- 4 hours ago
JP, BMitch, and callers debate whether it's truly worth it for the Commanders to fire head coach Dan Quinn.
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00:00I don't even mean specifically here right now.
00:04I mean, in general, firing the head coach in season,
00:11do you think it's a value proposition?
00:15If you already have someone in mind,
00:18or you have a lot of people out there and you can go and start looking,
00:23or you have somebody on the staff that could just jump into that position right now, yeah.
00:28But just to do it, just to appease people that are yelling, no.
00:33That's what I wonder.
00:35Is it, we live in a pound of flesh society, right,
00:39where something happens and people want their retribution.
00:42And fans are incredibly fed up, furious, whatever you want to say with Quinn.
00:48And I do think the giant game, the way it finished,
00:54is a mark of distinction in the you've got to fire this dude column, right,
00:59because of how that ended.
01:02Yeah.
01:03I just don't know that it actually makes them better.
01:07It doesn't because, see, that's the thing.
01:10And I'm not saying they shouldn't do it.
01:11I'm just talking like big picture hypothetical.
01:14But the thing about it, listen, man, people always say fire somebody.
01:18But you ask the question all the time, then who are you going to hire?
01:22Like, you don't fire somebody and immediately get better.
01:26When you fire somebody, now somebody else rolls and changes everything.
01:30Things normally get worse.
01:32And I think people have to look at that.
01:33Because, like, let's look at the 20-plus years of Dan.
01:36Every one to two years they wanted somebody fired, right?
01:40And every one to two years somebody rolled in, and then you got worse.
01:44And then about three years later they were firing them again,
01:47and then you got worse.
01:48But everybody kept wanting people to get fired, and they kept hiring people.
01:53You got to have a plan if you're going to do something like that.
01:55And I understand that, fans, you have your right to say what you want to say.
02:00The people making decisions and doing things have to be able to say,
02:03you know what, we know what they want, and I know how we're going to get there.
02:08We're going to do it our way.
02:09You can't just be, you know, making these little quick decisions based off of emotions.
02:18Agree with that.
02:19And I don't think if they lose Sunday night national football, like national stage,
02:24I don't think it would be a quick emotion thing.
02:27I think if they fired him after the Giant game, that might be quick emotions.
02:31I think at this point, if you look, the record is what the record is.
02:34I remember during the Bruce Allen era, towards the end there,
02:38and everybody started getting very personal in their attacks on Bruce.
02:42I was like, this doesn't need to be a personal thing.
02:44Just look at the record.
02:46Like, the record is enough.
02:48And you've won one game through six.
02:51Last year you won three.
02:52Like, the record is enough.
02:54I just fundamentally don't know.
02:59Now, you're right.
03:00If they come out Sunday night and look flat and disengaged and there is, like, a real conversation
03:07that he's lost in the locker room or something, different vibe, right?
03:10But if they continue to play decent ball and fight, like, do you –
03:16I believe if you fire Dan Quinn, you're going to Anthony Lynn, right?
03:21Does Anthony Lynn running the program do anything beyond satiate a fan base that's pissed off?
03:30And I'm not advocating for DQ to keep his job through the end of the year or not.
03:34I'm just, like, talking hypothetical philosophical.
03:38There have been situations where you see a head coach on a team
03:44and either the D coordinator or O coordinator has the feel of the vibe, the emotions of the team.
03:50Yeah.
03:51You know, the special teams coach might do that.
03:53It may be a D-line coach, whatever.
03:56I think when you look at this coaching staff, I believe the guys follow what Dan does.
04:02I don't think it's another coach who has the heartbeat of the team.
04:06You get what I'm saying?
04:07So, when you make that move, you want somebody that has the vibe of the whole team.
04:14Like, when they fired Norv and Terry Rabisky took over.
04:17Terry Rabisky was the receiver coach.
04:20But every position and every player on his team knew when stuff was happening, they looked for Terry.
04:26Right.
04:26Terry was the emotional guy.
04:28He was the cool dude.
04:29He knew how to deal with people.
04:32You know, he had no problem talking to anybody on the team.
