By John Sarianides

One of my favorite expressions regarding leadership is the fish rots from the head down. In the case of the Washington Redskins, it really does.

Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is a wealthy, highly successful, intelligent businessman who owns one of the most storied franchises in the NFL. Yet, despite that, he can’t seem to figure what direction he wants to take the franchise in. Some times he plays the role of the meddlesome owner while at other times he passes the buck to his front office and stays out of team affairs.

Snyder has aligned himself with team president Bruce Allen who is a respected figure in the NFL but is also a notorious power monger. Allen doesn’t like sharing power with anyone in the organization. That is one of the reasons the Redskins fired general manager Scot McCloughan last week.

McCloughan was reportedly terminated because of his issues with alcohol but that is not the only reason. II am sure he was also terminated because he had full control of the roster and Allen did not like that.

Allen and McCloughan didn’t see eye to eye on the roster. Not only that but Allen didn’t like the fact that McCloughan was getting credit for the Redskins turnaround in recent seasons. It bothered him. Allen felt that too much of the credit was going to the general manager and not enough credit was going to him and head coach Jay Gruden. That is why Allen and Gruden essentially teamed up against McCloughan.

Then there is the situation involving quarterback Kirk Cousins and his contract. Allen doesn’t seem to think Cousins is a franchise quarterback so while the Redskins have paid him like one the past two seasons, they refuse to commit to him long term. Despite signing his $24 million dollar tender last week, Cousins wants out of Washington and has vowed not to sign an extension as long as Allen is in charge.

All of this ultimately falls on Snyder. As the owner, he needs to take control of the situation, reign in his people and settle whatever differences exist within the organization. Instead of doing that, he is fostering a culture of instability and insecurity. That is a recipe for disaster.

Now the Redskins are on the brink of hiring Allen’s good buddy NFL draft expert Mike Mayock as the team’s new general manager. Mayock is a solid talent evaluator but he has no front office experience. It doesn’t matter in Washington however because Mayock gets along with the one guy who has Synder’s ear. As long as he gets along with Allen and does what he’s told, he’ll be fine.

The Redskins were on the brink of becoming a consistent contender after the 2015 season and after barely missing out on the playoffs last season, there was hope in D.C again. Now McCloughan is gone, the quarterback wants out and the team president is about to hire a guy with no front office experience to pick the players. The Redskins are going backwards again and it is really not all that surprising. Daniel Synder is the owner. The Redskins will never truly contend as long as he owns the team.