The Redskins over the weekend signed coach Jay Gruden to a multiyear extension, but it just "seems like an attempt to shift the conversation" away from GM Scot McCloughan's Scouting Combine absence, according to Michael Smith of ESPN. Smith: "You sign a coach to a contract that does nothing but put more guaranteed money in his pocket in the event that (Owner) Daniel Snyder goes back to being Daniel Snyder and pulls the plug early." Smith said it seems like the Redskins are just saying, "Let's sign Jay Gruden, let's put some good news out there." Smith: "Many have speculated that that was a PR ploy as much as a reward for back-to-back winning seasons" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 3/6). ESPN's Dan Le Batard said the extension "doesn't mean much" because the team can "end that contract whenever they want to, they just have to eat the money, which isn't something Daniel Snyder ever minds doing" ("Highly Questionable," ESPN, 3/6). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said the extension was for "PR reasons." Wilbon: "They did it because they're a dysfunctional, absurd organization and they have (all) sorts of things going wrong" ("PTI," ESPN, 3/6). The Undefeated's Jason Reid said, "This is the way the Redskins do business." Reid said sources have told him "about friction" between McCloughan and Redskins President Bruce Allen. Redskins staffers "don't know what is going on." Reid said at the Combine last week, "I had people coming up to me asking what's going on and they're coming up to other reporters asking what's going on" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 3/6).
TAKING OWNERSHIP: In DC, Deron Snyder writes under the header, "Offseason Mess Is a Familiar, Discordant Tune." Whenever a "lucid, intelligent and well thought-out route is available," the Redskins' brass "inevitably heads in the opposite direction" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/7). Also in DC, Thomas Boswell writes under the header, "O's Are Winning Despite Their Owner, The Redskins Can Too." Redskins Owner Dan Snyder feels like the "dark cloud that hung over the Orioles for 14 straight losing seasons -- the cloud named Peter Angelos." Snyder and Angelos, the Orioles owner, are "very different people but similar in their ability to undermine, and sometimes almost single-handedly destroy the outcome that they are trying to achieve." But the sports world is "FULL of poor-to-awful owners." And many teams have won "despite their owners." Boswell: "In fact, sometimes second or third-rate owners, like Angelos and Snyder, make decisions that end up being good for bizarre or even incorrect reasons" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/7).
