Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

PR guy for the Skins.. described as Snyder's "henchman"

[url=http://twitter.com/RickMaese/status/13334693493]Twitter / Rick Maese: Karl Swanson, Redskins' to ...[/url]

apparently we're already interviewing for a replacement.. been offered to a high ranking official from another team

[url=http://twitter.com/RickMaese/status/13334728518]Twitter / Rick Maese: It's believed the Redskins ...[/url]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

An article from last fall about some of his role with the team

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/11/AR2009111120403.html]Karl Swanson's tough job: Public relations guru for Redskins owner Dan Snyder - washingtonpost.com[/url]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Good riddance he's a mega-douche

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

I've been so out of touch with Skins news lately, this is pretty big news.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Mattyk;697883]Good riddance he's a mega-douche[/quote]
If only Donovan could be next.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=SmootSmack;697885]I've been so out of touch with Skins news lately, this is pretty big news.[/quote]
Yeah I was pretty surprised that it hadn't been posted by the time that I found out.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Any relation to the chicken people.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

There is a special circle in hell reserved for guys like Swanson.

Ironic how you get good PR by firing your PR guy...

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Go eff yourself Karl. Not sure I've ever heard a positive thing about the donkey.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

good riddance.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Thanks for nothing, ass-wipe! Don't let the door hit ya were the good lord split ya!

There are a few more up front in the top tier of ticket operations that also have to go. Nice to see some progress on getting some of this waste out.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Mattyk;697883]Good riddance he's a mega-douche[/quote]


What is the skinny on this guy? Why is he such a douche? Being the Skins PR guy under Snyder would be a shitty job with all the dumb acquisitions and firings/hirings every two years of HCs since he has been owner.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Swanson was probably the brains behind suing club level ticket plan holders [I]during a recession.[/I] The lack of people skills starts at the top with Snyder, but the likes of Swanson and Cerrato permeated that poison throughout the organization.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

This whole golf cart is full of douche bags, and the one driving is Swanson.

[IMG]http://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/swansongolfcart.bmp[/IMG]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Not wanting to turn this into a DS bashing thread but he's the one who could've put a stop to all the madness if he just came out and talked for himself every once in a while. Instead he hides like a little baby and had Donavan, Swanson and Cerrato talk for him. One thing I really like about Jerry Jones is even though he holds like 10 titles he never ever hides behind anyone. For someone that is so brillant in the business world, DS sure has 0 people skills, or any clue how to talk with the media.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=skinsfan69;697981]Not wanting to turn this into a DS bashing thread but he's the one who could've put a stop to all the madness if he just came out and talked for himself every once in a while. Instead he hides like a little baby and had Donavan, Swanson and Cerrato talk for him. One thing I really like about Jerry Jones is even though he holds like 10 titles he never ever hides behind anyone. For someone that is so brillant in the business world, DS sure has 0 people skills, or any clue how to talk with the media.[/quote]

Well Snyder tried speaking early on in his ownership, but got blasted for being too involved and too in the media. So he stopped. Plus, contrary to popular belief, Snyder was never the General Manager of the team like Jerry Jones is. More often than not you never hear from the team owner, that doesn't mean they're hiding like a little baby

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

From twitter (pieced together):
# Adam_Schefter


Karl Swanson on his departure from the Redskins: "I'm just tired of Dan getting painted as randomly firing someone.:"I've spent nearly 15 years with the guy and he's had plenty of opportunities to fire me before now. In fact, he's been my biggest supporter as I've taken more and more time away from the office to see if this would all settle out. When I told him today that I needed to tend to family, he was the first to say, Take all the time you want. My decision to pull up stakes. "

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

i honestly have to say that i'm disgusted with the majority of the comments here, calling swanson names and saying he deserves to rot in hell. I have to ask, why? the closest thing i could find to understand the logic behind hating the man so much was that he was "probably" the guy who came up with the idea to sue some of the ticketholders last year. If thats why the majority of you hate the guy, then you need to give the man a break. Swanson was the team's VP of public relations. now, i know this is going to be very hard for some of you, but stop for one second and actually [I]think[/I] about what that job actually entails. PR guys don't make a company's strategic decisions. In my experience, they aren't even consulted when a company is making a strategic decision. Their job is to do "damage control" and put a positive spin on a company's actions when they would otherwise be perceived in a negative light by the media or general public.

