

One problem is alot of people hang on to first impressions, especially when the change in behaviour is moderate or slow paced. No one is saying that DS is not involved, but he is learning to relegate himself and his opinions to a lower spot on the decision making totem pole.

a few questions for antiSnyders, and I don't know the answer, how long was JKC owner before he won his first superbowl?
Division Title?
Had a winning percentage as an owner?

I would be really curious to know those answers.

From JKC's Wikipedia entry:
In 1961, Jack Kent Cooke purchased a 25 percent interest in the Washington Redskins, becoming majority owner in 1974 and sole owner in 1985.

It took him 8 years to win a Super Bowl as majority owner. He also, as majority owner, inherited a good Redskins team that had gone to the Super Bowl two years earlier.

Remember the mediocre Jack Pardee Redskins? That was under JKC's watch. The mediocre Redskins of the mid-90's? Also under JKC's watch.

I liked JKC and I am not busting on him. I'm just trying to lend some perspective.

He certainly has a weighted input, but once he hires a coach, he seems to let that coach get what he wants. Now if you are saying that because he signs the checks he is the main personnel decision-maker, then every owner is by definition the "main personnel decision-maker".Snyder doesn't even let head coaches hire their own assistant coaches. Jerry Jones does that, too. I can't think of any other NFL owners who do that. The notion that Snyder leaves his coaches alone is false.

From JKC's Wikipedia entry:
In 1961, Jack Kent Cooke purchased a 25 percent interest in the Washington Redskins, becoming majority owner in 1974 and sole owner in 1985.

It took him 8 years to win a Super Bowl as majority owner. He also, as majority owner, inherited a good Redskins team that had gone to the Super Bowl two years earlier.

Remember the mediocre Jack Pardee Redskins? That was under JKC's watch. The mediocre Redskins of the mid-90's? Also under JKC's watch.

I liked JKC and I am not busting on him. I'm just trying to lend some perspective.Nah, Jack Kent Cooke wasn't even in the DC area until later. Cooke spent most of his time in southern California and his major sports interests were there. Cooke delegated his authority over the Skins to others until he came out to Virginia full time.

So glad I didn't pick up season tickets. $30-50 for nosebleeds.

Washington Redskins vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers at StubHub! (http://www.stubhub.com/washington-redskins-tickets/redskins-vs-buccaneers-fedexfield-788648/)


I have heard that tickets for this game are being handed away. I haven't even looked at Craig's list which should be a lot cheaper than stub hub.

Smoot makes some good points. I would answer to his earlier question about other owners; from my observation, most owners only speak publicly when they need to just like CEOs, on the heels of big news, controversy, or to do damage control.

We don't see that out of Snyder, yet there is plenty of damage control that's been needed. I agree w/Matty, Snyder is not comfortable in front of the camera. To his credit, he held a press conference when ST passed away. Had he not done that, he'd really be hated!

He has a problem w/his public perception, whether deserved or not. I just don't think he shows much effort to change that perception. Should he? I guess that can be argued either way, but ultimately you would think at some point he'll have to if this team can't win regularly (see G. Steinbrenner).

To my point about the perception of him. Check the insider poll #s from today:

Redskins Insider - Take It from the Very Top (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/redskinsinsider/born-to-run-against-tampa-bay.html?wprss=redskinsinsider)

Snyder doesn't even let head coaches hire their own assistant coaches. Jerry Jones does that, too. I can't think of any other NFL owners who do that. The notion that Snyder leaves his coaches alone is false.

In retrospect, maybe Snyder should have been more thorough before telling Zorn to name Sherman Smith his offensive coordinator

Yes you do assume. Dan Snyder is not the general manager of the Redskins, Jerry Jones is the general manager of the Cowboys. Everyone wants Snyder to just say "Ok, I admit it. I'm the GM of the team. Haha, you got me. But, as hard as it is for everyone to believe, that's not the case. He is not the GM. His involvement is not the same as Jones' involvement with the Cowboys.Whether Snyder holds the title of GM is not relevant. What matters is who is making the personnel decisions. Snyder is making those decisions, decisions he is not qualified to make. Those are decisions that, on almost every other team, are made by men who have spent their entire adult lives studying football.

Snyder steps in as an abritrator between Zorn and Cerrato if necessary (just like JKC did), Snyder gets involved with signing the contract approving the money to be spent (just like JKC), Snyder gets involved, very involved, in sponsorship deals.

Snyder is consulted on roster decisions (just like JKC was). Snyder asks about certain players (just like JKC did).If you think Snyder's involvement with personnel decisions is equivalent to Cooke's involvement in personnel decisions, then...I don't even know how to finish that sentence. I had no idea a single human being on this planet believed that. I think in the interest of maintaining good relations with others on this board, I'll end my comments on that subject right there.

As for Snyder never publicly admitting his mistakes

The Dan Snyder You Don't Know - Sports (washingtonian.com) (http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/sports/1679.html)

In his first three years as owner of the Redskins, Dan Snyder was much more successful at establishing a foundation and giving away money than at running the franchise.

“I made some real stupid decisions,” he says. “I made a lot of mistakes. I’m human.”
Snyder took over the Washington Redskins on July 14, 1999. He inherited Norv Turner as coach and Charley Casserly as general manager.

“They were fighting like cats and dogs,” he says. “We were in trouble. I couldn’t have these two guys sniping at one another.”

So he fired Casserly in September.

“You fired the wrong guy,” Casserly told him.

“If you’re right,” Snyder shot back, “you’ll be one of the first to know.”

