Fixing the mess in Washington

Strange how that title could evoke other images, but this time we’re talking about the Redskins. On April 21, we at the National Football Post ranked the various NFL organizations and put the Redskins at No. 24. This season is quickly turning Washington into an Oakland-like morass, where no credible coach or front office leader will be willing to work, and where the Redskins may be headed for a long stay in the bottom slot. Poor personnel evaluation, poor coaching choices and poor leadership have combined to create a vortex that threatens to suck under this once-proud franchise. At the time, we said of the owner: “Nobody makes money in the NFL like Daniel Snyder.”

We also wrote, “Money is the root of the problem with Snyder and the Redskins. But for all his success with the business aspects of the franchise, Snyder has never used a solution other than money to solve problems facing his team. He proves that there are problems that can’t be solved by money alone, and there are those that genuinely require brain power, human capital and strategic thinking.”

APDaniel Snyder has yet to realize that just spending money doesn't equate to success.

So Washington fans hoping for a quick fix supported by the millions of dollars the franchise generates annually should think again. As a professor, the fact that the Redskins prove that money alone can’t solve certain problems is a tremendous case study on the importance of leadership. As a human being, you can’t feel much else except sympathy for head coach Jim Zorn, trying to make sense out of an impossibly flawed construct which he cannot change or control. Washington needs new leadership and time to figure out what kind of franchise it will be. Snyder doesn’t need to sell the team, but he needs to take a step back and revamp his organization. He needs to strengthen his front office. He needs to find human capital -- brain power -- capable of developing a plan and following it. The coming uncapped year will offer great temptation to try to spend out of the hole that’s been dug, and that would be an even greater mistake since it would mortgage a bad present for an even worse future. Imagine, if you will, the New York Knicks.

Is there a formula out there for Washington to follow? No, but there are many clear paths. The first maxim is simple: If you’re in a hole, stop digging. That has been what Washington and Snyder haven’t done. They dig, each time making the hole deeper. It’s interesting that the teams ranked just above and just below Snyder and the ‘Skins are flourishing because they have shored up organizational weaknesses. Arthur Blank and the Atlanta Falcons were jilted by Bobby Petrino, teased by Bill Parcells and finally parted ways with Michael Vick and now have the ship pointed in the right direction. Tom Benson and the Saints fixed an organizational imbalance and now have a defense to match their offense and are undefeated, courtesy of defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, whom Snyder who cut loose.

Neither team makes the money Washington does, but sometimes money can be at the root of the problem and not at all a part of the solution.

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