For Players, Resignation Is 'Kind of a Shocker' (washingtonpost.com)

Wow. I feel bad for Spurrier. As Kornheiser mentions in his column, he's looked defeated and unhappy these last few weeks. On other other hand, I'm glad because I know that the right coach will undoubtedly be more successful than Spurrier was. But finally, I think the Achilles heel that will keep the Skins from being as good as they possibly can be is Snyder as the owner/GM. Once he learns to hire good football people, let them run the team, and not interfere at all (Cerrato is a kiss-up know-nothing), then the Skins have a chance to do something. Until that happens, the best the Skins can hope for is a disciplined, no-nonsense coach that gets the Skins to maximize their talent and get them to the playoffs. In this day and age, Parcells has shown the power of a good head coach. With the right GM, you can upgrade that talent and go even further, possibly reaching the Super Bowl. For the Skins, they need one step at a time. First, start with a coach that can get them to the playoffs. Then hopefully it's on a consistent basis. Then worry about fine-tuning later.

Some of the names being thrown around early on are encouraging. Mostly, I like the fact that the Skins would pursue Denny Green and Ray Rhodes. On the downside, while I think Denny Green would be great, I think it's his desire to also be GM that would ultimately lead to a falling out and split with Snyder in a handful of years (at most). I'd be most excited about Ray Rhodes, especially as a "fire and brimstone" guy. It's cool to hear that he stayed close to Snyder, even after leaving. He definitely deserves a chance to be the head guy. He had some good years in Philly and one mediocre year in GB. He's got the right tools to succeed and I hope he gets a chance. He knows that the Skins need discipline (he saw some of the same problems as DC under Norv) and can instill it. He had the defense ranked in the top 10.

Tom Coughlin sounds like he'd be another good candidate. I'd be pretty discouraged with any other college coaches being interviewed.

At least this adds intrigue for the Skins as the playoffs unfold and the team out of the dance.