Ashburn Syndrome, or reason for optimism for Washington Football Team?

Keeping the best pieces in Ashburn

Even in an organization of dysfunction and losing, there can be quality people. And even through  all the sweeping changes in Washington over the past eight months, a couple notable men remained.  Those two guys were Kyle Smith and Doug Williams.

Kyle Smith has received high praise from many high ranking officials around the league for the work he’s done with the draft the past few seasons. He’s a bright young football mind and most importantly, he’s established a strong working relationship with Coach Rivera. The relationship of the head coach and the lead personnel man is absolutely vital to the success of any NFL organization. It’s something we haven’t had in Washington since Gibbs and Casserly.

Doug Williams is now the VP of Player Development. Those pundits will say this just a fancy title for a former legend the organization simply wants to keep around. But be assured, the responsibilities of Williams are valuable to coach Rivera and the culture he’s establishing in Washington. Ultimately, this is a players league. Coaches need the players to buy into the plan.

Rivera is tough and disciplined, but he’s a players’ coach. Not the Jay Gruden style of a players’ coach that sees him getting a purple nurple from a player. Not the kind of players’ coach that makes jokes and lets the players do as they please. Nah, he’s the kind of players’ coach that will establish a culture of family. He’s the players’ coach that will become a father figure and mentor.  He’s the players’ coach that will have respect from his players and treat them fairly. He’s the kind of coach players respond to. But this paragraph is about Doug (Sorry, Rivera gets me excited).

Doug is going to be critical with helping to establish these relationships between players and the organization. Doug is respected by the players; he’s got a great ability as a former player to relate to many of the guys. He just get’s it, and the players see that. Rivera has openly said he wants to create an atmosphere that’s all about the players. Doug will be vital with this process.

Additionally, Julie Donaldson was hired as VP of Media by the team. Talk about a home run hire! If there was a picture of a person in the dictionary who defines the word “professionalism”, it’s Julie.  Her work for NBC Sports Washington speaks for itself.  Well-respected, prepared, and professional are all adjectives used by her peers to describe her, and all things that have been missing for too long for this organization.