The Hogs. Coach Joe Gibbs and his three Super Bowls with three different quarterbacks. “Hail to the Redskins.”

One of the most storied franchises in all of professional sports, the Washington Redskins, has devolved from a regional and national symbol of a unified fan base supporting a successful team into a dwindling fan base losing its passion for an on-and off-field debacle.

After qualifying for the NFL playoffs eight times in an 11-year span between 1982 and 1992, the Redskins have only played meaningful January football four times since. In that stretch, they have only won two playoff games. Their 22-year absence from the NFC championship game is the longest drought in the conference, and second in the entire NFL.

In 1999, the estate of legendary owner Jack Kent Cooke sold the team to Daniel Snyder, a local self-made billionaire in the communications and advertising business. The then-34-year old Snyder saw the team win the NFC East in his first year of ownership. Then the roller coaster ride began, akin to something one would experience at Six Flags Amusement Parks, which were partly owned by Snyder from 2006-2009.

Since 2000, the Redskins have seen six different men coach the team. The New England Patriots, a beacon of success over the past 15 years, have had only one- Bill Belichick. Of those six Redskins coaches, three (Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Jim Zorn) lasted two or fewer seasons in Washington.  The coaching situation dwarfs in comparison to the eternal search for a franchise quarterback. In the 1999 playoff season, Brad Johnson started every game under center for the Redskins. Since 2000, 15 different quarterbacks have started at least a game for the Redskins. That number finally appeared to be on the verge of flat-lining when the Redskins drafted Baylor University quarterback Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft in April 2012.

While “RGIII” has cemented his status as a Washington icon with explosive play and by leading the Redskins to the 2012 NFC East title, “RGKnee” has reared its ugly head. Griffin suffered a knee injury late in a Dec. 9, 2012 game against the Baltimore Ravens. He missed the next week’s game against the Cleveland Browns, but came back for the Redskins’ final two regular season games against the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, both wins to propel the Redskins to the postseason. It was in that NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks on Jan. 6, 2013 where Griffin aggravated the injury and tore his Anterior Cruciate Ligament, requiring massive surgery.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKpYo8ovUpI

Why present all this background information?

To set up for perhaps the greatest saga of them all, Dan Snyder vs. Mike Shanahan vs. Robert Griffin III vs. The media and fans vs. The stadium janitor. (Okay, I made that last one up).

Griffin, most likely in a demonstration of his competitive spirit, insisted that he would be back in time for the Redskins’ season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. And he was. However, Redskins nation had to endure a summer of media speculation and debate as to Griffin’s status and the whether or not he was making the right decision to play just eight months after getting hurt.

As Griffin’s statistics continued to dwindle in comparison to his rookie year and the Redskins kept on losing, the soap opera continued. Head coach Mike Shanahan reportedly was on the verge of quitting at the end of last season because of Snyder’s meddling with the team. According to reports, it was Snyder who placed the success of Griffin over the rest of the team. After all, the Redskins traded three first-round picks for the ability to draft Griffin. While his success is paramount to the team’s long-term success, Griffin has become too much of a distraction. The team has numerous holes on the offensive line and defensive backfield that have been ignored due to tend to Griffin.

The latest saga has involved Griffin being benched for the conclusion of the season in order to allow him to rest up before the 2014 season. Some media and fans have questioned the decision while others support it. Either way, the Redskins’ season has been meaningless for the last two games because Washington was mathematically eliminated on Dec. 1 in a loss to the New York Giants. Now that the Redskins will miss the playoffs for the fifth time in the last six seasons, Shanahan’s job is in question.

Rumors have linked Baylor head coach Art Briles to the Redskins job. Such a hire would finish off the coronation of Robert Griffin III. After all, it would be Snyder hiring a babysitter for Griffin rather than a real coach.

What is the bottom line here? Indirectly, Robert Griffin III has caused this entire saga. But it is not Griffin himself that has destroyed all the momentum he built up- it is his handling by an overzealous owner who is trying too hard to fix a legacy that he destroyed.

Just remember, Redskins fans begged for a franchise quarterback for years before Griffin was drafted. Be careful what you wish for, Redskins fans.