What do the Redskins really need?

With the offseason Olympics ready to get underway, I decided the best place to start was at the beginning (I realize this is an earth-shattering concept) and determine what holes actually need to be filled.

While looking around the net I noticed a blog where the guy was completely off his rocker and in the same column he got on Dan Snyder for getting rid of the continuity put in place in the coaching staff right after he said the Skins should get rid of it seemed 2/3rds of the team's starters including Clinton Portis, Jon Jansen and Randy Thomas.

If it was this guy's intention to grab attention, well then he accomplished his job. If it was his intention to provide meaningful insight into what action the team will take then he fell well short of the mark.

"George" does make a solid point in stating that if there is a major injury on the offensive line next year there will be issues. However, we weathered a ton of injuries on that line last year (Jansen and Thomas included) and we were able to bring along some young, talented players. But, think of how much smoother next season would be if Jansen, Thomas and the rest of the guys can avoid injuries - you're talking about one of the best collective units in the game. Jansen and Thomas are not washed up and so talk of the O Line needing help is overly exaggerated although a late round flier, especially coached by Joe Bugel, never seems to be a bad idea.

But I am rambling and I want this to be more of a list so here are the needs of the team as I see them, in no particular order:

1. Defensive backs: We need both safties and CB's after the loss of Sean Taylor and the continuing struggles of Carlos Rogers. It was nice to have Shawn Springs healthy for a good chunk of time and Fred Smoot was a reliable asset too. Reed Doughty has proved himself worthy of a shot at a starting spot after taking over for Taylor but depth at both positions are crucial.

2. Defensive line: This group has been so sporadic the last few years that something needs to be added and if this were a car it would be a stabilizing bar. Many projections online have us taking a DT with our 1st round pick and that would definitely be a good move. Phillip Daniels isn't getting any younger either so it might be nice to find his eventual replacement this year too.

3. Offensive line: I already talked about this earlier but a late round pick to add depth seems like the smart play here. Stephon Heyer proved to be a valuable commodity despite not even being drafted so who's to say we won't need another Heyer this year?

4. Quarterback: Yes, Jason Campbell is the QB of the future but if he goes down again, how much longer can we rely on Todd Collins? This year could be the one to draft or sign a younger backup so he could get acclimated to the time and be ready if the situation ever arises. The rest of the offense seems to be in good enough shape (although it would be nice for the WR's to produce more this year) so drafting a future QB could be a luxury this year the Skins may not have next year.

In keeping with continuity, it seems many of these starters could already be the place and the emphasis then should be on selecting role players. I realize we were 9-7 but we were close and when we got on a roll we were one of the toughest teams to play at the end of the year. Adding missing pieces - and not making major renovations - could be just what this team needs to advance in the playoffs next year.

What about Russ?

As we enlarge our coaching search, I have been wondering why Russ Grimm is not a serious candidate to return to his team and take over for his coach.

When Joe Gibbs returned 4 years ago, wasn't it he who wanted to pry Grimm away from the Pittsburgh Steelers to run the offense? And wasn't it those same Steelers who held onto him with their kung fu grip, saying the only way Grimm would leave was if he was to become a head coach somewhere. So what happened?

When Bill Cowher retired after the 2006 season, Grimm and Steelers OC Ken Wisenhunt were the players' favorites to take over the job. However, the Steelers went with Vikings DC Mike Timlin and said goodbye to their offensive masterminds. Wisenhunt still picked up a head coaching job, taking over in Arizona, but Grimm was not so lucky.

Wisenhunt took care of Grimm, bringing him to Arizona, but again it only seemed like a matter of time before Grimm would take over somewhere. But much like his induction to the Hall of Fame, Grimm is still waiting for the phone to ring on a head coaching offer.

It was speculated early on that Grimm could be a candidate to take over in Washington, but in the hordes of candidates Dan Snyder has brought in, Grimm was not one of them. Given Snyder's penchant to relive the glory days it would seem Grimm would have been a good fit for his former team.

Instead, we spent our time hiring coordinators and waiting for other coaching candidates to become available for interviews. We may do okay if we actually hire Giants DC Steve Spagnuolo, especially after what he did to the mighty Patriots, but it still would've been cool to see Grimm head up the latest version of the Skins.

Hopefully the way this process has been drawn out, we will find our perfect fit and Grimm will finally get a well deserved shot with someone.

Fate of three determined tomorrow

While most of the football nation is focused on who will win this year's Super Bowl, Redskins fans all over the world will be scouring the news wire services to see if our favorite WR will finally get the enshrinement into the Hall of Fame that he deserves.

Art Monk is up for election to the Hall for the 8th time while former teammates and Darrell Green and Russ Grimm also hope their phone rings.

I was extremely upset last year when Michael Irvin was voted in before Monk despite Monk finishing his career with higher totals than Irvin. But this article by The Washington Times may have softened my view. Irvin specifically said:

"As great as it was for me last year going into the Hall, that held a hole for me. I don't think I necessarily deserved to be in before Art. How is it you can be No. 1 [in alltime catches as Monk was from 1992 to 1995] and not be in the Hall?"

The simple answer to Irvin's question there - he wasn't Jerry Rice. We also know Sports Illustrated's Peter King was adamant about keeping Monk out of the Hall until recently and now he is leading the charge to finally get him in.

If Monk sees his name omitted from the list of finalists again this year, I say the Hall of Fame (and the writers who vote for the honors) are just as dysfunctional as Dan Snyder and Vinny Cerrato are at running a coaching search.

Here's to hoping at Monk and Green are honored tomorrow.

More coaching drama

So who are we to believe?

