Those of us in the DC area already know what I’m talking about, but the DC Dictator has reached out now to squash a part of the local radio market.

That’s right, Danny Snyder has purchased the DC Sports Talk Radio station - Formerly Sports Talk 980, and this morning I turn it on and find it is “ESPN 980″.

Yeah, that was me in my car this morning with the confused look on my face.

That’s right, like many in the Maryland area who can get Baltimore and DC radio, now we can get Mike and Mike’s national show (hard-hitting as usual) on TWO stations and now have zero alternative.

For those not familiar with 980, it is also (or was also) the primary station for Fox Sports Radio’s Morning Show with Steve Czaban (”The First Team on FOX”). Can you imagine being a national show host and having your local station rip you off the air? I can’t, and Steve does his best to hold his tongue (something he’s NOT known for, thankfully) at The Daily Czabe.

Other local radio hosts (not a fan of them) are now gone as well, but I just couldn’t believe that they took FSR’s morning show off the air.

Every time a local market gets less diverse, there is a problem - but to lose a national radio host seems like a big hit, especially in a big market like the DC Metro area.

Local sports fans are not that happy with the decision either, as you can imagine, as all local hosts were nuked except for The Sports Reporters (also with Czaban) in the afternoon. Yeah, I’m sure that will be uneventful once Czaban blasts management again.

Fans of FSR’s Morning Show can still listen on XM Satellite radio (and possibly Sirius down the line after XM and Sirius merge), but to make everyone hunt for another option seems like a bad move. Which leads me back to the owner of the Redskins, so I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised.

It’s hard to believe that it took the loss of Philip Daniels to season-ending knee surgery to get the always active Daniel Snyder to trade for sack master Jason Taylor. But shortly after Daniels was lost for the season in 7-on-7 drills in practice, the team put together a package (2nd and 6th round draft picks) to acquire the 33-year old defensive end from the Miami Dolphins.

It’s no secret that Taylor has been on the market since the day Bill Parcells took over the franchise. While it’s unclear why Parcells and Taylor seemed ill at ease with one another, the fact remains a deal to move the 6-time Pro Bowler has been in the works for a long time.

Taylor, who chose to spend his offseason Dancing with the Stars instead of practicing with the fins joins a team that plays a 4-3 defensive front and is in desperate need of another defensive playmaker. While Taylor isn’t a spring chicken, he’s inarguably among the best conditioned athletes in the league and remains highly effective:

• Taylor had 11 sacks last year
• His 117 career sacks put him 14th all-time
• He has six seasons of 10+ sacks, including the last three consecutively
• Taylor hasn’t missed a game since 1999

What does this mean for fantasy owners?

Washington ranked 16th last year with 33 sacks. The addition of Taylor should push them into the top-10; which means more chances for the defensive secondary to make big plays on the ball, to boot. The Redskins are a team in flux this year with a new head Coach (Jim Zorn), offensive coordinator (Sherm Smith) and defensive coordinator (Greg Blache) but now have a weapon that might make them competitive in the toughest division in the NFC. The ability to generate big plays (sacks, INTs, defensive TDs) is the difference between being a fantasy afterthought or an every week starting option. The Skins MAY have just moved from the former to the latter.

A few weeks ago, shortly after Joe Gibbs announced he wouldn’t return to coach the Redskins; it was widely believed that either Al Saunders or Gregg Williams would succeed him as the team’s head coach. Then, both were unceremoniously fired and Jim Zorn and Greg Blache were named OC and DC, respectively; despite the team having yet to hire a head coach.

Zorn, who spent the bulk of this decade coaching Matt Hasselbeck in Seattle as the QB coach, was a surprise hire as OC; but one that is well versed in a variety of offensive styles. Blache, who was one of Williams’ defensive assistants, was less surprising since he was already on staff and had experience as a coordinator in Chicago.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve been left to wonder who Daniel Snyder would hire as head coach; with a ready made set of assistants in place. Jim Fassel was “the guy” according to a lot of pundits [who I’m increasingly starting to think have no real edge in their sources]; while names like Steve Mariucci, Steve Spagnuolo and Ron Meeks were bandied about.

And now, after much speculation and fanfare…the Redskins have hired their head coach.

JIM ZORN.

