What the hell happened?

[MTK]

GW and Saunders leaving really wasn't all that surprising when you think about it.

The good news is a significant portion of the staff is returning including key guys like Bugel, Smith, and Blache.

[WillH]

You know about as much as we do about why they were let go. Suffice it to say that on certain personnel matters DS and GW differed (some have suggested that VC was the main point of contention). As a result, DS decided to look at more candidates then originally planned; during that time GW was getting fed up with being left in the dark, as were all the assistant coaches. Gibbs calmed them all down as best he could, and said the decision would not come until after the Super Bowl. Gibbs also encouraged GW to stay in the race, until GW met with DS and VC and they all decided "mutually" that GW not be considered a candidate.

Since then the OC, DC. and other assistant positions have been filled. This has led to speculation that there is already a candidate in mind, or at least that the candidates they do have in mind seem to have no objections to the assistant coaches hired. Candidates include Jim Fassel, Steve Spagnuolo (sp?), Ron Meeks (recently brought in for 2nd interview), and Steve Mariucci (scheduled for an interview today).

As far as Saunders, it seems that he was going to be fired whether GW was HC or not. Apparently the organization (ie. DS abd VC) was not satisfied with his performance and wants to go in a new direction offensively. The new direction is assumed to be a West Coast Offense, but the main concern in this transition seems to be the development of Jason Campbell. Hence, Jim Zorn (former QB coach of Matt Hasslebeck) replaced Saunders, and was given the position of OC.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by WillH

You know about as much as we do about why they were let go. Suffice it to say that on certain personnel matters DS and GW differed (some have suggested that VC was the main point of contention). As a result, DS decided to look at more candidates then originally planned; during that time GW was getting fed up with being left in the dark, as were all the assistant coaches. Gibbs calmed them all down as best he could, and said the decision would not come until after the Super Bowl. Gibbs also encouraged GW to stay in the race, until GW met with DS and VC and they all decided "mutually" that GW not be considered a candidate.

Since then the OC, DC. and other assistant positions have been filled. This has led to speculation that there is already a candidate in mind, or at least that the candidates they do have in mind seem to have no objections to the assistant coaches hired. Candidates include Jim Fassel, Steve Spagnuolo (sp?), Ron Meeks (recently brought in for 2nd interview), and Steve Mariucci (scheduled for an interview today).

As far as Saunders, it seems that he was going to be fired whether GW was HC or not. Apparently the organization (ie. DS abd VC) was not satisfied with his performance and wants to go in a new direction offensively. The new direction is assumed to be a West Coast Offense, but the main concern in this transition seems to be the development of Jason Campbell. Hence, Jim Zorn (former QB coach of Matt Hasslebeck) replaced Saunders, and was given the position of OC.

That's a great explanation...thanks.
If we are truely going to a west coast offense, I can see, and get on board with the Zorn hiring. He did wonders for Hasselbeck. I never saw Matt H. as a gifted QB, I saw him as a well coached QB.
DO we have any idea who the front runner is for HC? I don't really like any of those candidates you posted right now. Is is possible we are waiting til after the super bowl cause we are interested in a coach that will be coaching in the super bowl?

[ArtMonkDrillz]

Originally Posted by jsarno

Is is possible we are waiting til after the super bowl cause we are interested in a coach that will be coaching in the super bowl?

Snyder is planning to drive a dump truck literally filled with solid gold to Belichick's house on Monday morning.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by ArtMonkDrillz

Snyder is planning to drive a dump truck literally filled with solid gold to Belichick's house on Monday morning.

LOL...I wasn't referring to Belichick, he just signed an extension after the whole spygate thing...he's not leaving N.E. to do anything other than retire.

[WillH]

Originally Posted by jsarno

That's a great explanation...thanks.
If we are truely going to a west coast offense, I can see, and get on board with the Zorn hiring. He did wonders for Hasselbeck. I never saw Matt H. as a gifted QB, I saw him as a well coached QB.
DO we have any idea who the front runner is for HC? I don't really like any of those candidates you posted right now. Is is possible we are waiting til after the super bowl cause we are interested in a coach that will be coaching in the super bowl?

That could be the case, this is some of the speculation on that:

Spagnuolo (sp?) the Giants DC could be one option.

