Dan Snyder: WP: Formula for Success Article

Leadership is hiring someone to be the GM and trusting that person to hire thier own people and taking full responsibility for the teams failure and success and not having to say "a GMs job is to prevent the owner from hiring an unqualified HC." If you look around the league this is the structure emplyed by most franchises.

Leadership can be defined in a lot of ways but I'm not sure that any of them include complete abdication like this. I agree he hasn't shown to be very good but he just got finished with allowing someone to act in this manner and it didn't work. Seems to me his only obvious failing at this point is that he sucks at hiring the right people.

One thing I've learned about having my own business is business owners, no matter how big or small, want to be involved in what's going on. I haven't met one that's truly hands off. Snyder is no different. He's a very successful business man who made his money on his own. I think his commercialization of the Redskins does get in the way of him building a winner. He always wants the quick fix that's going to make the headlines. There's a certain pattern under his ownership....trade draft picks, sign free agents, stay in the news, sell jerseys, win the off season. What has it gotten him? A lot of losing. At best a 10 win season ... and one of those was really a team Casserly put together.

The difference is your average business owner starts or buys a business where he or she possesses some or complete knowledge of how the business needs to function. A person buying an NFL team is going in 100% blind. The successful owners have been the ones lucky enough to hire the right people and step back. With the new slotted salaries for rookies teams that have the best drafts are going to be at a big advantage, talent scouts are going to be as important as the coaching staff. Plugging holes with high priced free agents will be a road to ruin.

The bolded part is true as long as we keep in mind that the GM doesn't really hire anyone - Snyder hires everyone, because it is his checkbook.

And if you keep that in mind, you will see that Snyder actually is agreeing with you with the statement of his which you find so offensive.Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

That will never happen as long as arguments like yours are made. In your post you used past actions to project ideas about current behavior. You'll still be able to do that in 200 years.

If you think Snyder is meddling NOW (not in the past), show your evidence. If you have no evidence, then speculation is pointless.

Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

The problem with this argument, along with Lotus' note, is that an easy out for a failed coach in DC is to tell a few receptive media friends that Snyder meddled on decisions x, y, and z. An owner, every owner, will have some decisions that they just think are important enough to weigh in on. That doesn't mean that the coach's tenure was marred by intrusive ownership.

I think everyone knows that Snyder was way too involved early on. No sane person disputes that. But he has made significant moves, with mixed results, that reflect a man moving away from the daily decisions. And as you pointed out, this staff absolutely looks like an Allen staff.

The final note, is just because Snyder is not meddling, doesn't by definition mean that those in charge are the right people. We hope they are, but ultimately only time will tell.

The difference is your average business owner starts or buys a business where he or she possesses some or complete knowledge of how the business needs to function. A person buying an NFL team is going in 100% blind. The successful owners have been the ones lucky enough to hire the right people and step back. With the new slotted salaries for rookies teams that have the best drafts are going to be at a big advantage, talent scouts are going to be as important as the coaching staff. Plugging holes with high priced free agents will be a road to ruin.

This is a great way to put it. Excellent post.

I cringe everytime i hear commercials touting a place as being successful because it's been around a long time. That does not define success. Nothing is farther from the truth. An owner with deep pockets, etc., a place can survive generations and still be bleeding out cash year by year.

Snyder isn't going broke anytime soon. There's nothing stopping him from ruining the skins to beyond repair in that time. He has, whether knowingly or not, cultivated a poisonous atmosphere that is in no way conducive to success. Lots of folks, myself included, feel that the team will never have a fair chance until Snyder is gone and somebody competent owns the team. A successful organization, which is NOT the same thing as being around for a long time, has became successful because the person in charge knows about the business and knows what it takes to succeed.

99% of your huge companies out there right now have owners in place that are hands off. they know next to nothing about how to run the company because thats why they have auditors and professional staff. I hate to cite reality TV, but if Undercover boss has shown me anything, most of the owners really don't have a freaking clue about day to day operation. For the most part they are good people that just want to do the right thing, but really have no knowledge about their product or the procedure behind any given thing that is done or why.....

The other 1% or small businesses where the owner puts in lots of work, runs the whole company, etc....

That will never happen as long as arguments like yours are made. In your post you used past actions to project ideas about current behavior. You'll still be able to do that in 200 years.

If you think Snyder is meddling NOW (not in the past), show your evidence. If you have no evidence, then speculation is pointless.How about you show evidence that Snyder's changed? I gave you one bit. I don't think it and other signs Snyder's changed outweigh the meddling Snyder's done for over a decade. Turner, Schottenheimer, Gibbs, Zorn, Shanahan.... How many coaching regimes do we have to go through before the burden of proof is on those who argue "Snyder's changed" this time?

