Earlier this season, I told you the San Francisco 49ers are everything the Redskins should be and currently aren’t. While I won’t claim credit for inspiring the following, I’ll simply point out the ‘Skins are clearly using the NFC-champion Niners as the subject of their remodeling. This time last year, the Niners were a 4-12 afterthought, counting down the days until they could find improvement through free agency and the NFL draft in which they held the second overall pick. Now the 49ers are one win away from one of the unlikeliest championships in professional sports history. San Fran’s 13 regular season wins in 2019 is one more than they had over the previous three seasons combined, propelling them to the first-ever Super Bowl berth following four straight seasons with double digit losses. The Redskins, fresh off a putrid 3-13 campaign, now find themselves in the same place as last year’s 49ers — right down to holding a proverbial lottery ticket in a draft expected to yield a transformative defensive player at No. 2 overall. Of course, Kyle Shanahan’s presence on the San Francisco sideline doesn’t hurt the parallel. So naturally, the question here in D.C. is: Can the Redskins author a similar turnaround in 2020?
#49ers went from four straight 10-loss seasons to #NFCChampions.
Each of last four #NFCChamps now has resulted from a quick turnaround. Forget five- or even three-year plans. If you have right people & right process, going from bad to great can happen quickly.#Redskins pic.twitter.com/U1RJ8ZnDRr — Al Galdi (@AlGaldi) January 20, 2020
Crazier things have happened in this league, and frankly, the Redskins play in an NFC East division that’s far inferior to the 49ers’ NFC West, giving them an easier path out of mediocrity if hiring Ron Rivera as coach and making him the center of the football operation works out the way they plan. Though it goes against conventional wisdom, the coach-focused approach worked for two playoff teams, the 49ers and Bills (the latter led by Rivera’s former Carolina defensive coordinator Sean McDermott). It’s hard to give the Redskins organization (namely Dan Snyder) the benefit of the doubt — but anyone who’s seen Rivera in the NFL Films series “All or Nothing” last year has to feel good about the direction the ‘Skins are headed under his guidance. Plus, for the first time in the Synder era, the front office appears to be organized in a way that’s actually conducive to winning.
Guys. It’s a big thing, as I said yesterday. They moved Doug off to the side, promoted Kyle, filled Kyle’s spot with Gribble. They have a complete personnel department now. College and pro. This does not seem like a temporary setup. Kyle is the guy. https://t.co/5XAWjrjyP6
— Burgundy Blog (@BurgundyBlog) January 14, 2020
It’s fair to question Rivera’s record, and I have. But he’s exactly what the Redskins need right now: A good coach who preaches accountability and establishes the kind of culture change we’ve spent years begging for. Finally, without being facetious, fans in D.C. are saying the word 49ers owner Jed York used while his team celebrated with the Halas Trophy no one thought they’d win.