Jan 6

Jan 6 Can Dan Snyder Make Change?

The Washington Redskins Are Going Through A Makeover. But They’ve Been Here Before And It Never Went Deep Enough.

One thing we know that Washington Redskins Team Owner Dan Snyder understands: scared money don’t make money.

And Mr. Snyder has always brought quality ball players to town. He brought Donovan McNabb (2010) and Bruce Smith (2001) and Adrian Peterson (2018) for example. True, they were all a bit past their prime but the organization also smartly brought in younger stars-to-be at times. Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III came on board – and again, Snyder put up the big dollars ($21 million). The problem there is that the Skins rarely properly keep and nurture their bright stars. They go elsewhere and do much better. Currently, RG III and Kirk Cousins are on playoff teams in other cities.

In 1999, Dan Snyder bought the NFL's Washington Redskins for $800 million. And since Snyder became owner, the Redskins' annual revenue increased from more than $100 million a year (when Snyder took over the team in 1999) to around $245 million per year now.

FORBES gives the Redskins a valuation of $3.4 billion in 2019. They rank 7th among all NFL teams (of course with the Dallas Cowboys at #1 with a valuation of $5.5 billion). Not bad being in the top ten in a field of 32 teams.

The problem is, the Redskins don’t know how to win. And this year’s 3-13 record is rock bottom. Snyder can’t continue to field a losing squad and demand that fans pay to watch it.

So now, with the fans catching on that the problem doesn’t reside with the talent, there’s finally a call for a complete culture shift within the organization – something non-Redskin fans have observed for years.

Hiring Ron Rivera as head coach is a good start. Rivera knows how to build a locker room and lead. He knows today’s football (he won the NFC South three consecutive years) and won’t get nostalgic for ‘how they did it back when the Diesel played.’ (No disrespect to Riggins, one of the greatest to ever strap on a helmet nor to the honored Coach Joe Gibbs.) It’s a new millennium and the game is played differently now.

Rivera, whose last contract with the Carolina Panthers put him at $13 million, didn’t come to the nation’s capital to repeat a 3-13 season. Undoubtedly, his new five-year contract includes terms that will give him some autonomy and decision making authority.

But will it be enough? It’s tough to be convinced that it will.

First, the Washington Redskins organization seems cemented in cultural traditions that are holding them back today. True, the Redskins are a storied franchise with a rich legacy worthy of football lore. But the Skins were also the last team in the NFL to integrate (Bobby Mitchell, 1961) and there is a quiet but real ‘way of things’ that has loomed through the organization as if part of the team’s DNA. That’s tough ice to break. Second, coaches set the tone, develop the strategies and playbooks but they don’t lead on the field. That takes team chemistry, character and leadership that comes from the players themselves. Rivera can’t force this. It will take a couple of years for the team to mature and trust – and identify leaders – the field generals that people will follow between whistles. And Washington will need to modify its style of play so that it does more than keep up with competitors but set the pace. In order to do that, they’ll have to be willing to do more than hire good people. They will need to let good people do different things to reach for greatness.

We’ll see.