Riggo is right

I don't have to listen to John Riggins to dislike Daniel Snyder. I just have to remember when he bought the Redskins a decade ago and started firing people who had been with the franchise for years. Why? Because he could. So when Riggins says Snyder has a "dark heart,'' I don't think back to Riggo's various transgressions, like his inebriated: "Loosen up, Sandy, baby" to Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. I just think of an insecure 33-year-old NFL owner who had to show some loyal low- and middle-level employees who was the boss. OK, Snyder has matured to the extent that we all do in a decade. But he's still feuding with Redskins season-ticket holders. He still runs a stadium that is one of the least pleasant to visit in the NFL. And, worst for his fans, he still can't figure out how to put together a winner. He is, as I've termed him over the years: "Dan the Fan,'' someone whose idea of building a team is similar to ideas promulgated by people who call talk shows and suggest: "Why don't we trade Jason Campbell and a No. 1 pick to the Patriots for Tom Brady?'' That latent insecurity was obvious in his response to Riggins: ordering up a press release that has defensive coordinator Greg Blache defending him. "There's times he's come to me when he's heard about issues in my family and offered his assistance ...,'' Blache is quoted as saying or Snyder. "He's one of the most generous, kind individuals you'll ever meet.'' Look, all owners in all sports are subject to criticism when they lose. Including, occasionally, from ex-players. The smart ones ignore it, instead of denouncing the denouncer. Al Davis, who's down there with Snyder on an "NFL's worst owner'' list, did the same thing this week, attacking ESPN for alleging that his coach, Tom Cable, struck an ex-wife and a former girlfriend. The most obvious way Snyder can make Skins fans happy is to win. Absent of that, he can put his team on the right track to doing that by doing what every smart owner in every sport does: hire the best person he can find to run the team and getting out of the way. There are examples to the immediate to the north of him: Jeffrey Lurie in Philadelphia; John Mara and Steve Tisch in New York and Robert Kraft in New England. Do that and even Riggo might forgive him...