The Tempered Expectations Thread

Do you see him having any say in personnel decisions anymore?

I'm sure he'll give his opinions. But he will, as he has much much more often than not the past several years, defer the final decision.

My fear w/the new regime is that it is too similar in personel philosophy to the old one. I'm speaking about Shanny more so than Allen. In denver, they spent a lot of $ & brought in older players just like Synderatto has here.

I hope that there isn't a 'group think' environment where all the decision makers agree. That could lead to some more of the past. I'm encouraged that Shanny said he wants to be challenged by his scouts. And he & Allen's time away from the game has hopefully given them time to reflect and refresh; making them wiser & more methodical. This team needs a methodical, calculated, disciplined & rational approach to the future.

Even under Gibbs there was a belief that they were just a couple players away from a SB. That approach was often true in Gibbs heyday w/no cap or free agency when rosters were very stable year to year. In the cap era that approach doesn't work for a no. of reasons.

Bottom line; I need to be convinced that this team will build through the draft & not squander picks, I don't care who is running the team. Vinny gave this lip service, yet this year we are w/out a 6th round pick & last year were w/out a 2nd round pick, all for a guy that's back w/the team he left us for.

As for Snyder's involvement, I think some people have a really naive expectation of how involved he should be. The guy is the owner of the team. He's not some dude from Kentucky posting on a message board about the Redskins. I think people expect him to be as involved with the team as any of us.

Snyder shouldn't have any involvment in determining the makeup of our roster. He also shouldn't have close personal relationships with any of the players. The point at which either of those statements is no longer true is the point that this team will start spiraling downhill (again).

I can't listen to the audio but this is from the transcript



No mention of any sort of mediating, and he only mentions Allen. Reid may have asked about it, but MS doesn't specifically address that aspect.

The part you bolded did not completely reflect that question that was asked. redskins.com made sure of that.The question clearly mentioned cooke as a mediator. i'll see if i can find a complete transcript with the reporters questions.

Snyder shouldn't have any involvment in determining the makeup of our roster. He also shouldn't have close personal relationships with any of the players. The point at which either of those statements is no longer true is the point that this team will start spiraling downhill (again).

We'll agree to disagree

We'll agree to disagree

Why should Snyder have involvement in determining the roster? If Snyder wants Chad Ochocinco, should he make Shanahan and Allen go out and get him? That's exactly the sort of behavior that has turned our franchise into a laughing stock.

Lol, I was thinking the same thing. I just read her article and was thinking how miserable it must be to be her and look at everything through crap covered glasses.

This is where I see this hire as different from any other one in the past:

-Schottenheimer had stated 3 weeks prior to his hiring that he could never work for someone like Snyder. He was at the point where his legacy as a coach was still very much in question and it seemed (and was noted by Peter King at the time) almost like a money grab. Snyder made him the highest paid coach in the league and he came in trying to make it all about Marty. I remember George Michael a few months back saying that on the 1st day of camp he knew it wasn't going to work. Marty rubbed everyone the wrong way and there was no buffer (more on that in a minute) so the ego clash was immediate and brutal. He took the dictatorial role too seriously (alarms on the doors at camp?) and lost the team. Sure he got them back but it was too late in Dan's eyes.

-Spurrier and Shanahan have no comparison. Little did we know how vastly underprepared Spurrier was to being an NFL coach.

-Gibbs, for as much as we love him around these parts, was also vastly unprepared to be an NFL coach in the 2000's when he was hired. He was away from the game for too long, didn't surround himself with contemporary coaches and it took him a while to get his sea legs. Let's not forget the influence of Vincenzo Ceratto either.

-Zorn, see Spurrier.

With Shanahan, we're getting one of the most respected and accomplished coaches active in the league today, active being a key word!! Although he was out of the league he was never away from the league. He's probably more prepared now than he was while he was coaching because he could focus on 32 teams each week rather than 2. In addition he brings with him one of the hot young coordinators (as opposed to Jack Burns) to run the offense. He's got the buffer in Bruce Allen that Marty lacked. He's not coaching to establish a legacy, he's trying to extend a legacy so rather than overcompensating for past failures (like Marty), he's going to be able to build on what's worked in the past. He also brings the immediate respect of players (unlike Spurrier and Zorn) who have to prove everything to him instead of vice versa.

I think it's going to be a process to turn us into winners but I am assured that it will happen. I don't expect a 10 or 11 win season next year but wouldn't be shocked by it either. For the first time in nearly 20 years we can unequivocally say we've got the best coach in the division, now it's time to get the tools for him to go to work!


This is a great post and basically what I was thinking as well. shanny has the best oportunity to succeded out of the past coaches.


Here is one thought I have kicked around though.

Would you take Shanahan or Josh McDaniels as your coach? Denver choose JM.

The part you bolded did not completely reflect that question that was asked. redskins.com made sure of that.The question clearly mentioned cooke as a mediator. i'll see if i can find a complete transcript with the reporters questions.

I don't doubt it was asked, I was just saying Shanahan didn't mention Snyder being involved. I don't think that part was left off intentionally, the questions were clearly paraphrased.

I don't doubt it was asked, I was just saying Shanahan didn't mention Snyder being involved. I don't think that part was left off intentionally, the questions were clearly paraphrased.

I'm listening to the presser again and will repost verbatim.

Q: "the organization structure you talked about between you and bruce sounded a little bit like what joe gibbs had with bobby bethard and jack kent cooke offering a thought here and there, are there similiarities in that bobby and joe had some good arm wrestling matches with jack arbitrating?

A: "I would say thats a good comparison right there..." Then Shanahan goes on to ramble on about talking with Joe Bugel back in the 1980s. He completely side-stepped the most important part of the question. He eventually got back to part of the original question, saying that Bruce is the best guy at what he does and that he wants to get the best players, coaches etc. possible.

Why should Snyder have involvement in determining the roster? If Snyder wants Chad Ochocinco, should he make Shanahan and Allen go out and get him? That's exactly the sort of behavior that has turned our franchise into a laughing stock.

What if he simply asks MS or Allen about getting Ocho. I don't think he has "made someone" go out and get a player, but I could be wrong. I don't see why he can't discuss things, as long as Allen/MS are not intimidated into "ds wants we go get thinking" which is what VC too often was accused of, and closer to the problem. I think DS can come and discuss anything, and BA/MS will simply listen respectfully and make the decision they think is best. It wouldn't shock me if once in a while, DS even made valuable suggestions that they decide to use.