(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Clearly, something is wrong with the Washington Redskins. They just lost to the Chiefs to give Kansas City only its third win in 31 games. In six straight games against winless teams to start the season, they've struggled to a 2-4 record. The only two wins were by two points and three points against St. Louis and Tampa Bay, respectively. Nowhere near awe-inspiring numbers.
So what is ailing the 'Skins? Unsurprisingly, a lot of things. From the top down and the bottom up, it seems almost everything that could've gone wrong has.
You can call me Dr. Football; I have my stethoscope out. After a thorough check-up, here are the ten biggest problems, in order of importance, and my prescription to solve them.
1. Terrible team management and vision
Symptoms: Silly personnel decisions, poor analysis of talent and player value, no discernable plan or internal development.
Cure: Fire Vinny Cerrato, hire a thick-skinned general manager who won't listen to Daniel Snyder.
Second opinion: Fire Vinny Cerrato, hire a seasoned coach-GM like Bill Cowher.
Prognosis: The root of all of the Redskin's problems is poor decision-making by owner Daniel Snyder. To Snyder's merit, he'll spend top dollar for who he believes is the best man for a job. To Snyder's malignment, he rarely chooses the right guy.
The Redskins need a man with a plan. Snyder's solution seems usually to go for the biggest name. For coaching and administration, he'll sometimes go after whoever will let him make all the big personnel decisions.
Vinny Cerrato is a partner-in-crime with Snyder. He needs to go. Snyder will be around for awhile, but he needs to realize, after a decade of aimless ownership on the football field, that there are others better-suited to make football decisions.
It's time for Snyder to completely, 100% relinquish general management duties. Get someone known for building franchises, like one of the Polians , as Michael Wilbon suggests. Get the best, wisest, bravest man—definitely not the one who will bow to Snyder. Snyder should offer whoever is the right man for the job as big a paycheck as that person needs to become fully committed to Washington, even if it's $30+ million. Then, give him a blank check to run the team from a personnel perspective, no questions asked.
Allow him to develop his own plan, hire whatever scouts and talent evaluators he wants, and let him go to work. Snyder can focus his energies on promoting the team—as he's done a stellar job with thus far—and keeping coaches and players happy.
Once that happens—and not before—the Redskins will begin to expunge the toxins ruining their team. The stupid contracts, from the Jason Taylor tragedy to the grossly excessive pay hike DeAngelo Hall received just this summer, will expire and the high value talent will start building up. The rest of the teams' symptoms will gradually disappear.
2. Little chemistry
Symptoms: Lethargic play, sloppy mistakes, inability to achieve momentum, little team improvement.
Cure: Bring in a more experienced, motivating coach.
Supplement: Clear out the excess of nebulous assistant coaches.
Prognosis: I really, really like Jim Zorn. He's low key in all the right ways, which serves as a nice antidote to Snyder as the identity of the franchise. He's humble but has a quiet streak of confidence. He's smart and open-minded and has faith in his players.
He's not what the Redskins need right now, though. The Redskins are not established and talented enough to have a green, Zorn-type coach right now. They need a coach with an already determined identity in the NFL. Someone who knows exactly what his way to run the system is; Zorn is not that. Zorn is a trial-by-fire, living-on-a-prayer coach.
Some day, Zorn could be a good or even great NFL coach. Right now, he's not the right person for the Redskins. The ownership probably decided this a couple weeks into the season, and have already taken playcalling duties from Zorn .
I think Zorn's humility and player-driven attitude works great when the team is clicking, but fails to hold up in tough times. Once the players start getting down on themselves, it becomes hard for Zorn or anyone to pick them back up. A hardened coach like a Gruden is the better option when rebuilding is on the line.
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