According to this tidbit from ESPN's John Clayton, the Skins are set to name Jim Fassel as head coach ... after the team conducts 1-2 more interviews after the Super Bowl. Meanwhile, Colts assistant Ron Meeks has been scheduled for another interview with Dan Snyder and there are now rumors circulating that Snyder's "mystery" candidate could be Steve Mariucci?

My only thought at this point is that this thing is now messier than a soap opera, Skins fans are getting on each other about how much Snyder has screwed up the team since he took over and there seems to be no end in site.

At this point the only thing I can say for sure is that things will definitely be different next year and that continuity Joe Gibbs was trying to bring back in his second run may have just been thrown out the window. I think I'm to the point now where I would just like someone to wake me up when this nightmare is over.

Is the surprise spoiled?

My last post dealt with the lack of noise involving the Skins coaching search and a possible rabbit that could be pulled out of a hat. Well, it looks like the surprise could be spoiled if this is to be believed and this is the big secret.

I hate this move if Jim Fassel is to be named head coach, and am equally not as thrilled if he becomes the OC on Gregg Williams' staff. In case anyone forgot to notice, Fassel struggled his last couple of years with the Giants and his time in Baltimore was a nightmare at best. I'm not saying Al Saunders' days in DC have been anything more than mediocre, but Fassel would be a definite downgrade.

I have no problems with looking at tons of candidates and keeping things hushed up so that your fans have something to get excited about once an announcement is made but this is not the right direction. If Dan Snyder is worried about the offense and the growth of Jason Campbell, let get someone who could move Campbell forward, not set him back.

I don't know who is out there that is looking for a move up, but if the Skins want to go unconventional, let's find someone who has a track record better than mediocre. If you want mediocre or someone like Fassel, go after his former boss Brian Billick instead. At least he won the Super Bowl matchup between the two and held on to his previous job longer.

Are we being deceived in the coaching search?

Bram Weinstein brought up an interesting point in the Redskins Radio e-mail today, saying that the apparent "lack" of information being divulged about the Skins coaching search is very similar to the last time, when Joe Gibbs ended his retirement to resurrect the franchise.

I'm not a huge Weinstein fan, but I do like his comment about waiting for owner Dan Snyder to "pull a rabbit out of his hat." He still thinks the job goes to D coordinator Gregg Williams or recent interview Jim Mora Jr., but I think Snyder is still trying to see if he can convince Bill Cowher or someone with successful, previous head coaching experience to take the helm. I'm for this idea, especially since the Big Tuna already has a new gig.

I've let my thoughts on this matter be known in previous posts and hopefully this matter will be settled soon. There is only so much you can say about a covert coaching search.

Who will be the next coach?

Now that the media carousel is spitting out tons of names for the vacant head coaching gig, let's take a look at who may actually be on the radar:

1. Jim Schwartz (Tennessee defensive coordinator): The first official interview, I find it hard to believe that while he is one of the hot candidates this offseason he will actually get the job. If Dan Snyder decides to hire a defensive minded HC, I think another former Titan DC will get the job. Which brings us to ...

2. Gregg Williams (Washington assistant head coach-defense): This in house candidate and former head coach seemed to be named the successor to Joe Gibbs the moment Gibbs hired him to run the defense. However, the longer this process drags out and the more big name candidates interview for the job, the less likely it seems Williams has the job locked up.

3. Al Saunders (Washington assistant head coach-offense): Another former head coach in the league, Saunders was brought in two years ago to punch up the offense. Unfortunately, I don't know if the offense was really that much better under his guidance and I don't really see him as a likely choice to succeed Gibbs.

4. Bill Cowher (former Pittsburgh head coach): This is the exact type of big splash Snyder has made in the past and he could do a lot worse than hiring the former Steelers head guy. However, Cowher has repeatedly said he wanted to take two years off before coaching again which would put his return in 2009. But we know from experience that if Snyder wants something bad enough, he will usually throw enough money at it to make sure he gets it. So if Cowher feels the need to get rich again, he will probably have the opportunity.

5. Russ Grimm (Arizona assistant head coach-offensive line): Gibbs wanted to bring his former lineman in to run the offense when he returned but Pittsburgh wouldn't let go of him. One of the fans choices to replace Cowher, Grimm was passed up and followed Ken Wisenhunt to Arizona. It's probably not likely Grimm will be hired but it would be fun to see the old "Hog" take control of a team he helped get to 3 Super Bowls as a player.

I personally still think Williams has to be the favorite to get the job but if Cowher can be swayed out of the booth, the job is his. Either one would be a good choice to run the Skins and have the type of mentality needed to keep this team headed in the right direction.

Seattle comeback ends 07 for Skins

Arguably the hottest team in the NFC entering the playoffs, the Skins saw their season come to a halt with a loss at Seattle on Saturday.

But rather than try to dissect what went right, wrong or second-guess the guy getting paid millions to make the decisions, I would like to take a few moments to reflect on how far the team came this year.

I realize I may be shooting myself in the foot with this statement but the fact that we made the playoffs after the season we had should be considered a victory, especially since it looked like we didn't have what it took after the loss to Buffalo. However, the team rallied together and pulled off a run similar to that from a couple of years.

Now that this season is behind the Skins, we will now spend the next few months speculating what options are available and while we will be doing this a little earlier than desired, I believe that the pieces are place for another run next year, despite the fact things looked good heading into '06 after the run to the '05 playoffs.

Aside from speculating about who Dan Snyder will overpay to come play here, Skins have another cause to keep a close eye on - Art Monk's Hall of Fame election. All I will say about this right now is that it is a tragedy Michael Irvin was voted in before Monk, but both deserve to be there. But again, another topic for another time.

I want to close by saying congrats to the Skins for what they did accomplish and let's hope 2008 turns out better than '07.