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Meet the New Boss
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Cerrato declined to respond to the allegation through a team spokesman.
Cerrato was still able to make a signature move. On the first day of training camp, he traded two draft picks, including a second-rounder, to the Miami Dolphins for Pro Bowl defensive end Jason Taylor after the Redskins lost starting end Phillip Daniels to a season-ending injury.
It is common for NFL team officials to use subterfuge with reporters to keep them from reporting a possible trade, but Cerrato went to extraordinary lengths. He lied repeatedly on and off camera to local reporters, denying having any contact with the Dolphins. The next day he went on ESPN, his former employer, and contradicted in great detail his own public statements from a day earlier. Cerrato then did not appear with Zorn and Taylor at the lineman's introductory news conference in Washington.
Looking Ahead
Through the ups and downs, Cerrato, 48, and Snyder, 43, have remained close, Cerrato said. "We have the type of relationship where he calls me two or three times a day anyhow to just say, 'What's going on?' "
The Cerrato-Snyder partnership had its best season with Gibbs in charge in 2007. Several of the free agents Cerrato brought in -- middle linebacker London Fletcher, cornerback Fred Smoot and offensive linemen Todd Wade and Jason Fabini -- were productive and helped the Redskins overcome an inordinate number of injuries. Although Williams was the driving force behind signing Fletcher, who had previously played under Williams when he was the head coach in Buffalo, and offensive line coach Joe Bugel has significant input in decisions along the line, Cerrato took their requests and made them reality.
"I'm accountable, but nobody's perfect," Cerrato said. "I take responsibility . . . that's my job. But [critics] just want to talk about what didn't work. What about what did work?"
Clearly, Cerrato's best recommendation was the drafting of Chris Cooley, who was plucked out of Utah State with a third-round pick in 2004 and has emerged as one of the league's dynamic young tight ends.
The franchise's most critical personnel decision of the past five years remains a work in progress. The team has entrusted the quarterback position to Campbell, and his performance this season will go a long way toward determining if that was the right move.
But that was a decision Cerrato shared with Gibbs. Now Cerrato is alone, facing the most intense scrutiny he has ever encountered. For the first time, a team's performance will reflect directly on him. He said he is ready.
"How we play, I really think it's on everybody, but I'll get criticized if we don't do well, which is probably the way should be," Cerrato said. "But the bottom line is that if you win you're smart, if you don't win you're not. Basically, you can break it down pretty simply: Winning takes care of all."