Snyder also fired a bunch of longtime front-office workers. He brought in his own PR team, lead by Karl Swanson.

Hoping for a quick trip to the Super Bowl, he paid big money for aging stars Bruce Smith and Deion Sanders.

Snyder stuck with Norv Turner through the 1999 season, which was lackluster. With three games left in the 2000 season, the Redskins had a 7–6 record, and Snyder lost patience. He called Turner into his office at 11 am on December 4 and let him go.

“It was one of my worst moves,” he says. “It was plain stupid. I was a new owner pissed about losing.”

It was also the first move that showed fans and reporters Dan Snyder’s impatient side. In business, Snyder could replace a manager in the dead of night with a phone call. The Redskins were considered a public utility, and every move was blared in the media and dissected on sports-radio talk shows.

After Snyder fired Turner, he says, he called Casserly and said, “You were right.”

http://www.thewarpath.net/redskins-news/24642-wsj-interview-with-dan-snyder.html

WSJ: Do you see the term micromanaging as being a media-driven one or do you think there are some people who think you might be a little too involved on a day-to-day basis?

Mr. Snyder: I probably was when I first got here.

Early on I probably didn't have the level of patience needed to take place when you're talking about this sport of NFL football, because it really is a building process. You build through free-agency and the draft and I think that if you can look over the years you'd see a lot of improvement over how the club goes about getting players and keeping players and re-signing our existing players.My goodness, you certainly are very impressed by Snyder admitting one mistake he made 9 years ago. I guess that explains everything that has happened since, eh? It explains why he fired Marty Schottenheimer, saying he wasn't having any fun. It explains the Spurrier disaster. It explains getting rid of Stephen Davis for Trung Canidate. It explains the lousy game day experience at FedEx, explains the endless wads of cash wasted on players who never performed and explains the .455 winning percentage.

Basically, this subject is divided into two opposing camps. One camp looks at that .455 winning percentage and cheers Dan Snyder for the keen insight he has brought to the franchise. Another camp looks at that .455 winning percentage, then looks around the league and is disgusted by ownership they regard as being more concerned with public relations than football games.

One camp likes being champions of the offseason. The other camp would rather be champions of the Super Bowl. The priorities are so vastly different, I can't imagine any agreement on this issue will ever emerge.

In retrospect, maybe Snyder should have been more thorough before telling Zorn to name Sherman Smith his offensive coordinatorYou mean that offensive coordinator who doesn't call plays? I'm sure it was tough for Snyder to give in on that. Hopefully, he wasn't too upset at settling for the entire defensive coaching staff, the special teams coach and half the offensive coaching staff. What a trooper.

Whether Snyder holds the title of GM is not relevant. What matters is who is making the personnel decisions. Snyder is making those decisions, decisions he is not qualified to make. Those are decisions that, on almost every other team, are made by men who have spent their entire adult lives studying football.

What matters is that you simply believe what you want to believe. Snyder could die today, we could go 1-15 for the next 10 years and you'd probably still say "Well Snyder is the one making the personnel decisions." And whatever you think of Cerrato (and Scott Campbell and Morocco Brown) what do you think they've been doing their adult lives? Do you think they were plucked from playing the piano at Nordstrom's?

If you think Snyder's involvement with personnel decisions is equivalent to Cooke's involvement in personnel decisions, then...I don't even know how to finish that sentence. I had no idea a single human being on this planet believed that. I think in the interest of maintaining good relations with others on this board, I'll end my comments on that subject right there.

Again, this is all based on your assumptions about what Snyder does.

My goodness, you certainly are very impressed by Snyder admitting one mistake he made 9 years ago. I guess that explains everything that has happened since, eh? It explains why he fired Marty Schottenheimer, saying he wasn't having any fun. It explains the Spurrier disaster. It explains getting rid of Stephen Davis for Trung Canidate. It explains the lousy game day experience at FedEx, explains the endless wads of cash wasted on players who never performed and explains the .455 winning percentage.

Just pointing out that Snyder's admitted mistakes in the past. The Schottenheimer situation was bad all around (Snyder and players at fault), I wish Marty was still here. I won't even continue with the rest because it's been rehashed over and over again.

Basically, this subject is divided into two opposing camps. One camp looks at that .455 winning percentage and cheers Dan Snyder for the keen insight he has brought to the franchise. Another camp looks at that .455 winning percentage, then looks around the league and is disgusted by ownership they regard as being more concerned with public relations than football games.

One camp likes being champions of the offseason. The other camp would rather be champions of the Super Bowl. The priorities are so vastly different, I can't imagine any agreement on this issue will ever emerge.

It's divided into two opposing camps. One camp that is frustrated at the .455 winning percentage, wants to win the Super Bowl, accepts that as a franchise we have made mistakes, realizes that we have also made wise decisions, recognizes that perception is not always reality, understands that past ownership had its "flaws", realizes this ownership isn't going anywhere anytime soon, and doesn't assume what this ownership group does and what other owners do...the other camp believes what they want to believe

George Michael, a close friend of Dan Snyder and Joe Gibbs, on the role Snyder plays in the front office:"Let me tell you the truth: Dan does make I think most of those big-type decisions," Michael said. "He says 'Let's get this guy, let's get that guy.' And the guy that takes the heat for it--and it's why I think he's never gotten fired--is Vinny Cerrato. Now, Cerrato's painted as a bozo, but the truth is, what did Vinny Cerrato do for the team? Look at Chris Horton. That's the kind of guy he gets."Source (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2009/10/george_michael_on_why_fans_hat.html#more)