04:34So, Norv didn't have the heartbeat of the five of the team.
04:38So, it was easy to make that transition.
04:40When you look at this one, you've been around.
04:43I've been around.
04:44I don't know anybody else that has that same level that Dan has.
04:49Now, Larry might have more of a vibe than anybody.
04:52It's up.
04:52Because you got all the different guys walking in.
04:54Yeah.
04:54You basically have a guy who coaches everybody but the starting quarterback.
05:00Right.
05:00You know what I mean?
05:01So, when you start looking at these things, you have to have a game plan.
05:05And I understand that we get to this point most times where you got to find, got to find, got
05:10to find.
05:10And I'm like, listen, man.
05:12Just like you stated yesterday, the people that own this team, they made a lot of money.
05:20They had to be some shrewd people.
05:22They don't just jump because you say do something.
05:25They're going to come out to make sure if I make this move, I have a game plan.
05:29When Josh came out and said, I'm not no F-minus type of person, he didn't just say it without
05:35a plan.
05:36He came out with a plan.
05:36And you saw him implement that plan.
05:38And things changed upon that.
05:40I'm sure he's having meetings.
05:42He's trying to figure out stuff.
05:43But he's not going to make no move without a game plan.
05:47I agree with that.
05:48And they may have a game plan at this point.
05:50Or, you know what Harris is entitled to?
05:52Just being so pissed off that he wants to fire somebody.
05:55When you pay $6 billion for something, you're entitled to that.
05:59Right?
05:59But I just pulled this.
06:01Looking at all these coaches of this franchise over the last 20 years.
06:10So, Harris buys a team.
06:11They were terrible.
06:12He doesn't fire Rivera in season.
06:14Let's him get through to the end.
06:16Some of that, I don't know that there was somebody to hand it over to.
06:19Some of it was just like, we're terrible.
06:21Let's just get through the year.
06:22Give Ron his grace.
06:24And start fresh.
06:25So, Ron makes it to the end of the year and gets canned.
06:28I think they politely tried to call that a mutually agreed to part ways, actually.
06:34Whatever you call it, we know what it was.
06:35The last coach fired in season was Jay Gruden.
06:38And that was a really bad team that Bruce Allen had put together.
06:41Bruce Allen had inserted Bill Callahan onto that coaching staff probably two or three years prior.
06:47Bruce and Callahan go way back to their Raiders days, probably further back than that.
06:52So, what happened that year, their opening stretch was brutal.
06:57They started 0-5.
06:58They were getting their ass kicked.
06:59I'll never forget the way Gruden walked out of the visitor's locker room at the Meadowlands.
07:07I want to say that was week four.
07:10And they lost 24-3 in that game.
07:12And I remember the look on Jay's eyes that he was like, I don't know if I'm getting on this
07:17bus.
07:17I don't know if I'm getting fired in this tunnel.
07:19But, undoubtedly, Bruce kept him around for the Patriots game because the Pats team that year was a wagon.
07:27Everybody knew Washington would get smoked.
07:29What happens?
07:29Pats come to town.
07:30Washington gets smoked 33-7.
07:32They fired Jay then.
07:34And they fired Jay because the following week, the Skins were playing the Dolphins in Miami.
07:40Both teams were 0-5.
07:42And that was the best chance to get Callahan a win to maybe try to refresh the program.
07:47He got the win.
07:48It almost went to overtime.
07:50It dropped a two-point conversion.
07:51Likely cost Washington the opportunity to draft Joe Burrow, depending on how many sliding doors you want to open here.
07:59They beat the Dolphins.
08:00And it's like, oh, maybe there'll be fresh blood here.
08:03They go on to lose like eight in a row.
08:05So, it didn't work.
08:08It didn't make them better to fire the coach in season.
08:12But that was a Dan Bruce operation, the bad old days, right?
08:16Going further back, the last coach in Washington that deserved to be fired at the end of the year was
08:23Mike Shanahan in 2013.
08:25When it was so obviously nuclear between the coaching staff, portions of the locker room, and ownership.
