By the Redskin of His Teeth

Anyone who was puzzled why Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder just dropped his libel lawsuit against the Washington City Paper received a potential answer in the form of an article in today's Washington Post. Detailing how the initial stages of Snyder's pursuit of current head coach Mike Shanahan began nearly a year before then-current coach Jim Zorn was fired, long-time Post writer Mike Wise's piece not only reflects worse on Snyder's handling of the team than anything the City Paper had to say. It also points to possible violations of NFL rules on his part, especially the "Rooney rule" that requires teams with openings for high-level coaching vacancies to interview minority candidates.

Many people thought that Snyder was only paying lip-service to the rule when he interviewed Jerry Gray, one of the team's lower level assistant coaches in the 2009 season, before hiring Shanahan. The Post article appears to confirm that Gray was never a serious contender for head-coach or any other high-level position within the Redskins organization. As it happens, within a few weeks of interviewing for the job, Gray went to work for Jim Zorn's former team, the Seattle Seahawks (there's the circle of life for you).

Whether or not Snyder mounts another ill-advised lawsuit against a DC publication, the new article is yet more bad publicity for the team and its owner at a time when they appear to be getting back on track to resemble a professional football team (i.e. one that comports themselves in a professional manner rather than simply one that receives monetary compensation). It's not hard to imagine that the owner determined that the David-and-Goliath situation with the City Paper was at least one distraction too many, not to mention a fight where even if he won he'd still look like the loser. Then again, the past decade or so has shown that Daniel Snyder the seemingly astute billionaire businessman's sense of logic often collapses when faced with the Redskins and the emotional attachment he feels for the team.