Into the wee hours of Tuesday morning, Daniel Snyder lingered in his suite at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.

His Washington Redskins had suffered another national embarrassment, a 31-15 drubbing by the Chicago Bears on "Monday Night Football."

With blown assignments and abundant mistakes, the Redskins helped revive a previously sputtering Bears offense. The fourth quarter hadn’t even reached its midway point when burgundy-and-gold-clad fans headed for the exits. They’d seen it all before.

As Washington dropped to 0-3, and 2-17 at home on Monday games since FedExField opened in 1997, Snyder brooded in his suite, as is customary for him after these kinds of losses. Surrounded by members of his inner circle, he tried to make sense of the ugly performance, and the fact that he, his team and his fans were in this position yet again.

The commiseration extended well past midnight. One person familiar with the setting, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to address the issue, estimated Snyder didn’t leave until about 2 a.m.

By sunup, sports talk shows made it their business to dissect the Redskins and their woeful state. A once-proud franchise, for this week, replaced the hapless Miami Dolphins as the butt of NFL jokes.

Hail to the Redskins, indeed.

For 20 years now, Snyder has owned the District’s football team. The Maryland native and businessman has taken myriad approaches to running the organization he grew up cheering for. But his efforts typically have produced losing campaigns of shameful proportions, dysfunction and controversy.

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With that loss to Chicago, Washington’s record dropped to 139-183-1 since Snyder purchased the team from the estate of Jack Kent Cooke in 1999.

The same franchise that won three Super Bowls and reached the playoffs a total of eight times from 1982 to 1992 has now managed just six winning seasons under Snyder while enduring eight double-digit loss campaigns. Only five times have Snyder’s Redskins reached the playoffs — never in consecutive seasons — and only twice have they won a postseason game.

As is often the case, this Redskins team finds itself in a position of conflict and contradictory circumstances.

Jay Gruden is now in his sixth season, which makes him Snyder’s longest-tenured head coach, but this is the final year of his contract.

The roster is again in rebuild mode, with many key positions filled with still-developing draft picks rather than star players or even serviceable veterans.

Gruden’s best quarterback, Alex Smith, suffered a broken leg last season and is not expected to play in 2019, if ever again. Snyder would love to see first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins, but the Ohio State product’s new coaches deem him insufficiently prepared at this point. Gruden instead rolls with journeyman Case Keenum, even after he accounted for three interceptions and two fumbles on Monday.

Gruden’s best offensive lineman, left tackle Trent Williams, has refused to report to the team because he is unhappy with the medical staff and his contract.

The team’s best offensive weapon, Jordan Reed, hasn’t played a snap while still suffering from the effects of his seventh documented concussion. Future Hall of Fame running back Adrian Peterson is of little use to the coaching staff. The one other high-profile free agent signing of the last five years, cornerback Josh Norman, has gotten off to a rough start while playing in a secondary plagued by inexperience and miscommunication.

The defense — led by a coordinator, Greg Manusky, the Redskins tried in vain to replace this offseason — has under-performed at ghastly proportions.

Gruden, by his own admission, needs to win to save his job. But, given the above laundry list of crippling factors … good luck.

With each mounting loss, the fans revile Gruden, Snyder and team president Bruce Allen more intensely. The hashtag #FireBruce frequently punctuates lamentations on Twitter. On Monday, fans started chanting “Fire Jay!” And they’re always lobbying for Snyder to sell the team, which he has no plans to do.

Each week, FedExField’s stands feature fewer home fans and more supporters of the opposing team.

“These fans are sick. They are actually hurt by how horrible this team has been,” former Redskins all-pro return man Brian Mitchell, who now hosts a talk show on The Team 980, Washington’s flagship radio station, told USA TODAY Sports. “These fans can’t wait to get back. It’s just not what they were used to in the '80s, '90s and even ‘99, when we were one win away from NFC Championship Game. But they haven’t gotten back since.”

Snyder declined repeated interview requests from USA TODAY Sports. These days, he tends to lurk in the shadows rather than place himself at front and center of the operation as he once did while orchestrating high-profile acquisitions, including Deion Sanders, Bruce Smith, Jeff George, Donovan McNabb and Albert Haynesworth. But several people close to him, speaking to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, describe him as troubled over the never-ending struggles. They insist that his desire to win remains as strong as the day that he bought the team with intentions of returning it to its former glory.

“Dan Snyder is very misunderstood,” Trevor Matich, a former NFL lineman who now serves as a Redskins analyst for NBC Washington and college football analyst for ESPN, told USA TODAY Sports. “Fans think he bought the team because he just wanted a live-action fantasy football roster. But, no. He bought the team because he wants to be great as an owner. He wants to be mentioned along with the Robert Krafts and the Rooneys as one of the great owners in the league.

