Smoke Signals: Christmas comes 8 days early!

Mark ButerbaughDec 17, 2009

Obviously, the big sports news in Washington, D.C. today isn’t that the Wizards managed to lose another close game to a crappy team. The big — make that — BIG NEWS is that Redskins VP Vinny Cerrato, the man who bragged to Marty Schottenheimer that he would undermine him as coach, the man who told the media he had given Jim Zorn a playoff roster this year, has been forced out resigned.

As a parting shot at Zorn, Cerrato pointedly omitted him from the list of “great coaches” he’s worked with over the years in Washington.

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“I’ve had the pleasure of working with some great coaches such as Joe Gibbs, Greg Blache and Sherman Lewis, great people on the Redskins staff, and most especially, some of the best professionall football players in the world,” Cerrato said. “I wish them all the best. I’ve also had the privilege of working for a franchise supported by the most loyal fans in the NFL.”
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TOP NEWS

Okay, it’s true that Jim Zorn is nothing like a great coach, but he’s no worse as a coach than Vinny was as a “GM” and it’s not even clear Cerrato knows what a great coach looks like anyway. Cerrato also didn’t mention Gregg Williams, who was the defensive coordinator on the team from four years, producing 3 top ten defenses along the way. Of course, we know Cerrato and Snyder detested Williams, who they sent packing the first chance they got [20 seconds after Joe Gibbs resigned.]

Jay Glazer is reporting that the Redskins are in talks to hire Bruce Allen to be the new GM. Allen, you may recall, served in the front offices of the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers [let's hope he bears no responsibility for the current state of those teams]. He’s also the son of legendary Redskins head coach George Allen, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If Allen is going to be hired to fill the GM position, the Redskins would have to satisfy the “Rooney Rule” and interview at least one ethnic minority for the job. It’s unknown if that has already happened or if Allen is being pursued for a different position.

Jim Fassel, the coach Snyder wanted to hire in 2007 but didn’t due to a fan/media backlash when his name was leaked, apparently takes no pleasure in the colossal failure the Redskins have become. Earlier this year Fassel coached his UFL team to the league championship. Read it.