D, maybe D+ for effort. Last year, when I thought he was mostly hands off and deferring to Gibbs, I would have given him a C.
Strengths:
- Wealth, and not afraid to use it to stock the team
- DC-based; unlikely to ever move the team to LA
- Put in elevators to the upper deck of FedEx
- Put in Easy Pass system to speed up concession lines
- Lured Joe Gibbs out of retirement
Needs Improvement
- Not football smart. His flawed concept for building a team is disruptive. Taking short cuts is leading to an unbalanced roster, salary cap disruptions, skirting the salary cap. AS a result, his team is good with manipulating contracts for a few big stars; not good with developing young talent.
- Not an organizational leader. NFL teams are like GE. Snyder runs the Redskins like a 1990s dot com. Dot coms got their value from creative software engineers working in a free wheeling way to create a niche product. They are one hit wonders. One or two stars could make you rich. GE operates for efficiency and effectiveness at every level, and across-the-board leadership. It's not enough to have the best light bulbs, GE wants to make the best jet engines, generators, locomotives, . . . . They want the accounting department to be as efficient as manufacturing. Acting organizationally, they have sustained success. NOT a one hit wonder.
- Snyder proposes a trade for Lance Briggs and THEN he tells Joe Gibbs? Did Snyder talk to Gregg Williams to get an understanding of if and how Williams might use Briggs before hand? Or what the trade offs would be? I doubt it. That's the kind of move Snyder was making in 2001. He said he would stop. (F)
- Flawed vision. Snyder want to win now. Misguided, it might lead to a single Super Bowl and then a break-up of the team. Instead he should target consistent playoff appearances and build the best front office/souting team in the NFL. Then he might have a resilient team that overcomes injury by reloading from the bench, instead of rebuilding after failed seasons. Consistent playoff appearances boost the odds of getting to a Super Bowl. I know the Skins won't win the SB every year. I want a perrienial contender.