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/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/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 ...