Dan Snyder celebrated his 10th anniversary of gaining control of the Washington Redskins recently. My how money flies even when not having fun.
Let’s take stock of what the Decade of Dan has brought the Redskins since Snyder was approved by NFL owners on June 10, 1999. For more than $1 billion in payroll, the Redskins have managed:
» Six coaches. Bet you can’t name them all. Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn are easy. Did you remember Terry Robiskie finishing 1-2 in 2000? It would have been Pepper Rodgers had the staff not balked.
» Three general managers/vice presidents. Charley Casserly lasted a week. Joe Mendes gutted out two years. Vinny Cerrato was fired and rehired.
» More than 300 employees departed, including seven public relations directors. Most were fired, laid off or ran out screaming down to the secretaries, guards and groundskeepers.
» Three playoff appearances. Two by Gibbs, both requiring miracle finishes.
» Two postseason wins. Both first-rounders.
» One NFC East title. It was Snyder’s first season so he simply inherited the crown after not officially becoming owner until the week before training camp. The bottom line — Snyder couldn’t mess it up.
» Deion Sanders, Jeff George, Bruce Smith, Albert Haynesworth, Shawn Springs, Adam Archuleta, Jason Taylor, Brandon Lloyd — Snyder shopped at Versace, as Deion said. Too bad most of them were bigger busts than Dolly Parton.
Then there have been plenty of memorable moments.
» Charging fans $10 to watch training camp, including a pair of late-night lovers in the stands and scouts of pro teams whose reports might have been a partial reason for the 0-5 start. The fee lasted one year. It was a nice camp, though. Best stands I ever saw along with the NFL Experience.
» Several messy encounters with fellow NFL owners. Asking Detroit owner William Ford his name and business. Sending Baltimore owner Art Modell a bill for lunch at the game while parking the team busses at the far end of the stadium lots. Telling Baltimore owner Steve Bisciotti to call him “Mr. Snyder.”
» Booed by fans during halftime when venturing on the field during a ceremony to honor past players.
Let’s just say it has been rarely boring under Snyder, but also seldom successful. Maybe the next decade will be kinder.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