In other words, unless Swanson has some other functional title that we arent aware of, he had NOTHING to do with the decision to sue some of the ticketholders last year. While its possible he was consulted before the team increased its emphasis on suing the ticketholders who breached contract (the practice had been established for years), it would only have been in the capacity of determining whether or not he could effectively control any potential media/public fallout. That's it. Swanson may or may not be a good person. I don't know. But he's not even remotely responsible for the perceived evils of the front office.

Reports indicate that his wife's mother is dying of cancer and (likely because his wife is with her mom and swanson's busy at work), his daughter is being shuffled around between friends. the man left because his family's going through a really hard time now. instead of calling him names and wishing evil upon him, maybe you should hope and pray things turn around for him and his family.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

It's no huge secret that he's been a big time jerk to some folks in the media, including us fan sites. I could really care less about the guy. Sucks to hear about his family issues, but you know we've all got our problems.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

RedskinsInsider

RT @RickMaese #Redskins have offered Karl Swanson's senior VP job to Tony Wyllie, top PR guy for Houston Texans the past 10 years.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;698051]RedskinsInsider

RT @RickMaese #Redskins have offered Karl Swanson's senior VP job to Tony Wyllie, top PR guy for Houston Texans the past 10 years.[/quote]

How many former Texans and Tuskers do we now have at Redskins Park?

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Lotus;698058]How many former Texans and Tuskers do we now have at Redskins Park?[/quote]

Don't forget Buccanneers. In fact the only team we don't seem to have raided is the Broncos. Somehow that's got to be a very interesting dynamic

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=BigHairedAristocrat;698019]i honestly have to say that i'm disgusted with the majority of the comments here, calling swanson names and saying he deserves to rot in hell. I have to ask, why? the closest thing i could find to understand the logic behind hating the man so much was that he was "probably" the guy who came up with the idea to sue some of the ticketholders last year. If thats why the majority of you hate the guy, then you need to give the man a break. Swanson was the team's VP of public relations. now, i know this is going to be very hard for some of you, but stop for one second and actually [I]think[/I] about what that job actually entails. PR guys don't make a company's strategic decisions. In my experience, they aren't even consulted when a company is making a strategic decision. Their job is to do "damage control" and put a positive spin on a company's actions when they would otherwise be perceived in a negative light by the media or general public.

In other words, unless Swanson has some other functional title that we arent aware of, he had NOTHING to do with the decision to sue some of the ticketholders last year. While its possible he was consulted before the team increased its emphasis on suing the ticketholders who breached contract (the practice had been established for years), it would only have been in the capacity of determining whether or not he could effectively control any potential media/public fallout. That's it. Swanson may or may not be a good person. I don't know. But he's not even remotely responsible for the perceived evils of the front office.

Reports indicate that his wife's mother is dying of cancer and (likely because his wife is with her mom and swanson's busy at work), his daughter is being shuffled around between friends. the man left because his family's going through a really hard time now. instead of calling him names and wishing evil upon him, maybe you should hope and pray things turn around for him and his family.[/quote]

Guess it would have been ok if we asked if his mom was a prostitute. (Ok, I'll stop)

Karl Swanson's title did not reflect his influence. He's been as close to Snyder as anyone since even before Snyder bought the Redskins. Not to get political, but he was kind of like Karl Rove in many ways, beyond just the common first name. My personal experience with Swanson was that he wasn't such a bad guy on a personal level but professionally he could be quite stubborn and difficult to deal with. He could have been more accommodating in my opinion.

