Tag: Terry Robiskie

Remember when Daniel Snyder fired Norv Turner?

Revisiting that miserable 2000 offseason that eventually led to Snyder firing Norv Turner.

Remember when Redskins owner Daniel Snyder fired Washington head coach Norv Turner?

Sunday, Dec. 3, 2000, Washington lost an agonizing home game to the New York Giants 9-7.  What made matters even more frustrating for fans was that it was the second consecutive home loss and both against divisional opponents.

Former Washington Football Team head coach Norv Turner watches rookie minicamp at Inova Sports Performance Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

Washington had gone on the road and defeated defending Super Bowl champion St Louis 33-20, pushing their record to 7-4. However, a 23-20 loss to the Eagles and then the 9-7 loss to the Giants were more than Snyder could take, firing Turner.

It was typical Snyder at the time. Insistent on pushing buttons and making personnel moves, Snyder had signed aging veterans for much too-large of contracts in the 2000 offseason: Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders, Mark Carrier and Jeff George. He had traded up in the draft ensuring Washington would draft No. 2  (LaVar Arrington) and No. 3 (Chris Samuels) in the 2000 draft.

Now Snyder was trying his hand at changing the head coach at the crucial time of three regular-season games remaining. Snyder was thinking when he pushed buttons the team would be motivated. So Turner was suddenly gone. Defensive coordinator Ray Rhodes had five years of NFL head coaching experience. Yet Snyder named offensive assistant Terry Robiskie the interim coach.

Of course, the move backfired miserably. The team played like they were very unmotivated. The Redskins not only lost, but they were also embarrassed in their next two games at Dallas (32-13) and at Pittsburgh (24-3).

Despite the fact Brad Johnson had passed for 4,000 yards, led the team to 10 wins, the NFC East title and a playoff win in 199, Snyder and his player personnel right-hand man Vinny Cerrato had been signing aging veterans to large contracts rather than Washington veterans. Jeff George who was known to be a poor leader was brought to quarterback despite the fact Brad Johnson had passed for 4,000 yards, led the team to 10 wins, the NFC East title and a playoff win in 1999.

What in the world was Snyder thinking?

I recall fans being excited. I recall the media being excited. It was one of the first times in my life I saw trouble out front. How on earth could he have thought Jeff George brought in was good for the team?

Brad Johnson? He got out of town as soon as he could following the 2000 season, signed a free agent contract with Tampa Bay and they won the Super Bowl with Johnson as their offensive leader in 2002.

The 2000 offseason was one where Snyder insisted on making his HUGE splashes. Yet in the end, the season was a mess, and Dan Snyder had no one to blame but himself. He tried to save the season by blaming Turner and firing him. That didn’t work out well either.

A disturbing pattern by Snyder was now beginning to be noticed.

Who are the best running back duos in LSU history

In the history of the program, LSU has had its fair share of one-two punches at the tailback position.

Two good running backs are better than one.

In the history of the program, LSU has had its fair share of one-two punches at the tailback position. It’s been needed since running back is often a spot where the starter gets banged up.

The SEC was all about the ground game until about five years ago. You needed these running backs to win. In 2004, Auburn rode Ronnie Brown and Cadillac Williams to an undefeated season. The Alabama dynasty was built on having depth at running back.

Here are some of the best running back duos in the history of LSU football.

Former Jags RB coach says team tried to ‘blackball’ Leonard Fournette

Former Jags RB coach Terry Robiskie said that the team attempted to blackball Leonard Fournette ahead of his release.

Former Jacksonville Jaguars and current Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette has faced scrutiny since he entered the league as the fourth overall pick back in 2017. Though his career got off to a great start as a rookie, his production in Jacksonville slowed after that, and the team decided to waive him heading into the 2020 season.

Jaguars fans know what happened next. Fournette had a resurgence as a role player in Tampa’s backfield, and he captured a Super Bowl ring. Though things seemed to work out for Fournette, he’s still not happy about the way his time with the Jags came to an end. And he’s not alone.

Terry Robiskie, who was the Jaguars’ running back coach in 2019 and 2020, said that the Jaguars attempted to “blackball” Fournette from the team.

“I would say, yes, without a question, the Jaguars were trying to blackball him,” Robiskie said to ESPN. “It certainly wasn’t the president or the head coach or the GM, but I do know, coming out of that building, some people had said something to other teams that wasn’t true about Leonard at all.”

