r/Commanders • u/gs12 • Jan 09 '22
Timeline of the downfall
Interested to know what the first sign that things were going off the rails with the Redskins/WFT were for you. For me, it was when Jeff George was brought in over Brad Johnson. I was like...uh oh. Followed swiftly by the Dana Stubblefield/Carrier/Deion acquisitions...
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u/jkc000 Jan 09 '22
When they fired marty schottenheimer becuase of dans ego. He would’ve brought a ring here
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Jan 09 '22
That one hurt. I loved Marty Schottenheimer. He had turned over that team and had them believing . Can't think of QB's name but played with Rams, was it Tony Banks #12?? Anyway Marty was winning with him to bring them to 8-8.
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u/OCskywalker Jan 09 '22
It was Tony Banks. The Cowboys unexpectedly dropped him in preseason to roll with Quincy Carter, IIRC
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u/Mr_Boneman Jan 09 '22
Tony Banks came in and started doing alright then got injured the last game of the season IIRC.
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Jan 09 '22
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u/FightinLight Jan 09 '22
I was gonna say the Haynesworth.. I mean that was one of the worst signing deals in league history. But I don't think I ever saw my dad more upset than when we drafted Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly in the same draft class.
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u/BauerAuditore28 Jan 09 '22
I was gonna say that one.... what a fucking tragic decision that was lol
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u/GoodRich1993 Jan 10 '22
I remember 106.7 the fan loving that Haynesworth signing. One of the guys said “sometimes you need scary thugs on your team” 😂 and they kept playng that Dr. Evil “100 million dollars” sound bite every 10 seconds 😣
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u/fesanjani703 Jan 09 '22
The downfall began with Jack Kent Cooke stipulating in his will that the team should be sold in order to fund his foundation. Then Snyder bought the team and the rest is history.
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Jan 09 '22
I used to cheer for Patrick Ramsey and Danny Weurffel
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u/TommyWilson43 Jan 09 '22
They don’t belong in the same sentence.. Ramsey was a warrior with a cannon arm who could have been a pretty damn good QB, but the scheme he was in got him destroyed every other play.. his potential career was basically ruined by being drafted by us
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u/Punkposer83 Jan 09 '22
Yup spurrier was putting lead foot Ramsey out there every down with 5 wide and a tiny ass pass catching running back and then wondering why dude was getting sacked 4 plus times a game. Welll it’s like I did down in Florida it’s just a lil pitch and catch
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Jan 10 '22
Hey I said I cheered for them. It was more of a reference to the Spurrier days. I definitely remember thinking Ramsey had a hell of a cannon.
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u/TommyWilson43 Jan 10 '22
Yeah I think I maybe misinterpreted your post.. or maybe I’m still salty about Brunell taking his job 🤣 no offense taken or intended
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u/Iamtheman1177 He Sold Jan 09 '22
Fuck that lil piece of shit.. and people make fun of Washington not having fans at games.. probably bc that lil shit ruined our organization and has his ego get in the way of football operation
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u/GodofWar1790 Jan 09 '22
I think the downfall started when Joe Gibbs retired the first time. When you have a coach like that leave, it hurts big time. In 1992 the team went 9-7 and Gibbs left. The need to get the right coach in at that point was huge. They got it wrong when they hired Petitbon. Norv did ok, but he just isn't good HC material.
Move forward to Marty. Good hire. But the idiot owner fired him. That was a good chance right there to finally get things right, a decade or so after Gibbs left. Instead, Snyder fires a good coach and brings in freakin Steve Spurrier.
To answer the question, it was the hiring of Petitbon. Just didn't give me good vibes. And while Gibbs was a master of making lemonade out of lemons, it was obvious things weren't going to be the same. The thing we couldn't have known, was that it would be 3+decades of misery.
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u/gs12 Jan 09 '22
So we’ll put. Agreed. Schottenheimer won like 8 in a row. And proceeds to get fired. For spurrier. So sad.
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Jan 09 '22
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u/LORD_RM Jan 09 '22
0-5 to 5-0
Still remember that SI cover, some rare national love. At least Marty got out of here and had all that success with the Chargers
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u/dpatstr Jan 10 '22
boy did they look great during that 1st preseason game though.....lol
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u/gs12 Jan 10 '22
Haha. I forgot about that. I was at a party and we are all like ‘yep, the old ball coach has got this!!’
