The Urgency of Now
Earlier, I made the case for having patience with regards to Jason Campbell. But, is there a strong case to be made for the urgency of now?
When Dan Snyder bought the team in May, 1999, it would be safe to say that Mr. Snyder felt an overwhelming sense of the urgency of now. He is a man that was and remains accustomed to dancing to the beat of his own drum. And that drum beats to a rhythm that says, “I want what I want, and I want it now!”
One of the first moves he made was to offer the naming rights to the stadium to corporate bidders. He was one of, if not the first owner to do this. Today, it is common place. But, what Snyder is best known for today is his rapid and continuous hiring and firing of head coaches. When he purchased the team, Norv Turner was in place. Who can forget the exuberant Snyder giving Norv a big bear hug that first year? But, soon thereafter, perhaps after losing to the Cowboys (I’m not sure), Turner had to go. Next, in comes Marty Schottenheimer. After one season, he was fired and then came Steve Spurrier. You see, Snyder thought that Schottenheimer’s offense was too boring. It didn’t score enough points. So, I’m sure Mr. Snyder thought that Spurrier would light up the scoreboard, just like he did in college.
Who can remember Spurrier being lit up by the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football and showing his frustration with the longest lip slappin’, fish pucker ever recorded in history. It was no surprise then, that after two years, Spurrier was gone. In comes the return of Joe Gibbs. Moreover, it wasn’t just Joe Gibbs. It was the most expensive coaching staff in the NFL. Having outgrown his penchant for accumulating star players, like Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Mark Carrier, etc., Mr. Snyder assembled an “all-star” coaching staff. It’s what Joe Gibbs wanted and needed in order to be both head coach and president of the team.
Now, much has been written about Gibbs and his second stint with the team. It’s sufficed to say, it wasn’t as successful as most Redskins fans had hoped when he came back to town. Today, we have Jim Zorn. And, contrary to what others in the blogosphere have already suggested, I believe Snyder will stick with Zorn for at least four years. Why? Because if nothing else, I think Snyder learned discipline from Gibbs.
So, what is the benefit of the urgency of now? What have we attained as a team and an organization through our urgency? Not much.
That said, I understand the lack of patience in many fans. It’s been a long time. We’re thirsty, like a man dying in the desert. We’re looking for a tall, cool drink of water that a franchise QB will provide. I don’t know if that QB is Jason Campbell, Colt Brennan, or someone else. But, I’m willing to allow Campbell to at least learn what he’s supposed to be doing before we determine that he can’t do it.
Lastly, recent comments in the blogosphere suggest that Campbell didn’t look that good last year after having multiple years in Al Saunders offense. Well, it should be noted that as late as this past weekend, another notable QB struggled in the same Saunders offense: Marc Bulger. Maybe there is a reason why we released Saunders as a coach. After all, if he was really that good, why was he passed over for the Kansas City Chiefs job.
It has been said, “patience is a virtue.”
But, it has also been said, “time is the fire in which we all burn. And, patience is for those that don’t understand the concept of time.”
Getting it right is a delicate balance between patience and urgency. Right now, however, we need to be disciplined enough to be patient. We’ve planned our work for the future. Now, let’s have the patience to work our plan. This is not to suggest that anyone has an open ticket to take as much time as they need. But, in order to alleviate ourselves from having to second guess our decision later, we deserve the privilege of taking the time to make an intelligent decision, based on a body of knowledge and relevent experience; not just gut feelings.
Hail to the Redskins!
Chris Mortenson of 
