In what could only be viewed as something a long time coming, Dan Snyder is finally out as the owner of the Washington franchise. With a tenure marked by scandal after scandal and limited on-field success, Washington now turns the page on an embarrassing 24-year-old chapter in their franchise’s storied history.
Amidst all the statements, parting shots, and gory details, former Washington coach Jay Gruden offered harsh criticism of Snyder’s involvement in matters of personnel. And he possibly caught the Cowboys’ front office with some strays in the process.
In an interview on The Kevin Sheehan Show, Gruden discussed Snyder’s insistence in inserting himself in matters of personnel.
“He wasn’t experienced enough in the business to make those decisions,” Gruden said of Snyder. “He didn’t put in the work. For him to pick a player in the draft is asinine. He didn’t put the work in. He didn’t watch the players. He didn’t go to the meetings. He didn’t go to the scouts’ meetings.”
Gruden clearly didn’t appreciate the chief decision maker not watching film or attending meetings. It’s understandable since most front offices are structured in a way the film-watching GM is the final say in matters of personnel. Scouts, both pro and college, report to the GM and the team works together in near countless strategy sessions and film reviews to make decisions.
That’s not how things went in Washington.
While the Cowboys aren’t nearly as dysfunctional as Washington was under Snyder, the untraditional structure in Dallas has similarities.
Jerry Jones is the Cowboys owner, president and general manager, meaning he oversees the big picture of the team (sales, revenue, branding, etc…) and is the final say in matters of personnel. Given the importance of the three roles, it’s highly unlikely he even approaches the lowest level of film review traditional GMs digest on an annual basis.
Stephen Jones (the Cowboys COO, EVP and director of player personnel) is more focused on day-to-day personnel than Jerry Jones, but even he probably falls short in typical levels of film consumption. Like his father, he wears multiple hats in the organization and his daily routine is likely far from that of the average NFL scout or GM.
Contrary to popular opinion, Jerry Jones does not rule over matters of personnel with an iron fist. He knows with Will McClay (VP of player personnel), he has one of the best true personnel men in the league. But Jerry Jones still carries weight as the GM and if he and Stephen are aligned, they would likely be hard to overturn.
Perhaps working in the Cowboys’ favor is the team effort they put into decision making. McClay and the Joneses work together to make decisions. They even involve coaches in the process (which many teams do not do).
The famous Johnny Manziel draft had Jerry Jones on one side of the aisle with everyone else on the other. Jerry caved to the group and the Cowboys selected Zack Martin in a victory for the ages.
“I don’t respect the guy that doesn’t watch the film and comes in, makes the pick, and tells you who he is signing in free agency,” Gruden said. “It makes no sense when we and the scouts are doing all of the film work, and all of a sudden, he comes in and makes the pick.”
It’s safe to say Jerry Jones is not putting the work of the normal NFL GM. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to do that. But he’s also not the sole decision maker in Dallas so does that make it okay?
There’s no clear answer. Most decision makers in high levels (in both business and politics) aren’t the subject matter experts who work in the weeds. But the successful ones have an uncanny ability to listen and weigh recommendations with a big picture view.
It’s something to think about even if it’s something which is unlikely to ever change in Dallas.
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