Maybe God IS a Redskins Fan

[Subby]

Cerrato resigns from Redskins
ESPN.com news services

Washington Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato has resigned.

In a statement released by the team Thursday morning, Cerrato said he has had numerous conversations with team owner Daniel Snyder over the last few weeks about the team's future.

"We agreed that the franchise needs someone different in this position," Cerrato said in a statement released by the team. "I'm thankful to Dan Snyder and other members of his ownership team for the opportunities I've been given over the years."

The resignation was first reported by ESPN 980 in Washington. D.C.

Cerrato, who has been highly criticized for his player personnel moves, has been Synder's right-hand man for nearly all of Snyder's 10 years as owner of the Redskins.

For the past two seasons, Cerrato has held the post of executive vice president of football operations. This year's Redskins are 4-9 and have struggled in part because of a lack of depth along the offensive line.

"Of course, I am disappointed with this year's results, but I strongly believe that with outstanding draft picks and encouraging performance by our younger players, we have laid a strong foundation for the franchise," Cerrato said in the statement.

Cerrato said he had "the pleasure of working with some great coaches such as Joe Gibbs, Greg Blache and Sherman Lewis" while with the Redskins.

"He is my friend, and he has always been there for me and the Redskins," Snyder said of Cerrato. "He's the consummate optimist and has always made decisions based on what would be the best for the team."

Cerrato, who first joined the Redskins in 1999 and spent two years with the team, returned as player personnel director in 2002 and was promoted to vice president a year later. He previously was a scouting and player personnel director for the San Francisco 49ers and recruiting coordinator at Notre Dame under Lou Holtz.

[Subby]

According to the radio, more big news is scheduled to come out of Redskins Park today...

Aside from Snyder selling the team to an ownership group comprised of me, Quik, cuervo and about 20 other guys, I can't think of better news for the team. :D

[Kodos]

But Quik is a Dolphins fan!

[QuikSand]

Money talks.

[cuervo72]

Cerrato said he had "the pleasure of working with some great coaches such as Joe Gibbs, Greg Blache and Sherman Lewis" while with the Redskins.

This quote is getting mentioned quite a bit on 980. Rightfully so.

They *just* announced Bruce Allen has been hired by the Redskins.

[sterlingice]

I know a lot of people around the office will be happy with this one

SI

[chesapeake]

This decision was long overdue.

If Bruce Allen is indeed the new guy, it begs a question: will Coach Gruden be allowed to keep his Monday Night gig?

[spleen1015]

Who is Bruce Allen? I have never heard that name.

[Subby]

Who is Bruce Allen? I have never heard that name.
He's a product of the mean streets of McLean, VA...so he's obviously legit.

[lordscarlet]

Who is Bruce Allen? I have never heard that name.

George Allen(the most beloved Redskins coach behind Gibbs)'s son, and George Allen(former Va Governor)'s brother. He was GM in TB when Gruden was there, I believe.

[spleen1015]

I'm not ready to get excited. I thought Gibbs would return this team to winning Super Bowls and I got really excited over that. We'll see what happens.

Next Zorn needs to go. I was kind of hoping Shanahan would be brought in but I don't see that now with Allen getting hired.

[Kodos]

Good. I'd hate to see Shanahan coach the Redskins.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Isn't there already a thread on FOFC for the Redskins? Or maybe I'm thinking of the Jets. Or the Bills. Or the Bears.

Why don't the good teams get their own threads?

[cuervo72]

I tried to make one but nobody cared.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I tried to make one but nobody cared.
This is Subby's biggest problem. He doesn't learn from the experiences of others.

[DeToxRox]

So will Cerrato burn himself in effigy on his radio show for the lousy job he did?

[lordscarlet]

I don't really want to see sweeping changes. The biggest problem the Redskins have is a lack of consistency. Did they really expect to switch to a brand new coach (never an OC) and a brand new (WCO) offense and expect to win after one year? The team has improved as the year has progressed. I really don't want to see them start from scratch again.