08:33Do you remember late that year when Shani would leak something new to Schefter every Sunday morning?
08:40And it was just an absolute toxic S show?
08:44And Snyder didn't fire him to make Shanahan suffer.
08:47He's like, I know you want out.
08:48You're stuck, dude.
08:50Like, that is how broken things used to be.
08:51But see, that's the thing, though, Jay.
08:53But all that stuff right there has nothing to do with now.
08:55Agreed.
08:55This group is not that group.
08:57Okay?
08:58Agreed.
08:58We had a straight S show.
08:59Everything was wrong.
09:01If people could blame Dan, you could blame Shanahan.
09:04Like, Coach Thompson always said, if you're working for that person, it's their money.
09:08They have the right to do what they want to do.
09:09But Shanahan rolled in and thought he could change everything that somebody wanted to do and do it how he
09:13wanted to do it.
09:14I don't think we're at that point.
09:16Agreed.
09:16You know, we're at the point now where things don't look anywhere like we thought it would.
09:21Okay?
09:22And I believe we have to allow this thing to go through.
09:25Like, the next two games are going to be something vital.
09:28So, whether or not that they're going to make a decision and release or not, I don't know that.
09:34But the coaches stated, we got to play four quarters.
09:37Well, damn it, we need to see it.
09:38I've been asking for it for about four or five weeks.
09:40He said, this half and that half can't be the plan.
09:42They have to.
09:43They have to play it.
09:43Got to stop killing themselves.
09:45And that is something that has been the major problem for me where you look at the team, you look
09:51at all the people around,
09:52and you go, why are you constantly doing this?
09:56You get in situations, it's got to the point where when a big play happened, I hesitate.
10:03You know?
10:04And it's because, just like, you know, like a team that is used to losing at the end.
10:08You're winning the game, you're looking at the clock like, what the hell, are we going to lose this?
10:12You know what I'm saying?
10:14I haven't got the feeling to where I can't look and think something bad has happened when a big play
10:20goes on.
10:22Our guy Mark is in Largo.
10:23Mark, hypothetical conversation, just about firing coaches in season.
10:28Does it actually have a benefit beyond just the feeling of exercising some anger?
10:35No, I don't.
10:36I don't think it has any benefit at all, period.
10:39I think doing it during the season doesn't benefit you.
10:44But we did this in 2000 when everybody wanted Norb to be fired, and we didn't make the playoffs.
10:50We did it in, I mean, you know, we've done it several times, and I just don't think it benefits
10:58us.
10:59And I think, I understand everybody wants a pound of flesh.
11:03And I'm not going to go into what I said about the screener.
11:06But I think we have to really, really take a step back as fans and start thinking, you know, these
11:13people are human beings, too.
11:16And sometimes, you know, we've got to start affecting, start thinking about the effects of everything that's going on.
11:24But I'm saying that to say this.
11:27If the players are with Dan, they're not going to touch him.
11:34Herrick, Peters, they're not going to touch him.
11:36If the players are still with him, they're not going to touch him.
11:38Just the bottom line.
11:40Because we could say, let's fire Dan if they lose on Sunday.
11:44And then at the end of the season, guess what?
11:46But Jaden announces, Jaden, at least how Jaden wants to be traded to another team for two first rounds.
11:53That would piss everybody off in this time.
12:00I think that's a pretty extreme hypothetical.
12:05I don't know why.
12:07I mean, I think Quinn and Jaden are close.
12:10I think, you know, you've already ridden through the fairly public,
12:15don't get rid of Cliff, and then Cliff is gone, and Jaden's still here.
12:18He's also under contract.
12:20It's much, to me, far too much gets made of the contract situation.
12:24I think you just pick up the option year, the first day you're allowed to this offseason,
12:29and that's how you move forward here.
12:32It's like, oh, well, he's under contract for two more seasons.
12:34We're super excited about it.
12:36If you look at C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young right now,
12:40that has kind of, of the newest classes of quarterbacks,
12:43that's kind of the way that has gone.
12:45Now, could that get more complicated if New England and Chicago immediately go
12:51to make turn deals with Drake and Caleb?