I hope things work out for his family of course.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;698051]RedskinsInsider

RT @RickMaese #Redskins have offered Karl Swanson's senior VP job to Tony Wyllie, top PR guy for Houston Texans the past 10 years.[/quote]

That'd be a great move. Wyllie's got a fantastic reputation with the media

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Lotus;698058]How many former Texans and Tuskers do we now have at Redskins Park?[/quote]

Well we cut former Tusker WR James Robinson yesterday so that freed up a spot for a Texan I guess

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[URL="http://twitter.com/McClain_on_NFL/status/13371327187"]Twitter / John McClain: Tony Wyllie has officially ...[/URL]

Wyllie took the offer

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

From Houston, Wyllie is very well respected--a good pickup.

[url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/fb/texansfront/6989064.html]Texans' Wyllie to become Redskins senior VP | Houston Texans Football | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle[/url]

As for Swanson, the number of PR blunders that went on with him here (suing grandma, getting in a ridiculous pissing contest with the WPost, etc.) says enough for me. What's more, these things matter--the face that the organization presents to the world says something about what kind of franchise we are. Swanson was clearly part of the problem of the last 10 years. This is a very good move. Now lets hope Danny boy will let this guy do his job.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Hopefully the relationship with the Post will improve.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

All the local DC media seem to be loving this pickup of Wyllie

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Mattyk;698225]All the local DC media seem to be loving this pickup of Wyllie[/quote]

Like I said

[url]http://www.thewarpath.net/698071-post24.html[/url]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Wow! Hopefully the Wyllie hire will help get some of this straightened out!

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050403588.html]Redskins threaten to fire cheerleader in dispute with local station[/url]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;698265]Wow! Hopefully the Wyllie hire will help get some of this straightened out!

[URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050403588.html"]Redskins threaten to fire cheerleader in dispute with local station[/URL][/quote]
Yeah, read that earlier, harsh shit. I don't know the specifics in the deal between NBC and the Skins, but it's possible that the Skins could be violating the agreement by allowing the local ABC to cover it. I really don't know though, it's not good either way.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

He deserved to go even before Cerrato because he was doing a lousy job. Judging by the public perception of DS, it was as if he really didn't have a PR guy.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=CRedskinsRule;698265]Wow! Hopefully the Wyllie hire will help get some of this straightened out!

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050403588.html]Redskins threaten to fire cheerleader in dispute with local station[/url][/quote]

That is messed up.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

I was just about to post that...

Exactly the reason so many hate Swanson. He is a douchebag and frankly, is the antithesis of what you what in a PR man. A PR person is supposed to help reflect the organization in a positive light in the media, whereas Swanson has consistently done the opposite.

I feel for his family, but good riddance. Hopefully they'll have someone who actually understands PR at the helm.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Looks like Synder is a better PR man on his own than with Swanson. Can't remember the last time he issued a personal apology as quickly as this.

[url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/04/AR2010050403588.html?hpid=topnews]washingtonpost.com[/url]

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

Yeah that had to be embarrassing to Snyder seeing as how our cheerleaders do the overseas USO visits, we did the Salute Our Troops campaign last year with USO Metro, etc.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

If anyone doubts how much of a douche Swanson was/is, check out his posts on ES under the handle andyman. He regularly took swipes at the media.

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=Mattyk;698450]If anyone doubts how much of a douche Swanson was/is, check out his posts on ES under the handle andyman. He regularly took swipes at the media.[/quote]
lol didn't know he was on there

you could say that towards most of the mods there now too

Re: Karl Swanson leaving the organization
 

[quote=tryfuhl;698454]lol didn't know he was on there

you could say that towards most of the mods there now too[/quote]

He was a big "insider" over there for a while, dropping inside nuggets, blasting the media, etc. It's widely believed that he was indeed posting under andyman. And when you read his posts, it's pretty obvious it's someone on the inside.