[Subby]

So will Cerrato burn himself in effigy on his radio show for the lousy job he did?
That gig is also over.

[Kodos]

So will Cerrato burn himself in effigy on his radio show for the lousy job he did?

Besides, burning in effigy isn't really effective on a radio show. Wrong medium for that sort of thing, IMO.

[chesapeake]

Cerrato's co-host said this morning that the show will not go on tomorrow.

The biggest problem the Washington Football Team (WFT) has had is bad personnel management. Whether it was the Danny's free agent phase (e.g. Bruce Smith, Neon Deion, Archuleta) or the draft pick giveaway/moronic trade phase (e.g. 2 #1s for Jason Campbell, 2 picks for TJ Duckett, 3rd rounder and huge contract for Mark Brunell), Vinny was the one constant in the organization -- notwithstanding the one year when he was exiled by Marty Schottenheimer.

Sweeping change was going to happen anyway. They cannot retain Zorn after Cerrato publically humiliated him earlier this year. You know the Danny cannot accept anything but a BIG NAME as the new head coach of the WFT, and after meeting with Shanahan and others, I expect it was pretty clear that a BIG NAME COACH won't come to DC if Cerrato is still there.

What Washington fans have to hope for is that 1) it is the right sweeping change; and 2) the Danny can be patient enough to let the Allen/Gruden reconstruction take place.

[DeToxRox]

Besides, burning in effigy isn't really effective on a radio show. Wrong medium for that sort of thing, IMO.

You do know who Michigan's lone Big 10 win was against right?

SUCKIT

[Kodos]

You do know who Michigan's lone Big 10 win was against right?

SUCKIT

You talk like a victory over Indiana is something to be proud of.


At least now, someone can finally bring true CHANGE to Washington.

[Toddzilla]

Oops - seems Vinny finally beat Danny in racquetball...CLM for sure.

[JediKooter]

They are going to bring in Bobby Bethard.

[Passacaglia]

As a non-Redskins fan, I'm glad this happened before the birth of my first-born son.

[RedKingGold]

I guess Matt Millen and Steve Mariucci were unwilling to come out of their television commitments?

[Raiders Army]

I'm glad that Bruce Allen has a new job. Good for the Redskins.

[lordscarlet]

Sweeping change was going to happen anyway. They cannot retain Zorn after Cerrato publically humiliated him earlier this year. You know the Danny cannot accept anything but a BIG NAME as the new head coach of the WFT, and after meeting with Shanahan and others, I expect it was pretty clear that a BIG NAME COACH won't come to DC if Cerrato is still there.


By "can't retain" do you mean they can't, for publicity sake, keep him around next year? Because he's under contract. They certainly have the rights to hold on to him. And if he was going to resign, why has he held on this long?

Having said that, I would be very surprised if he's around next year. Very.

[chesapeake]

I expect Zorn will be fired at the end of the season.

Zorn won't resign during the season. His friend, Steve Largent, articulated it pretty well when he said he believed that Zorn would view it as quitting.

I say "can't retain" for a variety of reasons. Among them:
1) He hasn't proven to be particularly good at his job;
2) although Washington's rapidly dwindling fan base thinks Zorn is a good guy, I don't get the sense that they would buy season tickets if he was still in charge; and,
3) As a general rule, new GMs want a coach they know and have faith in, since their own employment relies on the success of the head coach. I see nothing in this situation that would indicate that this specific scenario is any different.

The only factors I can find in favor of keeping Zorn are, as I mentioned, he is a genuinely decent guy and that, despite the circus surrounding the team, they are still playing hard for him. In my judgment, that won't be anywhere near enough for him to stay on in DC. But it might be enough to get him an OC job elsewhere.

[stevew]

Zorn to the Browns as OC(if Holmgren lands there) would make a whole lot of sense.