Twenty years and this is what I bought into?


By Mark Blumenthal

Do the math. As a matter of fact, I'll do it for you.

Daniel Snyder has been Washington's owner since May 1999. In his time as the owner of one of the NFL's flagship franchises, the team has won two (2) playoff games, one of those wins against a team that has never made it to the Super Bowl, the Detroit Lions, under Norv Turner in 1999, the other under the greatest coach in franchise history, Joe Gibbs, in 2005 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team coached then by the brother of the man who currently coaches Washington, Jay Gruden.

Since purchasing the team 20 years ago, the franchise has gone 139-183 under Snyder, a .432 winning percentage under eight different head coaches.

Norv Turner? Too offensive-minded as a head coach. Terry Robiskie? Holding the fort down for three games until the next guy comes in. Marty Schottenheimer? Was 8-8 and fired. Still inexplicable, but we know why it happened? Make way for the Ol' Ball Coach, Steve Spurrier! But Steve Spurrier? Nice experience to be an NFL coach, but I sure miss college. Joe Gibbs? Five years of coaching the team to two playoff appearances was enough for Gibbs when he retired from coaching in 2007 at the age of 67. Jim Zorn? Terrific guy, but not a head coach-type either. Next!

Mike Shanahan? Won an NFC East title in 2012, but then lost quarterback and former Heisman Trophy winner Robert "RGIII" Griffin with a damaged ACL and LCL. He never recovered. Shanahan was the scapegoat and he got fired after the next season.

And so we have Gruden, who in five-plus years as head coach is 35-47-1 with one playoff appearance -- a 35-18 loss in 2015 to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at FedEx Field. This year's team is 0-3 and has been outscored 94-63 thus far, fans fearing the season may become a lost cause before the winds of October howl through the Beltway.

There's got to be a time where this merry-go-round has to stop, and this organization has to clean house.

That should start at the very top. Gibbs runs a very lucrative and successful NASCAR organization. Couldn't he do that on the NFL level with the team he's most revered with by the fans as the three Lombardi Trophies he won as coach are displayed at 1600 FedEx Way in Landover?

Whether it's Gibbs or not, the charade needs to end, especially after that Monday night performance against the Chicago Bears.

A change needs to happen … and soon. And that means practically everybody. This can't keep happening year in and year out, and not with one of the proudest franchises in league history.

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