The Burgundy Revolution claimed its first victory. Now, can the Washington Redskins prosper in the second coming of the Over The Hill Gang?
Redskins owner Dan Snyder sacrificed his friend and henchman Vinny Cerrato on Thursday. The grieving process lasted only two hours before announcing Bruce Allen will run the front office, complete with general manager title.
If nothing else, Snyder is the merchant of hope. He didn’t even wait until the offseason this time to re-energize supporters who were dwindling faster than the president’s approval rating.
Cerrato was fed to the fans, though his poor effort certainly warranted dismissal years ago. Cerrato just lost the best job he’ll ever have, much to Redskins’ fan glee. You’ll probably see him on ESPN soon.
If you saw people running down Main Street wishing everyone a Merry Christmas, they were Jimmy Stewart-Redskins fans.
Allen is a piece of Camelot — one of the gold surnames of Redskins history. George Allen was the middle man of the franchise’s 1971-77 resurgence between Vince Lombardi’s one-season 1969 revival and Joe Gibbs’ three titles afterward.
George Allen created the Cowboys rivalry. He returned the Redskins to the playoffs. Made a Super Bowl. Turned Billy-Sonny into the best tandem in team history. It was really the start of a great 20-year run.
Now his son gets his chance as Snyder’s top aide. Allen took the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl, but stumbled with Tampa Bay. He’s known as a good salary cap cruncher and contract negotiator, but not tops in player acquisition.
That’s OK, Snyder has that covered. Well, the next coach may have something to say on players and that’s looking very much like Mike Shanahan. The two-time Super Bowl champion coach seemed unlikely to choose Washington over potential Dallas and Houston jobs until Allen’s arrival suddenly resolves a toxic front office.
Shanahan could work in peace. So would Snyder. Allen will take the bullets for them.
Then again, Jim Zorn was the real winner in the front office shakeup, if only for three weeks. Cerrato was sure to fire Zorn. Allen says he’ll give Zorn a look, and surely will. But if Zorn finishes strong, will Allen trump Snyder’s desire for more change?
“Maybe he’ll like what he sees,” said Zorn, who for the first time uttered the phrase “save my job.” “I know Bruce will be working very hard to see the climate.”
Wouldn’t that be something, for Allen to keep Zorn? It wouldn’t be the craziest thing to happen around Redskins Park over the years.
“There are going to be a lot of changes around here,” said running back Rock Cartwright.
Exactly what Redskins fans are hoping to gain. Who knows – maybe the St. Louis Rams have some players they want to trade.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