How about you show evidence that Snyder's changed? I gave you one bit. I don't think it and other signs Snyder's changed outweigh the meddling Snyder's done for over a decade. Turner, Schottenheimer, Gibbs, Zorn, Shanahan.... How many coaching regimes do we have to go through before the burden of proof is on those who argue "Snyder's changed" this time?

I think you see a very specific pattern in all of Snyder's time, barring Turner/Schottenheimer where he was the meddler from hell. Since Gibbs, Snyder has significantly changed, but his model is, I find one guy I trust, and then "suggest" what I want to do. Depending on the backbone of the guy he trusts depends on the level of meddling.

With Gibbs, most accounts are that while he involved himself with the players personally, football decisions were entrusted to Gibbs but Gibbs believed in a strong owner so Snyder could "meddle" some.

Cerrato, the leach was always there, and when Gibbs left Cerrato became the trusted guy. Cerrato was and I think is a spineless no nothing who pushed his agenda ahead of the best for football. And Cerrato's bad decisions gave Snyder impetus to push and be overly involved.

Shanallen, I think we finally start to see some level of backing away, where mainly Shanahan but also Allen could push ideas without direct interference. Maybe once in a while on a handful of decisions over 4 years Snyder personally intervened, but percentage wise, and over the vast numbers of decisions, where to have training camp, when Griffin played this season, who the assistant coaches were, etc etc, we didn't see Snyders hand like we did under Cerrato, and certainly not like with Turner/Schottenheimer.

Now we have Allen. Snyder absolutely trusts Allen. I hope it's trust well placed, but clearly, no move so far can be pointed to as a Snyder override of Allen's grand plan.

And SS84, way to be overly dramatic about Snyder "ruining the Skins beyond repair". I think they sell a Skins Repair kit in WalMart (aisle 5).

I think you see a very specific pattern in all of Snyder's time, barring Turner/Schottenheimer where he was the meddler from hell. Since Gibbs, Snyder has significantly changed, but his model is, I find one guy I trust, and then "suggest" what I want to do. Depending on the backbone of the guy he trusts depends on the level of meddling.

With Gibbs, most accounts are that while he involved himself with the players personally, football decisions were entrusted to Gibbs but Gibbs believed in a strong owner so Snyder could "meddle" some.

Cerrato, the leach was always there, and when Gibbs left Cerrato became the trusted guy. Cerrato was and I think is a spineless no nothing who pushed his agenda ahead of the best for football. And Cerrato's bad decisions gave Snyder impetus to push and be overly involved.

Shanallen, I think we finally start to see some level of backing away, where mainly Shanahan but also Allen could push ideas without direct interference. Maybe once in a while on a handful of decisions over 4 years Snyder personally intervened, but percentage wise, and over the vast numbers of decisions, where to have training camp, when Griffin played this season, who the assistant coaches were, etc etc, we didn't see Snyders hand like we did under Cerrato, and certainly not like with Turner/Schottenheimer.

Now we have Allen. Snyder absolutely trusts Allen. I hope it's trust well placed, but clearly, no move so far can be pointed to as a Snyder override of Allen's grand plan.

And SS84, way to be overly dramatic about Snyder "ruining the Skins beyond repair". I think they sell a Skins Repair kit in WalMart (aisle 5).Yeah, and I really wish I could convey tone better in a message post. Lotus, nothing against you, and ultimately I wish you were right. CRR, your speculation matches mine, I don't know if my agreeing is a good sign, lol.

Snyder's going to own the team for at least a couple more decades, I fear. Maybe he'll "get it" eventually. I believe even being a stereotypical "hands off" owner takes managerial skill dealing with the people at the top of the organization, even if he doesn't meddle in football matters, so I'm not saying Snyder's job would be easy if he were to be the owner we all wish he would be.

It's just I've heard that Snyder's changed, too many times. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Maybe we'll hear from enough people, once they're out of the organization for good, that Snyder really has stayed out of football matters. Or we'll start winning again in which case it's all good. Winning does "solve" everything.

HTTR

How about you show evidence that Snyder's changed? I gave you one bit. I don't think it and other signs Snyder's changed outweigh the meddling Snyder's done for over a decade. Turner, Schottenheimer, Gibbs, Zorn, Shanahan.... How many coaching regimes do we have to go through before the burden of proof is on those who argue "Snyder's changed" this time?

I didn't argue that Snyder has changed. I said that your argument is essentially circular, as it assumes what it is trying to prove, and hence is fallacious.

Snyder meddled under Shanahan? Prove it. I have seen zero evidence for this which is not just Shanahan crapping on everyone on the way out the door. Offer real evidence that is indisputably not just Shanahan spin.

You can talk about the past all you want. But until you offer evidence from the present, which you have not done despite a call for it, you are engaging in pointless rumor-mongering.