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Room for another voice? Schottenheimer would consider sharing power with GMPosted: Tuesday January 08, 2002 9:44 PMUpdated: Wednesday January 09, 2002 11:45 AM
Washington head coach Marty Schottenheimer on Tuesday made it clear to Redskins owner Daniel Snyder that he can co-exist with a still-to-be-named general manager, depending on how the position is structured and how much authority that person is given, a league source said. After meeting with Snyder on Monday evening and hearing of the owner's desire to bring in a general manager to share power in terms of personnel decisions and other matters relating to football operations, Schottenheimer responded on Tuesday with a limited acceptance of the proposal. Schottenheimer wants to continue to coach the team and will accept a general manager providing that he still retains the final say -- or at least significant power -- in personnel matters. If Schotteheimer, however, believes that Snyder's choice for general manager will in effect usurp his authority, the two sides likely still will be headed for a parting of the ways and a negotiated settlement of the $7.5 million that remains on Schottenheimer's contract. Snyder gave Schottenheimer almost complete control over Redskins personnel matters last January, when he hired him to a four-year, $10 million contract as the team's head coach and director of football operations. "Marty's answer to Snyder was that he would consider it," a league source said. "It depends on the how the authority is divided. Marty is waiting to figure out not so much who will get the job, but the generalities of the position. What is the authority of the position and how far does it extend? What does it entail?" The source went on to say that Snyder expressed a comfort level with keeping Schottenheimer as his coach. Speculation has been rampant since Friday that Washington would make a strong push to replace Schottenheimer with Steve Spurrier, the former University of Florida head coach. What can not be ruled out is that Snyder already has received word that he has no realistic shot at Spurrier, and thus has turned his attention back to Schottenheimer. Former San Diego and Washington general manager Bobby Beathard and former Green Bay general manager Ron Wolf have both been mentioned as potential hires in Snyder's search for a general manager. Beathard is considered the front-runner. But neither man is likely to join Washington if Schottenheimer retains final say on player-personnel decisions. Thus, Snyder may be forced to either look for GM candidates who would agree to equal or less power than Schottenheimer, or pay for an expensive buyout of the head coach who won eight of his final 11 games this season after an 0-5 start. The league source said Snyder this week has seemed to be more willing to show patience with Schottenheimer's program and acknolwedged the importance of projecting the perception of continuity and stability in the organization. How long Snyder's general manager search will take is anyone's guess. But it's a safe bet that Schottenheimer's job status will not truly be cemented until that process yields a hire, and both head coach and owner sign off on the move.
As the coaching carousel turns ...
You know that old saying about if it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck? You can replace the word duck with the words head coach in this instance. After McCombs had Tice play the role of de-facto head coach, officials in the organization are more convinced than ever that he'll wind up being the owner's choice in the near future.
Don Banks covers pro football for CNNSI.com.
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