More dislike of Snyder: John Kent Cooke

I worked with John Kent Cooke on the 1988 Superbowl victory parade. The man knows how to run a football team. Snyder does NOT!

I don't know if our team would be playing any better on Sundays, but the franchise would probably look a little different. For one thing, I doubt we would be so reviled by the press. While Al Davis might be the butt of a lot of jokes in the press, most journalists who have met Snyder absolutely detest the man. Davis is mocked for being senile and a bad manager, Snyder is mocked for being an arrogant jerk. That's not based on the team's performance, it's based on personal interactions with the man and tales of how he treated guys like Mike Nolan, Laveranues Coles, and others. Or how Snyder derided Art Modell as someone he wouldn't want to emulate because he's won just one SB ring.

Also, Snyder has "commercialized" (for lack of a better word) the team. This is the guy who tried to charge admission to training camp. Now, Snyder is running a business and he's made the team much more profitable, but I feel like the team is trying to squeeze every little penny out of the fans. He seems to deal with the fans on an arms-length basis.

Maybe Snyder is a good guy and maybe the team's struggles aren't his fault, but most everything I've read about the guy seems to indicate that he's a world class prick. I'm amazed that a guy who has done such a poor job of interacting with the press is a marketing guru.

Very interesting post.
I really think buying the Redskins really changed Danny for the worse. The Danny was never really in the limelight until he bought the Redskins.
Jack Kent Cooke on the other hand bought the LA Lakers in 1965, built the LA Forum and created the now famous yellow and purple uniforms. He coined the term the Fabulous Forum. This guy was an amazing businessman. He also bought the LA kings. He did not become majority owner of the Skins until 1974.
JKC could handle the ego trip when his Skins finally won a SB and later three SB's and became one of the top franchises in the NFL. Hell Cooke built the current Redskins cash cow of the stadium they play in. Danny boy really did not have to do much. But yet he gets immense credit.
DS sense of reality is warped, he really acts like those three SB trophies in the case are his. Like he earned them.
He is arrogant with out earning it, so people do not respect him.
At least Al Davis has earned his SB trophies and the right to be eccentric, partly because he is really old. Danny boy has no excuse other than being really rich and lacking in the ability to run a FO. Ten difficult years later, not much has changed.
I am sure JKC could be a prick as well, but he was a respected prick. DS is just a arrogant prick that can not allow someone other then himself produce a winner in DC.

There are many ways you can run an organization. You can be cutthroat and vicious, using duplicity to get to the top and then the leverage of your title to force people to do your bidding. Anyone who crosses you must be dealt with quickly and without mercy. And because your authority is derived from your position, you must never admit you were wrong, because that shows weakness.

Another way to run an organization is to lead by example, be humble, be self-aware and willing to admit when you've made a mistake. You can make a commitment to quality that ensures that even when things are going well, you're going to be asking "what could we do better" and when things are going poorly, you don't just eject people, you focus on processes that have failed. In short, others follow you not out of fear of your title, but out of respect for your character.

You can apply these archetypes to any number of organizations: clubs, businesses, governments, even sports franchises.

In general I've seen sporadic evidence of the first model working in various industries. However, if you look at the market leaders in almost any industry, I would be surprised if that organization didn't look a lot more like the second group than the first.

...all this Norv Turner should be put in perspective.

We had a playoff team in 1999 with Norv Turner, it was the last time we won the division. It took a while....but we rebuilt the team.

The following year, Mr. Snyder came to town and...Jeff George...Deon Sanders...etc... You are really going to put the 7-6 on Norv. I would give anything for the Norv Turner years.

F Norv Turner. F his inability to keep a locker room in check. F his 0-7 start. F his blown 7-1 start. F him

I'm too young to know a pre-Snyder Redskins team...all I can say is, screw Snyder

...all this Norv Turner should be put in perspective.

We had a playoff team in 1999 with Norv Turner, it was the last time we won the division. It took a while....but we rebuilt the team.

The following year, Mr. Snyder came to town and...Jeff George...Deon Sanders...etc... You are really going to put the 7-6 on Norv. I would give anything for the Norv Turner years.

Whoa nelly. While we can't say for sure what John v Snyder would look like. One thing we do have is a track record for Norv. San Diego is the epitomy of a Norv Turner coached team. 14-2 under Marty. Norv came in and it has been backtracking every year. If Norv had stayed, or continued his years here, fans would have screamed just as loud for his ouster, and cursed Snyder for keeping him.
Norv is an OC, a good one. Not a HC, not at all, not a good one.

I'm too young to know a pre-Snyder Redskins team...all I can say is, screw Snyder

You really missed out on a great time, with a great character owner, who enjoyed the fans and did the best he could for the team. This is why everyone is so upset!

Because we were once such a proud franchise and now we are at the bottom of the mountain, remembering how it used to be. And really don't see it getting any better.

F Norv Turner. F his inability to keep a locker room in check. F his 0-7 start. F his blown 7-1 start. F him

Wow. I knew you were not a big fan of Norv "someone beat my face with a baseball cleat" Turner. Didn't know you had so much suppressed rage for the man.

Not that there is anything wrong with that!

Wow. I knew you were not a big fan of Norv "someone beat my face with a baseball cleat" Turner. Didn't know you had so much suppressed rage for the man.

Not that there is anything wrong with that!

LOL. I think he's a great guy but he blows as a head coach. And sometimes you just have to be blunt