Josh McDaniels the Pats OC could be another

and Steve Mariucci covering the game for NFL Network could be one also.

Snyder said something to the effect of "we are waiting until after the superbowl so as not to distract from the game, and so that we can consider all options." Read that as you like, but it seems that the main reason is the NFL has asked him to wait so as not to overshadow the Super Bowl. They are obviously still interviewing though, so they certainly have not come to a final decision, and if Fassel or Mariucci are not hired then they probably will at least interview Spagnoulo and McDaniels.

[jsarno]

Originally Posted by WillH

That could be the case, this is some of the speculation on that:

Spagnuolo (sp?) the Giants DC could be one option.

Josh McDaniels the Pats OC could be another

and Steve Mariucci covering the game for NFL Network could be one also.

Snyder said something to the effect of "we are waiting until after the superbowl so as not to distract from the game, and so that we can consider all options." Read that as you like, but it seems that the main reason is the NFL has asked him to wait so as not to overshadow the Super Bowl. They are obviously still interviewing though, so they certainly have not come to a final decision, and if Fassel or Mariucci are not hired then they probably will at least interview Spagnoulo and McDaniels.

I actually like the McDaniels idea. He's an underrated coach IMO.

What concerns me at this point is, very few HC's like to come to a place where they can't bring any coaches. Whoever takes over here, takes over with a staff in place, and NO familiar faces. That's a daunting task.

[BDBohnzie]

Don Breaux's official title the last few season was Offensive Coordinator. We'll have to wait and see how titles fold out of this process.

Byner's contract runs out tomorrow, and he's been interviewing elsewhere. For some reason, the Skins have failed to lock him in.

Zorn was the QB Coach in Seattle under Holmgren. He helped mold Matt Hasselbeck into the All-Pro QB that he is. I'm guessing that all the HC front runners have signed off on him being the new OC, and made it an easy choice for Snyder and Cerrato.

Cerrato in years past was able to hide behind Snyder's moniker as far as decisions go. With his new title, he can now be held accountable for his actions. We shall see how this pans out.

[skinsguy]

I think Breaux is going to be reassigned as a special advisor.

[firstdown]

One other thing. Besides the coaches hired, fired, let go, or interviewed most of this info is hear say. The front office has been mums the entire time and things have jumped from one rumor to the next to the next etc... So a bunch of this information you are reading is speculation unless it is a done deal. This lack of information is what has driven people nuts. Snyder has been called every name in the book and some that are not even in a book.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by firstdown

One other thing. Besides the coaches hired, fired, let go, or interviewed most of this info is hear say. The front office has been mums the entire time and things have jumped from one rumor to the next to the next etc... So a bunch of this information you are reading is speculation unless it is a done deal. This lack of information is what has driven people nuts. Snyder has been called every name in the book and some that are not even in a book.

Nail on the head right here.

Skins fans only have themselves to blame for this self induced hysteria.

Too much speculation, very little facts, and people have absolutely run wild with every rumor or whisper that has come across this site.

[squrrelco3]

Originally Posted by Mattyk72

Nail on the head right here.

Skins fans only have themselves to blame for this self induced hysteria.

Too much speculation, very little facts, and people have absolutely run wild with every rumor or whisper that has come across this site.

Matty,

I agree with you about 90%...I still think part of the responsibility falls on the team and it's PR...most of the rumors didn't come from fans...they came from the press, and that was primarily due to the fact that for some reason Dan and Vinnie insisted on a cloak of secrecy that rivaled the Manhattan Project in World War II. No other team in the league has been as quiet and trivial as they have been regarding who they were interviewing, and which direction they were headed. So the press had to speculate and track the flight path of Redskins 1 to figure out what was going on. Now the hysterical reactions the fans had to this information did not help matters either. I say the blame should fall 70% team, 30% fans.

[SmootSmack]

Also, Scott Campbell got promoted to Director of Player Personnel so he's going to be very instrumental in the shaping of the roster.

[DynamiteRave]

Before Snyder either grows old and croaks or sells the team (if he ever decides to one day). Cerrato will end up being HC at some point in time.

Bank on it.

[Campbell17]

You might want to forget about this 11 days...

Airfare to Hawaii $279
11 Day stay at hotel $936
Fishing trip $42
Spa Treatment $67
Surfing Lessons $18
Returning home to find team in disarray... Priceless.