NFL Owners: The 5 worst in professional football
By Patrik Nohe
2. Dan Snyder, Washington Redskins
I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to wade into the middle of a political discussion about team names and what may or may not be a racial slur. Frankly, that debate is somewhat irrelevant to this discussion because Dan Snyder makes one hell of a case for himself as a terrible owner before you even get to the word ‘Redskin.’
Dan Snyder is a bad owner all on his own — without help from a political controversy.
Bad free agent moves? Plenty of ’em. Most recently he gave Albert Haynesworth a $100 million deal. Haynesworth lasted 20 games, barely made an impact and was out of the league a season later. He overpaid for an on-the-decline Deion Sanders and an over-the-hill Bruce Smith. He once have Jeff George top dollar. There’s no shortage of examples here.
Bad coaching decisions? Check. Snyder’s greatest hits include decisions like giving Steve Spurrier free-reign to experiment with his fun-and-gun offense in the NFL — complete with Steve’s second-chance program for former Gator QB’s — or axing Marty Schottenheimer after just one season to get Spurrier in the first place.
Bad attitude towards fans? Got that too. Snyder has done dastardly things like charging fans 25 bucks for parking on fan appreciation day or suing season ticket-holders that didn’t renew in the middle of a recession. Keep in mind, this is from a man worth an estimated $1.8 billion, but go ahead fella, cash it in.
No, when it comes to Dan Snyder you don’t even need to say that, maybe — regardless of your opinion on the issue — the optics of how he’s handled such a sensitive discussion centered around his team name has been a major embarrassment to the organization. Nope. Don’t even need to mention that.
He makes enough of a case on his own.