12:53I think all that, like you're saying, though, it has ramifications, too.
12:57See, we always talk about building a team and moving forward.
13:00Yeah.
13:01When you don't show that you're behind that quarterback,
13:05your team, that rotate, that kind of goes through your team is like,
13:10well, hell, we don't know what's next.
13:12What's the plan?
13:13Is this our guy?
13:14We're going to be looking for another guy?
13:16So all those rumblings go through your team.
13:19So you've got to come through a point where you have a game plan and make sure,
13:23you know, like we can't say build for the future when you don't have a future
13:26to be built for.
13:28So all that stuff is going to come to a point, and I think I agree with Mark on that.
13:33When it seems like everybody's with that coach,
13:36what are you going to do in the middle of the season?
13:37Get rid of this coach.
13:38They all were fighting for him.
13:40You get rid of him.
13:41You just told everybody we gave up on the season.
13:44But then as fans, we sit here the whole year.
13:47Y'all got to fight harder.
13:49Fight for what?
13:50You just told me you weren't trying to win the rest of the season.
13:53We got rid of everything we worked on.
13:55We're going to bring somebody else in that did not implement all this stuff.
13:59Is that different, though, if you're just hiring from within,
14:03where it's an ideal you continue it?
14:05Like I stated earlier, if that guy was the guy with the heartbeat of the team,
14:10and we know when we watch teams and we watch stuff,
14:13we know the coach beyond the head coach who's the guy.
14:18You see it.
14:20You know, guys mention the person's name all the time.
14:23I haven't heard nothing like that.
14:26Phones are open, 800-636-1067, 800-636-1067.
14:32I'm going to get Kevin and PG County on real quick.
14:34What's up, Kev?
14:36Hey, fellas.
14:37Look, as a Kansas season ticket holder,
14:41I brought in just like everybody else brought in, listen to Magic Johnson,
14:47listen to the press conference.
14:48I was there when all this jumped off.
14:52And you know what?
14:53During that first year, nobody was selling their tickets.
14:57The middle of last year, when it was obvious that he has no clue of how to manage
15:03and organize this organization, people start selling their tickets to opposing teams.
15:08This year, we're almost back to the wrong river.
15:11Look, man, there is no foundation with Dan Quinn right now.
15:16The same time management issue, all that stuff has been going on for three years.
15:22The first year, they won, but it's been magnified now.
15:26So you can talk about holding on to them or whatever, but what I'm saying is this.
15:31And then you're talking about in four years having season ticket holders pay
15:36seat licenses for the new stadium.
15:39Man, look here, man.
15:40They're going to have to think about that from that perspective.
15:43Because people are pissed off.
15:45They're paying people who are paying to go in there.
15:48Man, look.
15:49I think that's a real thing at a certain point.
15:52I don't know if that point is week eight.
15:54And if it's to hold on for the sake of holding on to them, that ain't going to work for
15:58us.
15:59Okay?
16:00I don't think somebody is saying, hold on just to hold on.
16:03But you better have a damn game plan.
16:05Are you happy just firing somebody just to fire them and don't have a game plan?
16:10No, we don't have a game plan now.
16:12Man, we don't have a foundation.
16:15Look, all the best teams that are playing, the two things you know about them,
16:20that their foundation was built, a decent quarterback, an O-line, and a defensive line.
16:26We have not built an offensive line in three years.
16:30We done put a man who was getting dump trucked and forklifts, going to left guard,
16:36going to this season as our primary center.
16:39So, come on, man.
16:40Y'all know everybody sees it.
16:43I mean, I was not a professional football player.
16:47But I know when I can see that there's no organization, there's no game plan,
16:53there's no foundation.
16:54Because if you're going to build a team out, it starts in the trenches.
16:59Okay?
17:00And that did not happen.
17:02We decided to create a guy as our primary pass rusher.
17:07And for the last, the previous two years, we had guys on one-year contracts
17:11that have more sacks than he does right now.
17:14So, come on, man.
17:15What are we doing, man?
17:16What are we talking about here?
17:18Yeah.