"He spends a fortune on coaches and players. He wants this team to be great.”

Nothing of the last 20 years suggests that Snyder will ever reach those aspirations. But it’s not for a lack of trying.

When he purchased the team in 1999 for $800 million, Snyder took a hands-on approach in the mold of then-idol Jerry Jones, involving himself in all personnel matters despite not having a football background. He has hired high-profile coaches in Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Mike Shanahan.

In 2010, Snyder benched himself again, hiring Allen to serve initially as general manager and, following Shanahan’s firing, team president. Together, they hired Gruden, regarded at the time as a rising star as the offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals. But now Gruden appears to be running out of time.

The Redskins' futility streak has sparked endless questions about their ineptitude. But few concrete answers ever manifest.

All that’s clear: success remains elusive, and every football mind who works for Snyder eventually leaves with his reputation tarnished.

Several figures throughout the league, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the organization, blame Snyder’s decision-making for the failures. When he isn’t meddling, he has left the decision-making to top lieutenants Vinny Cerrato (1999, 2002-09) and Allen (2010-present), who have no track record of success.

Others around the league — some of them former employees, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity so they could speak freely — believe Washington’s never-ending struggles are a result of karma.

They surmise Snyder’s track record of treating people poorly – scrimping on employees' pay and benefits, suing season ticket holders for trying to get out of their contracts because of financial hardships, clinging to a team name some view as racist – prevents his organization from thriving. Others believe Snyder has sabotaged efforts by refusing to ever hire, or stick with, a head coach he allows to operate with the authority necessary to produce a winning team.

Their points: Washington was appeared headed in the right direction under Norv Turner, Schottenheimer and Shanahan until Snyder interfered.

Turner’s disagreement with Snyder’s preference of George over Brad Johnson cost the coach his job. Snyder’s desire to take back the personnel power given to Schottenheimer led to that firing as well. And Snyder’s close bond with Robert Griffin III caused him to favor player over coach, resulting in Shanahan's dismissal.

The one time Snyder did trust a coach in Gibbs, Washington had its most stable – albeit short-lived – stretch with two playoff berths in four years.

Gruden, like his predecessors, always has to deal with questions of who’s really in charge: him or his bosses. Whether it’s Snyder, who pushed for the drafting of Haskins with the 15th overall pick despite his coach's preference to meet other pressing needs, or Allen, who refused to meet Kirk Cousins’ asking price for a long-term deal although Gruden wanted to retain the quarterback, conflict often recurs in critical areas.

Players sense such elements of division, and that prevents a complete buy-in.

Some around the league have expressed doubt that Snyder and the Redskins, in their current structure, will ever experience a true and lasting turnaround. They don’t doubt Snyder's desire to win. But because of the continued absence of a proven football mind by his side, the owner and organization will continue to flounder, they predict.

Meanwhile, Mitchell believes Snyder’s best bet to finally succeed is to make a coaching change and give the next leader more authority.

“This man wants to win. There’s no question about that. He’s already backed off,” Mitchell said. “But he’s got to let it be about the coach and the players. Less about the GM. ... Let that coach lead the team. If the owner and GM totally supports the coach and make sure the football team knows the football decisions are made by the coach, you completely change the trajectory of your franchise right there. You just need someone that not only holds himself accountable, but also holds himself accountable."

Matich tends to agree with Mitchell.

He acknowledges that Washington has made some poor decisions since Allen's arrival. But he does see positives as of late.

“If you’re looking at his record and the Cousins thing, and the rest of it, that’s fair,” Matich said. “But at the same time, you’ve had injuries to deal with, and Bruce Allen can’t help the injuries. But look at the culture he’s building looking forward. It’s exactly how you want to do it.”

Matich points to the drafting of offensive linemen Morgan Moses and Brandon Scherff, defensive linemen Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne and Matt Ioannidis, wide receiver Terry McLaurin and Haskins as the “right kind” of player with whom the Redskins should be building.

“They’re drafting a lot of guys that were not only from big-time programs like Alabama, Iowa and Ohio State, but guys that were team captains. … Leaders, hard workers, guys that are accountable," Matich said. "That’s just to show the culture they’re building. They have to decide if this is the coaching staff they want to lead that talent, but that’s what they’re trying to figure out. But they are building not only with good guys but football players that are leaders. Because of that, the future is very bright.

“The present feels really bad,” Matich concedes. “But it’s not as bad as it feels.”

Barring a dramatic turnaround to the season, this winter could bring another wave of change. And is often the case, offseason moves produce optimism strong enough to entice fans to continue their support. That’s been the pattern of the last two decades. And because of that track record, it’s anyone’s guess if the next decade will bring the kinds of outcomes Snyder and his team’s long-suffering fans desperately crave.

Follow Mike Jones on Twitter @ByMikeJones.

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