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As if we needed more evidence that Washington Redskins‘ Dan Snyder is the worst owner of any professional sports franchise, a report come out Thursday that says that Snyder called head coach Jay Gruden‘s agent, Bob LaMonte, during the 2014 NFL Season to tell him that his client was “stealing money.” It’s amazing to me that Gruden decided to return for the 2015 season after an incident like that, especially since by all accounts, this wasn’t the only friction that existed between the two last season.
The biggest issue that exists between Gruden and Snyder is Robert Griffin III. Gruden knew when he took the job with the Redskins that it would be his job to fix Griffin, and Snyder was dead set on Griffin as the franchise quarterback. According to a source, “Jay was completely at his wits’ end and wanted nothing to do with Robert,” after the first game of the preseason against the New England Patriots. In a normal organization, Gruden would’ve been able to switch to Kirk Cousins or Colt McCoy right then and there, but not with Snyder calling the shots.
Snyder’s massive ego will not let him admit defeat. When the Redskins made the ridiculous deal with the St. Louis Rams in 2012 to move up to draft Griffin, Snyder was as giddy as a schoolboy to finally have found his franchise quarterback. Griffin’s rookie year went swimmingly as the Redskins won the NFC East, and almost beat the Seattle Seahawks in their first playoff game. Head coach Mike Shanahan made the ridiculous call to leave Griffin in the game, despite an obvious knee injury, until Griffin’s knee finally gave way for good, and Griffin hasn’t been the same player since.
It’s obvious to everyone in the world, except Snyder, that Griffin has developed bad habits trying to protect his knee, and that he has trouble protecting himself without the explosiveness that he had prior to the knee injury. There have also been reports that Griffin doesn’t know how many steps he’s supposed to take on his drop-backs. It doesn’t matter, Snyder is blinded by that trade, and he’s trying to force a square peg into a round hole with Griffin.
Another instance of Snyder’s ignorance getting in the way of the Redskins is his refusal to change the team name. If Native Americans find the name offensive and derogatory, then Snyder should at least entertain the idea. Instead, he’s steadfast against removing the name citing its tradition, and at times has even provoked oppositions of the team name.
Aside from all of those issues, Snyder has been terrible about sticking his nose where it doesn’t belong. At least Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones gave himself the title of general manager. Snyder doesn’t care whether it’s the general manager’s job, the head coach’s job, or the strength coach’s job — if he has an opinion on it, that opinion is law. He undermines his staff repeatedly, and it’s amazing that people want to work for such an egotistical jerk.
Snyder has no track record of being successful in the NFL. Since 1999, when Snyder purchased the Redskins, the team has made the playoffs a total of three times, has advanced out of the wild card round once, and has never advanced past the divisional round in the 15 years he’s been in charge. Snyder may be a great businessman, but he doesn’t know a lick about how to win in the NFL.It’s time he left the football side to the actual experts, not some fanboy living out a childhood fantasy.
Jason Fletcher is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JasonFletcher25, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google+.
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