Dan Snyder: WP: Formula for Success Article

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by TheMalcolmConnection

Do you really think it's him or the market he's in? Around 2000, you could say that, but here we are again, rehashing past sins that are more than a decade old. Even the MEDIA that vilified him during those same years has said he truly has taken a back seat approach. I can see him saying, "Wow, I'd like player x, but hey, your decision." at the VERY worst.

I think he's taken more of a backseat recently. But he still likes the splash. Wait til March. There will be a spending frenzy, he knows how to keep his customers interested. I do think he likes that RG3 is over saturated. Nothing wrong with it if you can put a winning product on the field.

[skinsfan69]

Originally Posted by SolidSnake84

So if teams don't get rich from jerseys or merchandise, then how do our redskins stay so profitable? I understand winning puts asses in the seats, which lead to the real money. But the redskins aren't consistent winners, have never been remotely close to a superbowl under Snyder, but we are still one of the top "selling" teams in the NFL.

Honest question here - not trying to be a wise ass. I assumed always that part of what made the Redskins such a "rich" team was that they had all of their seats sold out year after year, was top selling in merchandise, jerseys, etc...

If winning is the major revenue stream, then how are the skins not in trouble financially unless they make just enough from merchandise to keep afloat....

Winning is not a revenue stream. Winning is good for business but not in this town. The major revenue comes from tv. Then it's all the other stuff....jerseys, hot dogs, beer, parking, naming rights, corporate sponsors and corporate boxes. That's why this team is so valuable. A lot of big dollars in DC that want to attach themselves to the team. All that is money in Snyders pocket. I would say 60-70 million a year off the top of my head, plus he gets that tv money. A lot of the media here in DC all have either boxes, or many rows of seats reserved for clients. That's one of the reasons why Fed Ex sucks. Too corporate with people that are not even true Redskin fans that are not from DC. I believe the NFL was trying get the top revenue teams to share their gate money. But it's that operating income that doesn't come from tv, and an owner that is an absolute genius in marketing is the reason the team is worth so much. Now....if he could just get the part right on the field....

[skinsfan69]

I'm also surprised that Snyder has not sold the naming right to Redskin Park.

[saden1]

“The general manager needs to prevent the owner from hiring someone who’s not qualified. And that’s why Vinny is no longer here, to be truthful with you,” Snyder said. “He’s not here because his job was to prevent the owner from hiring a not-qualified coach.”

Wow...I think most of us here could have told him Zorn is not the most qualified coach available. Always shifting blame and culpability while still making the same mistakes (Jay what?) and learning nothing ("new" org structure).... Unbelievable

[FRPLG]

Thanks for the drive by. Good job good effort.

[saden1]

I just read the article...not sure how my post constitutes a drive by. Clearly you don't see or care to see the fact that the Skins have been mismanaged for the past 14 years. I get it, Snyder doesn't offend your sensibility but some of us find him abominable and have the right to articulate our disdain for the man.

[skinsfaninok]

Originally Posted by saden1

I just read the article...not sure how my post constitutes a drive by. Clearly you don't see or care to see the fact that the Skins have been mismanaged for the past 14 years. I get it, Snyder doesn't offend your sensibility but some of us find him abominable and have the right to articulate our disdain for the man.

I think he's probably a nice guy that wants to win, but he sucks ass as an owner, he started out by firing norv who had a winning record while DS was the owner and Damn near took us to a NFC champ game, then he fires marty after an 8-8 season because Marty wanted to be Gm and coach.. he brought in vinny who fucked the team over for years, best move he ever made was Gibbs and Joe is so great he made Dan look good for a few yrs anyway. Finally after hiring MS I believed deep down Dan was going to build a winner in dc again, well that is out of the window... So yes I agree w most of what u r saying, and honestly idk how I feel about next yr because deep down I think we r cursed under Snyder. People clown on Dallas around here but guess what, they are at least always competitive, we just went 5-11, and 3-13 in 2 of our last 3 Years.....

[saden1]

Originally Posted by skinsfaninok

I think he's probably a nice guy that wants to win, but he sucks ass as an owner, he started out by firing norv who had a winning record while DS was the owner and Damn near took us to a NFC champ game, then he fires marty after an 8-8 season because Marty wanted to be Gm and coach.. he brought in vinny who fucked the team over for years, best move he ever made was Gibbs and Joe is so great he made Dan look good for a few yrs anyway. Finally after hiring MS I believed deep down Dan was going to build a winner in dc again, well that is out of the window... So yes I agree w most of what u r saying, and honestly idk how I feel about next yr because deep down I think we r cursed under Snyder. People clown on Dallas around here but guess what, they are at least always competitive, we just went 5-11, and 3-13 in 2 of our last 3 Years.....

I honestly dont give a fck if he is nice or not. I care about results and leadership. For Snyder to say it's the GMs job to prevent the owner from hiring a unqualified HC is mind boggling. With a single statement he shifts resposibilty from him and at the same time redefines the function of a GM to that of a henchman and a babysitter of the owner.

Leadership is hiring someone to be the GM and trusting that person to hire thier own people and taking full responsibility for the teams failure and success and not having to say "a GMs job is to prevent the owner from hiring an unqualified HC." If you look around the league this is the structure emplyed by most franchises.

