Wow...where were you when the news came to you?
I had just gotten out of the shower and I happened to see my cell phone blinking. "Why are all these people calling me before 8 AM on a Thursday," I wondered. At first it was just missed calls. Then the texts started coming in. Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod...could it be real? The euphoria of the news Cerrato was fired combined with the Christmas music on the radio was perfect. Could you match two things better: Christmas and the end of the Cerrato era?
Do we dare take any credit for this move?
Short answer: "Yes", with an "if"...
Long answer: "No", with a "but".
1) Yes, if we believe that Dan Snyder would have continued down the road with Vinny Cerrato forever if fans hadn't persisted in beating the drum loud for his removal.
2) No, but that should not stop us from feeling good about this: we stumped hard for a very concrete, very tangible action and that action was taken by management. In our initial Revolution post, we asked that Snyder hold the Front Office responsible and accountable for the current climate of this franchise. This has seemingly occurred and in grand fashion. I would have to be crazy to even think for a second that Snyder reads this website and acts in accordance with our wishes. But between you and me, I feel like we have gone about taking this team to task in an appropriate manner. We stated at the outset that we believed Snyder wanted to win. We stated at the outset that we fully understand that if/when we hoist our next Super Bowl trophy, Dan Snyder will most likely be on that podium. NFL owners don't just go away because people don't like them. Our rally on this site has been and continues to be an outlet for our distress due to our perceived mismanagement of our favorite team. Today, Snyder brought new management in.
What does that mean for:
Jim Zorn- Probably doesn't change his hot seat status. We all said a while ago that we were fine if Snyder brought in an actual GM who decided to go in a different direction on the sidelines. To be fair, at least one of the coaches being mentioned a lot today (Gruden) grew up in the same coaching tree as Zorn, so it is conceivable that some continuity on offense could be maintained. (This is not my official "opinion on Gruden"...just a thought as it relates to the potential release of Zorn.)
Jason Campbell- I have to believe this strengthens the case for Jason Campbell to come back. Can't we all agree that our expectation is for Bruce Allen to survey the landscape of the league and the draft and determine that JC is more than likely our best option at quarterback for next season? Can't we also agree that Jason Campbell is more likely to come back and play with Vinny Cerrato out the door?
Sherman Lewis - I am so intrigued as to what goes down with Sherman Lewis in the weeks and months ahead. Say what you will, but since he has arrived, the results speak for themselves. What kind of desire does he have to roll up his sleeves and be more involved down the road? We shall find out.
Clinton Portis - Wow...Kind of forgot about him in all of this. I don't think anything has changed here...
KevinE- I am worried about KevinE...I am not sure he can survive without Vinny Cerrato around. Vinny was so good for material...Kevin is going to have to work a lot harder to generate funny email spoofs without Vinny in the house.
The Revolution- We use this Revolutionary rhetoric almost tongue-in-cheek. Why? Because it makes us feel like we are banding together under common principles and goals. We are not at war. But we are also not finished with the job we set out to do. We still have a wish list and we intend to continue putting it out there. Besides, I think "The Revolution" is a fantastic title for a rabid fan community like ours, made even more appropriate given our locale (nation's capital) and our fervent loyalty to our team.
Truly ours is a unique sense of joy and satisfaction, knowing that we have been steadfast in our goal to see the Vinny Cerrato era come to an end, and knowing that we have pursued that goal in a way that was never disrespectful to our team or the great players who put it on the line for us each Sunday. Our struggle must continue, but today we ask ourselves the following question: Is it possible that Dan Snyder now stands in our ranks?
Long Live the Revolution!