Sneaky Snyder

Dear Daniel Snyder,

I know you're used to doing things your way -- hell, you've made zillions of dollars doing so. But what you haven't done is helped build a consistently solid football team in Washington. Instead, you've always tried to grab the headlines by making a noteworthy or surprising coaching selection that really makes no sense. You know, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, etc.

Your biggest and best move, definitely, was to bring back Joe Gibbs. But he's retired now and a smart decision needs to be made. The Redskins made the playoffs this season when no one thought they would, and they need a coach to build off of a physically and mentally draining stretch of games.

I know Gregg Williams isn't the best head coach in the world. He struggled in Buffalo, but he's a brilliant defensive coach who has managed to overachieve with the Redskins for three out of his four years here. The players also love him; he works hard and motivates them, not to mention the fact that he obviously knows what he's doing week-in and week-out. He's the best choice and the choice that most Redskins' fans truly want you to make.

Unfortunately, you don't seem to be following this trend. For some reason, you've already interviewed Williams four different times even though he's been with your organization for FOUR years. Did you ever actually talk to him while he was on the Redskins' coaching staff?

Anyway, you've already tried to lure Jimmy Johnson and Dick Vermeil out of retirement. You've also probably offered to throw an enormous amount of money at Bill Cowher to bring him back to coaching a year early. You were probably pretty impressed with Jim Mora Jr., for some reason, and you may have even offered him the chance to coach, but he's going back to Seattle to wait for Mike Holmgren to retire after next season. So those options are out.

Since many of the reports are conflicting, I'm not even sure if you interviewed one of the best candidates, Russ Grimm of the Arizona Cardinals. He obviously has ties to the Redskins as one of the Hogs, but apparently that doesn't seem like a very profound selection, so he probably wasn't worth an interview.

You interviewed some others here or there, but no one really knows for sure what you've been thinking. But now we have an idea, and apparently Jim Fassel is now the leading candidate to coach the Redskins. Seriously, Jim Fassel?

What makes Jim Fassel a better selection than Gregg Williams? Is it his offense? That worked pretty well when he was working as offensive coordinator with his buddy Brian Billick with the Ravens. You already have an outstanding offensive coach in place named Al Saunders. The offense will never improve if the philosophies change year after year, no matter how good of a coach is hired to lead the way.

Is it Fassel's ties to defensive guru Rex Ryan, who is now rumored to possibly be headed to Washington if Fassel gets the job? What has Gregg Williams done in his tenure as defensive coordinator to warrant the thought of altering the defense's plan of action? He has coaches around him that get the job done and are all on the same page.

I'm sure that Jim Fassel is an outstanding coach, and for some other teams looking for change, he'd be a smart and interesting choice.

But for the Redskins, he doesn't make that much sense. The Redskins don't need an overhaul on the coaching staff or a change in identity; the players understand what they have to do. They saw what happened this season when they all came together and rallied with consecutive wins over the Bears, Giants, Vikings, and Cowboys. (That win over the Giants looks even better now.)

If you're ever going to help the Redskins become a winning organization again, you should try adopting this mindset: less is more.

Promote Gregg Williams to head coach. Make sure Al Saunders comes back to lead the offense. Restructure salaries as you always do to get the Redskins under the cap. Look for free agents that actually make sense, instead of just looking for the big names. Draft intelligently-- your team needs younger offensive linemen, a better defensive end who can help rush the passer with Andre Carter, a tall wide receiver who can make some plays, and probably some linebackers and cornerbacks to help fill out the depth chart.

Sometimes the simplest choices are the best ones. If you want to win and encourage fans to be proud of their entire organization again, try something different for a change: think first.

Sincerely,

Just another confused Redskins fan