[SolidSnake84]

Originally Posted by saden1

I honestly dont give a fck if he is nice or not. I care about results and leadership. For Snyder to say it's the GMs job to prevent the owner from hiring a unqualified HC is mind boggling. With a single statement he shifts resposibilty from him and at the same time redefines the function of a GM to that of a henchman and a babysitter of the owner.

Leadership is hiring someone to be the GM and trusting that person to hire thier own people and taking full responsibility for the teams failure and success and not having to say "a GMs job is to prevent the owner from hiring an unqualified HC." If you look around the league this is the structure emplyed by most franchises.

I agree with all of your points above.

But whose to say that Snyder wouldn't play his "owner" card and demand things his way even with a "GM" in place? I think most of the problem is that people in DC might be afraid to tell Dan Snyder the truth. Listening to interviews with Vinny since his firing, almost everybody in the building knew that Zorn wasn't the answer at coach, but nobody had the cojones to tell Dan Snyder. Vinny sort of admits that as he says that he had his reservations, etc.. etc...

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by saden1

I honestly dont give a fck if he is nice or not. I care about results and leadership. For Snyder to say it's the GMs job to prevent the owner from hiring a unqualified HC is mind boggling. With a single statement he shifts resposibilty from him and at the same time redefines the function of a GM to that of a henchman and a babysitter of the owner.

Leadership is hiring someone to be the GM and trusting that person to hire thier own people and taking full responsibility for the teams failure and success and not having to say "a GMs job is to prevent the owner from hiring an unqualified HC." If you look around the league this is the structure emplyed by most franchises.

The bolded part is true as long as we keep in mind that the GM doesn't really hire anyone - Snyder hires everyone, because it is his checkbook.

And if you keep that in mind, you will see that Snyder actually is agreeing with you with the statement of his which you find so offensive.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by saden1

Leadership is hiring someone to be the GM and trusting that person to hire thier own people and taking full responsibility for the teams failure and success and not having to say "a GMs job is to prevent the owner from hiring an unqualified HC." If you look around the league this is the structure emplyed by most franchises.

Leadership can be defined in a lot of ways but I'm not sure that any of them include complete abdication like this. I agree he hasn't shown to be very good but he just got finished with allowing someone to act in this manner and it didn't work. Seems to me his only obvious failing at this point is that he sucks at hiring the right people.

[Buffalo Bob]

Originally Posted by skinsfan69

One thing I've learned about having my own business is business owners, no matter how big or small, want to be involved in what's going on. I haven't met one that's truly hands off. Snyder is no different. He's a very successful business man who made his money on his own. I think his commercialization of the Redskins does get in the way of him building a winner. He always wants the quick fix that's going to make the headlines. There's a certain pattern under his ownership....trade draft picks, sign free agents, stay in the news, sell jerseys, win the off season. What has it gotten him? A lot of losing. At best a 10 win season ... and one of those was really a team Casserly put together.

The difference is your average business owner starts or buys a business where he or she possesses some or complete knowledge of how the business needs to function. A person buying an NFL team is going in 100% blind. The successful owners have been the ones lucky enough to hire the right people and step back. With the new slotted salaries for rookies teams that have the best drafts are going to be at a big advantage, talent scouts are going to be as important as the coaching staff. Plugging holes with high priced free agents will be a road to ruin.

[HailGreen28]

Originally Posted by Lotus

The bolded part is true as long as we keep in mind that the GM doesn't really hire anyone - Snyder hires everyone, because it is his checkbook.

And if you keep that in mind, you will see that Snyder actually is agreeing with you with the statement of his which you find so offensive.

Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

[Lotus]

Originally Posted by HailGreen28

Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

That will never happen as long as arguments like yours are made. In your post you used past actions to project ideas about current behavior. You'll still be able to do that in 200 years.

If you think Snyder is meddling NOW (not in the past), show your evidence. If you have no evidence, then speculation is pointless.

[CRedskinsRule]

Originally Posted by HailGreen28

Snyder's past actions speak louder than his words now.

The same mantra "Snyder's stepped back" and "Finally the scouts will be listened to" were said back in the Gibbs 2.0 era. Now we know Snyder was involved, just not as much as before. We heard the mantra again when Shanny was hired. I doubt the rumor Shanny or whoever put out about Snyder getting involved with the team was entirely untrue.

With the Tusker/Gruden/Tampa connections, these latest hires seem to have Allen's fingerprints all over them, but who knows. Snyder doesn't deserve the benefit of a doubt anymore, IMO. When we have a coaching tenure that ends without rumors afterwards that Snyder didn't meddle, then yeah I'll believe Snyder's changed.

The problem with this argument, along with Lotus' note, is that an easy out for a failed coach in DC is to tell a few receptive media friends that Snyder meddled on decisions x, y, and z. An owner, every owner, will have some decisions that they just think are important enough to weigh in on. That doesn't mean that the coach's tenure was marred by intrusive ownership.

I think everyone knows that Snyder was way too involved early on. No sane person disputes that. But he has made significant moves, with mixed results, that reflect a man moving away from the daily decisions. And as you pointed out, this staff absolutely looks like an Allen staff.

The final note, is just because Snyder is not meddling, doesn't by definition mean that those in charge are the right people. We hope they are, but ultimately only time will tell.