Out With the Old and In With the New

The announcement is only a few hours old but already there is a renewed sense of optimism in Washington given that there's a new coach in town. Former Denver Broncos coach was named head coach and vice president of operations late last night (only a few miles from my house in Tysons Corner) and signed a five-year deal which is reported to pay out about (on average) $7 million per year. Not a bad deal for a coach with a proven record and a talent for getting his team to the playoffs. And once again there's a renewed sense of hope in the city that will likely last until the start of the season in August but then we'll see if this latest move will lead to a recovery of football morale in the city. I'm hopeful too but then again I'm a hopeful who has been hopeful since 1991.

I sometimes wonder about us Washington fans. I mean it takes just a small step to get us excited and optimistic again. When new head coaches were being interviewed two years ago there was a sense of hope that a good decision would be made and when Jim Zorn was finally announced there was hope but I would say it was sharply tinged with a good deal of incredulity as well. Here was someone who was brought in as an offensive coordinator and then was elevated to the position of head coach when you alread had someone waiting in the wings who the previous coach (the great Joe Gibbs) had already coached and worked with closely. Be that as it may, here we are two years later and we're almost right back where we started.

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited about the fact that someone of Mike Shanahan's stature has come to Washington but the fact of the matter is that this isn't the first time (and as much as it pains me to say it... it may not be the last time either). One thing about Washington fans and Dan Snyder as well is the fact that many of us still cling to the memories of Joe Gibbs first tenure as coach and the almost perennial trip to the playoffs. Sure they may not have been to the Super Bowl each and every year but at least there was some hope. As the 20th Century gave way to the 21st, things kind of reversed and it became almost a joke to talk about the playoffs even if the early part of the season was going well. One thing about Washington is the fact that they could rarely close out the way they began. In clinging to that past is it any wonder that Gibbs was brought back?

Now with Shanahan there is hope that the winning ways he had with Denver will somehow be recreated here in Washington should be taken with a large grain of salt and good deal of wishful thinking. It's not that I don't think Shanahan will be effective as coach or that the change will potentially be good for the team but I think by having two people who are familiar with football and who will have final say in player decisions (Dan Snyder is more or less reported to be out of the decision loop) then it speaks well for the future. This power was something that the team should have given the coach a long time ago. Things could have been very different and perhaps a decade was how long it took for Snyder to realize that but let's hope he can carry through on this arrangement and allow the team to get back to their winning ways.

Still, eight months is a long time and lots of things can happen. One thing I would hope is that the fans (but even more so the owner) doesn't look for miraculous changes to occur. Shanahan has big decisions about who to keep and who to let go on the team's current roster. Will we see a massive influx of former and current Denver players into Washington like when Marty Schottenheimer arrived and basically put together a team that was the Kansas City Chiefs in everything but name? Or will he keep elements he thinks have potential? The unknown is what makes it so exciting and is what lulls us Washington fans into a sense of optimism yet again. Who knows what the new season will bring in terms of victory but one thing it has certainly brought back to DC (at least for a little while) is hope.