The answer to the Washington Redskins front office woes is right in front of their face: The NFL Network — channel 154 or 212 on your dish. Former Tennessee Titans general manager Floyd Reese is available after losing a power struggle with coach Jeff Fisher. In 13 years, Reese drafted more playmakers than the Redskins braintrust will find in a century.
Reese is analyzing the draft for the NFL Network, a way station for coaches and execs awaiting their next job. Redskins owner Dan Snyder plucked his best coach off the dial when hiring Marty Schottenheimer in 2001. Now the Redskins have a rare chance to gain a top-notch personnel director.
If the Redskins don’t want to rehire former GM Charley Casserly, that’s fine. Sometimes relationships can’t be rekindled. However, the Redskins need a personnel director far more than they admit — which is one of their problems — and Reese is a standout.
Tennessee won an NFL-best 56 games from 1999-2003 and was just one yard short of possibly winning Super Bowl XXXIV. Nearly half of the players Reese drafted from 1999-2006 finished the season with the team, third only to Cincinnati and Baltimore. Twenty-seven of 43 picks are still on the team.
Last year, 12 of 13 draft picks made the Titans. The Redskins have barely seen a dozen draft picks make the team over the past decade. And at the rate they trade picks away, that’s a good half-decade of choices.
Reese overruled Fisher to draft quarterback Vince Young instead of Matt Leinart. Who’s better needs a few more seasons to decide, but Young was a great rookie.
Free agency? Tennessee safety Chris Hope, center Kevin Mawae and linebacker David Thornton were sharp 2006 signings. The Redskins? For every decent player they overpaid, two more failed.
The Redskins always win the offseason headline chase, but it’s time to find the right GM to set up the real victories in the fall. Not many superb personnel men come available. Let Washington be the benefactor of someone else’s stupidity for once.
Snyder seems tiring of his football toy. With the purchase of the Johnny Rockets restaurant chain (Does this make him Dan “Rocket Man” Snyder?) along with the Six Flags theme parks, the owner has other agendas. He didn’t even raise ticket prices for once after a 5-11 season. Oh thank you, gracious one. I bet hamburgers soon jump a buck, though.
If a full-time opening isn’t possible, maybe Snyder can hire Reese as a consultant. You don’t have to pay medical that way.
Free agency starts March 2. The Redskins shouldn’t miss this deadline.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