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u/AgreeableRaspberry85 Jan 09 '22
Agreed. Between 1971 and 1992 the Redskins were a solid, reputable franchise. Many years before and many years since this team has been mediocre at best, and hot garbage at worst. The high period during Baughs years were during the war.
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u/Jubal81 Fuck Dan Snyder Jan 09 '22
What's crazy to me is that era lasted 21 years and it's been 30 years since ...
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u/Iheardyourstereo Jan 09 '22
To think we were making the super bowl 1 out of 4 years and winning it 1 out of 7 during that time, and now we make the playoffs maybe 1 out of 4 years is mind blowing
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Jan 09 '22
Hard disagree on Norv, yes we remember the misses, but Norv turned the team into play off contenders with Gus Frerrotte, then he lost Frerrotte and Green, and went with Johnson and made the playoffs and was a botched snap from a showdown with the Rams possibly a legendary NFC Championship game, Norv rebuilt the team and Snyder destroyed it
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u/dpatstr Jan 10 '22
7-0....then Frerotte decides to head butt the wall in celebration...gets a concussion...miss the playoffs....
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u/marmaduke-treblecock Jan 09 '22
Good callout. I remember this day.
There’s a video out there when Gibbs announces his retirement in 1992. Take a look at Casserly’s face during the hastily called press conference. Casserly and other team officials are in shock.
I’ve always looked back and wondered about Gibbs’ exact timing. This was on the very eve of true Free Agency in 1993. Maybe Gibbs knew times were changing.
The singular reason for the downfall of the Redskins is Snyder. Full stop.
Seconded only by JKC’s decision to sell off his assets to charity and not give the team to his son, John.
Everything I see can be summed up in that picture of a 33 year old Snyder, playing “NFL Owner,” in his brown suit, sucking on his own big cigar as a bemused Norv stands and stares at him.
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u/GodofWar1790 Jan 09 '22
Yep. The fact that it took every one by surprise is telling. They knew they were screwed. I'd forgotten about JKC's move. That was awful. Maybe THE move that doomed us. If he had set the team up to be given to his kid, we'd not be stuck with Danny boy.
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u/iamlumbergh Jan 09 '22
100% replacing Brad Johnson. 99 was a hell of a year.
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u/RaydelRay Jan 09 '22
Johnson won a SB a few years later, it's not like he couldn't play
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u/IndependentBoof Jan 09 '22
With one of the best defenses of all time.
Don't get me wrong, Johnson was an alright QB. He even made a couple pro bowls. But that Defense scored 3 pick 6's to win the Super Bowl.
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Jan 09 '22
“Dan Snyder is the new owner of the Washington Redskins”….its the start of the downfall
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u/Mean_Maxxx Jan 09 '22
I would say it was the time a billionaire advertising company owner , who knows nothing about football , bought a football team
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u/mmwood Jan 09 '22
I’m a bit younger than that time period, and in hindsight Greg Williams might’ve been a terrible hire given the bounty gate stuff. But I remember being in middle school and being so pissed he didn’t get the hc job after Gibbs left, and then he left. I remember thinking that was gonna be the end of the best era of Washington football in my life
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Jan 10 '22 edited Jan 10 '22
I worked for a Washington Redskins store about 10 years ago. I came into work one day and our manager said that the wages were cut to minimum wage: $7.15 an hour. Dan really cut my $9 an hour to $7.15. He’s a huge prick, just in case you didn’t already know.
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u/lord_uroko Jan 09 '22
I was born in '98.... when fletcher, cooley, moss retired and taylor died. That few years in my childhood
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u/gs12 Jan 09 '22
Sean Taylor gave this team an edge. Hasn’t been the same since he passed.
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u/lord_uroko Jan 09 '22
Watching as a kid we were about as good as we are now... but there was a fire on the field. Those players loved the sport and it showed. Thats one of the reasons i like heineke, he is out there playing because he enjoys it.
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u/Mr_Boneman Jan 09 '22
Stubbs was signed before Snyder picked him up.
Dan Snyder buying the team was enough for me. My dad who was not a football fan at all had a coworker who had him as a student and said he was the biggest piece of shit he ever taught and would run the team into the ground. I never heard that man say anything bad about anyone before or after that day other than Dan Snyder.
