The Redskins Are The NFL's Homecoming Team

It's official. The Washington Redskins are now everybody's favorite homecoming team, the soft spot on the schedule for the likes of Kansas City. The Skins are irrelevant. Watching them is like watching a friend die, done in by the owner. Last Friday, I wrote that the Redskins were a team on the brink of greatness. All that was needed was for the Daniel Snyder to go public with a statement of faith and confidence in his team. A segment of fans wouldn't believe him. It's like your dad saying he believes in you. He has to say that, because he's your dad. But you can't believe in yourself if the big guy doesn't believe too. You try harder because you don't want to let the old man down. The Redskins need to play over their heads this season. They needed someone to believe. If Joe "All of us together" Gibbs were herem the Skins might have struggled to a win in Carolina. This team needed the owner to show real leadership. Instead, he's shown the coach the same love he showed his quarterback last spring. Daniel Snyder did not just fail this test. It was an epic failure. Snyder's actions not only sabotaged his own efforts to win, they strangle his effort to lure a big name coach to replace Jim Zorn, too. Can any blue chip head coach candidate believe Snyder will have his back when the going gets tough? It's pro football. The going is always tough. Unless your name is Gibbs, Snyder will always fold. Snyder is likely to blow-up the Redskins and make significant football decisions again. Snyder will blow it again. Did Snyder really try to replace Zorn three games into the season? Yes, according to reports that he twice approached Mike Shanahan about the coaching "vacancy." Could that approach have reminded Shanahan of Al Davis, who fired him as Los Angeles Raiders coach after four games in 1989? Shanahan won two Super Bowls in his first three seasons as Broncos coach. That must excite Snyder, who won't consider that Shanahan was working with John Elway at the time. Shanahan never returned to the big dance with Elway, or with Jay Cutler, once the object of Snyder's affection. Denver is off to a 5-0 start without Shanahan. Maybe Pat Bowlen knows something about Shanahan and Cutler that Snyder should pay attention to. Instead, he's after another team's castoff again. Would any blue chip candidate share thoughts and strategies to rebuild the team during an interview after watching Snyder's treatment of Jim Fassel last year? Snyderrato mined all the good ideas from Fassel, then left him dandling, as he did Gregg Williams, while Synder sweet talked Steve Spagnuolo and other candidates. Why exactly did Steve Spagnuolo wait for the chance to coach the Rams instead of the Redskins? The Rams instead of the Redskins! This is Jim Zorn's future. He will be gone by, or before, the end of the season. Since there's no shame in being fired by Daniel Snyder, Zorn will be grateful Snyder let him add "head coach" to his resume when no one else did. With that, Zorn will get a gig somewhere as offensive coordinator, then be hired a season or two later as head coach somewhere else. Then, Zorn will bring his team to FedEx Field and beat the Redskins, just like all the other coaches Snyder has fired. Did I mention that Gregg Williams and Norv Turner are on the schedule this year? The Redskins scored 17 points while losing to the Panthers. The Kansas City Chiefs, Washington's next opponent, scored 20 points while losing to the Cowboys. The 0-5 Chiefs have scored more points on the season (84) than the Redskins (73). They can't wait to get to ole DC. The Skins are the cure for what ails them. It's their homecoming game. Meanwhile, the Skins are answering a question I've wondered about them. If they alternated wins and losses throughout the season last year to finish 8-8, would we have felt better about them? Guess Not.