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I’m Tired of Rebuilding…A Redskin History

The team is performing as expected prior to the season and lucky start!

After watching the Redskins play Baltimore last night it occurred to me this team is rebuilding.  Once again the Redskins have started another rebuilding program and while I am sick of rebuilding I believe this current process will be fruitful  but will the Fans and the owner allow the rebuilding process to complete or will it restart another rebuilding program…and another… and another…when will it end.

It started in 1993, the first retirement of Gibbs, and while not rebuilding it was a period of lack-less direction, it got so bad the Redskins hired a coach from the Dallas Cowboys and allowed him to coach for almost 7 seasons making the playoffs once!  In 1999 Daniel Snyder bought the Washington Redskins, and decided a pro franchise could be run like a fantasy football team.  As with all fantasy football teams rebuilding occurs every year, the addition or subtraction of players through a draft or in the real NFL free agency as the owner selects players based on what he “thinks” will provide his team the best opportunity to win.  From 2000-2004 the Washington Redskins were in a continual state of rebuilding; year in and year out with high priced free agents or the “hottest” coach available.  The team became a joke; “players” started choosing to not play in Washington while “show-me-the-money” ran for the door and the open wallet.  10 long years of rebuilding with no direction and no plan, the type of rebuilding which is in name only as no continuity exists and year in and year out its lucky or unlucky to the teams performance.  10 years which sophisticated fans tire of for a lack of direction and bandwagon fans turn on the team at the first sign of trouble.

January 7, 2004: Joe Gibbs was hired out of retirement to develop a plan for rebuilding and restore the Washington Redskins to the successes of the 70s and 80s.  A great idea but not a well thought out idea by the owner…Joe Gibbs the Hall of fame coach knew how to win and maintain an established team, NASCAR he learned to start with nothing to build a winning team but he had never rebuilt a group of individuals into a winning team.  Joe Gibbs would provide everything to get it right and accomplished however with no history he did make mistakes along the way but he worked at it with coaches, players, defensive schemes and offensive schemes until he developed a program which was starting on a sound rebuilding plan in 2007

2007 an unclassified and turning point for the Redskins, they had finally started a true rebuilding process and were on the way to becoming a special team when tragedy struck placing football back in it’s proper place as a game, where life and living are more important, it also stopped the rebuilding.

2008 Gibb’s retires and Zorn is hired, the Redskins begin another rebuilding program!

The 2008 Redskins are rebuilding, and the process is showing to be on track, it’s the first year with a first time head coach, first time offensive coordinator and a Defensive coordinator.   I’m sick of rebuilding but I want to let the process occur instead of starting over and rebuilding again with another group, this group is different and appears to have a plan with a solid foundation to complete the process.