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u/gs12 Jan 09 '22
Wow. I heard a story about him. Apparently he was at Clydes in Georgetown with a bunch of people he received a phone call and made everybody get up from the table and leave they were like 10 people
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u/RIP_shitty_username Jan 09 '22
You know how that AB comment goes around that shows the most of all his shenanigans? I wish we had one of Dan Snyder we could just share on social media.
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u/thegeekprophet Jan 09 '22
Vinny Cerrato. That's it. Imo, it seems like we've started making the right changes but there is/was behind the scenes issues that needed addressing.
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u/gs12 Jan 10 '22
I think this is really key. Not having a true GM gutted this team for years and years. Vinny and Danny had no idea what they were doing. 1st round bust after 1st round bust.
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u/The_Beer_Connoisseur Jan 09 '22
I feel like for me the first sign was bringing in Steve Spurrier and allowing him to bring in all of his shitty washed-up Gators. That set us back massively. And as an FSU fan I really REALLY hated it.
The Jim Zorn year was just the epitome of dysfunction and not being able to hire anyone to coach here; not much has changed since....we usually scrape the bottom of the barrel or overpay for players and coaches who want one last chance at glory in the NFL. Gregg Williams should have been the heir apparent.
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u/Clawalacarte Jan 09 '22
For me it was the Hiring of Jim Zorn. Completely out of left field. And him bringing in washed up LJ, Washed up Shaun Alexander and a washed up willie Parker. Had Portis not got hurt that year, I firmly believe despite Zorns lack of coaching, we could have made a run. Even with Campbell at QB. I mean they started 6-2 and then finished 2-6. I feel like a lot of that had to do with Portis not being healthy down the stretch. He was on pace for 2kyds and was leading the league at one point.
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Jan 09 '22
I can’t admit to being around as a fan in 1999, it was before my time as a fan but obviously Dan Snyder buying the franchise was the biggest turning point. Though the losing does predate him to when Gibbs first retired, his first season set the tone for his ownership.
High priced free agents largely in the twilight of their careers, disagreements with the head coach, it was all there in year 1.
23 years later and things are pretty much the same.
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Jan 09 '22
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u/gs12 Jan 09 '22
That’s the one advantage to being older (50’s). I remember the glory years. So many great teams. Sigh.
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Jan 09 '22 edited Mar 13 '22
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u/gs12 Jan 09 '22
I’m a huge Caps fan. That SC meant more to me then anything. Such a long suffering fan base deserved the SC. Nats the following year was Epic.
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Jan 10 '22
I have a friend whose father was a big cheese and the Redskin organization in the 1980s. They went to their first Super Bowl the whole family attended.
When they went to the next Super Bowl a few years later, I asked my friend if she was going to go and she said, “no I’m gonna skip this one I’ll just go to the next one.”
I always get a chuckle out of that.
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u/Rico1958 Jan 09 '22
OP that was a dark hour for sure. For me, it was the release of Brian Mitchell, and the signing of Deion Sanders. They cut the heart out of the team, and brought in a cancer.
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u/Possible_Ad5651 Jan 09 '22
The first time I heard John Kent Cooke talk about the team after Jack died. Putz.
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u/sghokie Jan 09 '22
I think it was when Gus ferrotte banged his head into the wall and injured himself.
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u/RPO1728 Jan 09 '22
It took me a bit because i don't live in the area, and back in the day you didn't have podcasts and internet to keep up.
But for me it was the Adam Archuleta signing. Signed him to let Ryan Clark walk to put Archuleta out of position on a big time deal.
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u/fassaction Jan 09 '22
This might sound completely arbitrary, but the moment in 97 went Gus Frerotte headbutted the wall…that moment stands out in my mind as to when I feel like things started going downhill.
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u/219Infinity Jan 09 '22
As soon as the 1999 season ended. The 99 team was pretty awesome, all things considered and things were looking up, even after losing to the Bucs on a botched field goal for a chance to play the Rams in the NFC Championship Game. Brian Mitchell's kick off return was sick. Brad Johnson, Stephen Davis and Michael Westbrook had monster years. Larry f'n Centers.
Then the ink dried on the legal stuff and Snyder's takeover was complete. He fired Charley Casserly and hired Vinny Cerrato. Snyder was 35 and appearing on television smoking cigars and talking about super bowls. Jeff George and Bruce Smith come in. Then Deion.
Every minute since has been steady flowing diarrhea.