Yes, leave it to Daniel Snyder to poach his own freshly hired coordinator for a job on the same staff. While official contract details haven’t been released, several sources say Zorn has signed a 5-year, $15mm deal to replace Joe Gibbs. To say this move is surprising would be an understatement. Zorn has never called plays in the NFL and now will be responsible for replacing a Hall of Fame head coach.

But just because the hire is unconventional; doesn’t mean it was ill conceived. Personally, I think the Redskins are far better off giving a young up-and-comer like Zorn a try than a retread like Jim Fassel who has modest success in New York and was a complete washout as OC in Baltimore. While many will harp on Zorn’s lack of experience (he’s never been a coordinator), let’s not forget that Snyder has watched the Andy Reid-led Philadelphia Eagles dominate the NFC East for the better part of the new millennium. For those with short memories, recall that Reid - like Zorn - was hired as a head coach after serving as a QB coach. Reid - like Zorn - had no NFL coordinator experience. Reid - like Zorn - honed his craft at the side of Mike Holmgren.

Ultimately whether Jim Zorn is successful in Washington; it won’t be because he never called plays or ran a franchise before this hire. I say kudos on the bold move; the Skins face daunting competition from arguably the toughest division opponents in the league. A “safe” hire would’ve been the easy, but wrong move to make.

Joe Gibbs announced his retirement today; citing a desire to spend more time with his family. While the move is certainly understandable given Gibbs’ age, the stresses of coaching an NFL team, and the turmoil surrounding the Redskins’ season (most notably the death of Sean Taylor)…the move surprised many because the Skins are coming off a playoff season and owner Daniel Snyder allegedly had a 2-year extension on the table.

Now that the decision is final, the questions turn toward the future:

• Who will replace Gibbs at the helm?
• If DC Gregg Williams gets the job, will OC Al Saunders stick around?
• Likewise, if Saunders lands the top job, will Williams look for work elsewhere?

Those questions will be answered in due time, but today was a day for reflection. Specifically, was Joe Gibbs’ second tenure with the Redskins a success?  That’s a difficult question to answer, and contributors to our message board weighed in on all sides of the argument:

• 57.8% said “Yes”
• 42.2% said “No”

Redman  says it was clearly a success, but not one that necessarily showed up in the win column:

It’s a success that unfortunately is not fully reflected in the W/L column.

In 2003 this was a team that was reeling from an embarrassing coaching failure in Spurrier, that had frighteningly little talent on the roster, an owner with the reputation (at that time deserving) of meddling and not even knowing enough about football to know what he didn’t know, and no plan for the future. The morale was low and the culture of the team was defeatist. There was not a lot of team toughness.

Joe changed all of that. This roster is stocked with talent, and I’m not talking about fantasy football talent but real NFL talent that includes role players, special teams guys, etc.

Koya considers his tenure a mild success:

Successful? Yes. Mildly.

Mostly because when Gibbs stepped in, the Franchise was in disarray and looked as if it may fall of the NFL cliff of proud, winning franchises for a while. He righted the ship, brought them back to respectability and made the playoffs twice in four years.

Not an astounding success, but more success than failure considering where the franchise is today as compared with 4 years ago.

I disagreed because I think ultimately Joe Gibbs, Daniel Snyder and the Redskins players wouldn’t deem their accomplishments over the last 4 years as having met their own expectations:

I’m sorry, but a sub-.500 record in four seasons with one playoff win was NOT what Redskins fans, Daniel Snyder, Joe Gibbs and football pundits wanted to see. While it wasn’t an outright failure, bringing back the franchise’s hero out of retirement and having him shuffle off with zero division titles wasn’t “successful” IMHO. Just look at it from the perspective of his division:

In the four seasons:

• Philadelphia (37-27: 0.578), 2 Playoff Appearances, 2 Division Titles, 1 Super Bowl Appearance
• New York (35-29: 0.547), 3 Playoff Appearances, 0 Division Titles, 0 Super Bowl Appearances but still alive in ‘07
• Dallas (37-27: 0.578), 2 Playoff Appearances, 1 Division Title, 0 Super Bowl Appearances but 1 seed in ‘07
• Washington (30-34: 0.469), 2 Playoff Appearances, 0 Division Titles, 0 Super Bowl Appearances

What do you think? Was Joe Gibbs (inarguably one of the best coaches in NFL history) successful in his return? And does the Redskins performance over the next few years play a role in how we ultimately view Gibbs last four seasons?