Fournette, for his part, echoed these sentiments

“I don’t know. What you think?” Fournette said. “I mean, you see me every day now. Do you all think it was true? I mean, you all have been around me almost a year now. Who knows, man. … I don’t know. But that’s the word that Jacksonville had put out on me, so, who knows?”

At the time, then-Jags head coach Doug Marrone said that the team had tried to trade Fournette but couldn’t receive adequate compensation from him. But Robiskie said he suspects something more nefarious was at play.

“They weren’t trying to trade him,” Robiskie said. “They were trying to cut him. Because to trade him and to have someone say, ‘We’ll give you a fifth-round pick,’ or ‘We’ll give you a sixth-round pick,’ that means he’s got value. But to cut him is degrading, especially to cut a No. 1 draft choice from three years ago, who just the year before had 1,800 yards of total offense, who pretty much just led your team in receptions. … That is the true epitome of cutting off your nose to spite your face.”

Fournette went on to have the last laugh, as he finished with 367 yards and six touchdowns as part of a championship backfield. The Jaguars made out alright, as well, finding a gem in undrafted rookie James Robinson, who was a top-five rusher last year. But with a new regime in place, the Jags will hope the souring of relationships with top draft picks is a thing of the past.

Doug Marrone encourages community to translate competitive energy into combating racism

Doug Marrone and his team got together Friday for a march, which symbolized a step towards fighting racism in America.

With all the recent lives that have been lost due to police brutality, Jacksonville Jaguars coach Doug Marrone knew his team had to rally and become part of a potential solution. That said, they huddled (virtually) and concluded that marching together through the city would be a great start.

Friday, the team met at TIAA Bank Field and marched to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office just down the road. The idea was one originally brought up by running backs coach Terry Robiskie, who has long been a friend of Marrone and marched for the same issues in the late 1960s.

When the team arrived at the sheriff’s precinct, Robiskie shared a powerful message about sticking together. He also discussed how the Jags’ support for his suggestion was unlike any he’s seen since becoming a coach.

After returning to their facility, Marrone made a statement to conclude the march, declaring that people in a position like him can make a huge impact by stepping back and listening to their black comrades and the black community. He also discussed what he believes will be the key to fighting racism — and that’s attacking it with an athlete’s mentality towards winning.

“When you are talking about sustaining [the approach against racism], you are talking through having adversity in the season, you are sore, you are hurt, there is job security [stress], all of that stuff – as far as your performance,” Marrone said. “That distracts from something that we all have to believe, which I do believe is much more powerful than the sport and try to use.”

“I think of the players that we have and the meetings that we have and how competitive our sport is. Our competitiveness is always to win. I’m talking about anyone that has played, whether you’re black or whether you’re white. I think that we need to channel that type of competitiveness and win this movement. If we attack this movement like we attack and compete as athletes, I think we have a hell of a chance.”

As we previously mentioned when Shad Khan made his statements about racism, fans feel his actions will ultimately speak for him heading forward. If the organization attacks the issue consistently as Marrone said, it would be a huge step in the nation’s battle for equality and speak volumes for Khan.

Browns have been well ahead of the curve in hiring minorities

The Browns have had 3 men of color as head coaches and 3 other African-Americans running the team

The NFL continues to try and promote minority hiring among its 32 member clubs. The latest attempt at expanding upon the “Rooney Rule” is a proposal that will provide draft incentives for teams to hire and retain minorities in coaching and front office positions.

Voting on this proposal will come soon, and it’s a divisive issue that creates many unpleasant conversation tentacles and debates. Hiring people of color in positions of power in a league where people of color make up over two-thirds of the players seems like a natural concept, but it hasn’t worked out that way in most places.

Cleveland has largely been one of the few exceptions. The Browns have been one of the most aggressively progressive organizations in hiring African-American men to prominent decision-making roles.

Take new GM Andrew Berry. He’s the third African-American hired to run the Browns front office (in one title or another) in the last decade, following Sashi Brown and Ray Farmer. Cleveland’s longest-tenured head coach 1999 is Romeo Crennel, hired in 2005 and lasting four full seasons. Hue Jackson — hired by Brown — got 2.5 seasons as the head coach. Terry Robiskie even had a brief run as an interim coach. The Browns are one of the very few NFL organizations that have had multiple people of color as both head coaches and general managers.