Official ES Head Coach/Front Office Thread - Is Mike Shanahan the Future of This Franchise?

[Dan T.]

Yeah and your acount is flawless...

.

I stopped reading after that. Thank you very much.

[Destino]

I stopped reading after that. Thank you very much.

You missed an impressive spin job.

The problem with Dan Snyder isn't that he's meddled too much or too little. It's that he simply doesn't understand his role in the organizational structure. He has to define the teams identity himself and then hire accordingly. He can hire an executive that shares his vision and allow him to hire coaches and personnel people to execute it. He can hire coaches and personnel people to execute it himself. What he can't do, assuming he wishes to succeed, is buy into an entirely new vision for the franchise with each new hire.

[WSHRedskins3ATLBraves3]

Why the hell didn't Shanahan start Helu prior to this game?

Very good question. That has been my biggest criticism of Shanahan this year.

I've been advocating starting Helu since Hightower went down.

[Redskins Life]

That is a - shall we say - highly benign way of looking at Snyder's history with head coaches.

Snyder fired Turner during a post-game hissy fit, the only coach in the NFL modern era ever fired in-season with a winning record. Snyder fired Shottenheimer after one year after the two egos clashed in a ****-measuring contest. Then Snyder miscalculated BADLY on Steve Spurrier's fitness as an NFL coach, giving him a 5-year, $25 million contract - the richest in NFL history at the time. Spurrier knew he was gone after the second season and did Snyder a favor by quitting with that phone call from the golf course. Snyder turned to Gibbs, the only man on the planet Snyder wouldn't have the balls to fire. Then, in a nightmare deja vu, Snyder miscalculated BADLY on Steve Spurrier's - oops, Jim Zorn's - fitness as an NFL coach. Now we have the West Coast version of Joe Gibbs in Mike Shanahan.

It is apparent that you don't like Snyder, which is fine, and you have every right to your opinion. However, you shouldn't let your opinions skew the facts, which you clearly did when you infer that Spurrier was going to be fired after year two. There is no shred of evidence to support that, including Snyder's own comments before and after the resignation. I clearly stated what my opinions were in my post: it is my opinion based on what I've read and heard from reliable sources that Zorn was completely Vinny's idea and move. I could be wrong, but the events and history say that I am probably correct on that. Everything else is based on what really happened and pure facts. The timing of Norv's firing may be questioned, but the firing itself was a necessity that no Redskins fan should negatively associate with Snyder. He has enough earned negative marks on his ownership resume that are fair and justified. The only true mishandling that shows impatience on the part of Snyder was Marty, and that was about Marty not wanting to give up control AND because a highly sought after college coaching prospect was coming to the NFL.

I believe that Snyder is and will be patient with Shanahan and that he sees progress in this team, even if it isn't showing in the wins/losses columns. I think that before year five is over, Mike will be offered an extension, and I believe that this team will be a consistent contender for years to come because of the plan of Shanahan and the patience of Snyder.

[Redskins Life]

Very good question. That has been my biggest criticism of Shanahan this year.

I've been advocating starting Helu since Hightower went down.

Maybe Shanahan didn't think that Helu was ready for the full load? It is possible that had he started him earlier, he would not be as ready, therefor not as effective, as he was yesterday.

[TheLongshot]

No, Mike Shanahan is the present of this franchise. He's already here, so how can he be the future?

Whether or not Shanahan's the right man (and at this point there is more than enough evidence that we should stick with him), this team isn't doing anything unless we actually stick to a plan longer than two years. Personally, I didn't like the choice of Shanahan, the amount of power he has, or some of his football decisions. But, I fully support him because the only way up is to stick with someone's plan.

[Dan T.]

It is apparent that you don't like Snyder, which is fine, and you have every right to your opinion. However, you shouldn't let your opinions skew the facts, which you clearly did when you infer that Spurrier was going to be fired after year two. There is no shred of evidence to support that, including Snyder's own comments before and after the resignation. I clearly stated what my opinions were in my post: it is my opinion based on what I've read and heard from reliable sources that Zorn was completely Vinny's idea and move. I could be wrong, but the events and history say that I am probably correct on that. Everything else is based on what really happened and pure facts. The timing of Norv's firing may be questioned, but the firing itself was a necessity that no Redskins fan should negatively associate with Snyder. He has enough earned negative marks on his ownership resume that are fair and justified. The only true mishandling that shows impatience on the part of Snyder was Marty, and that was about Marty not wanting to give up control AND because a highly sought after college coaching prospect was coming to the NFL.

I believe that Snyder is and will be patient with Shanahan and that he sees progress in this team, even if it isn't showing in the wins/losses columns. I think that before year five is over, Mike will be offered an extension, and I believe that this team will be a consistent contender for years to come because of the plan of Shanahan and the patience of Snyder.

Time will tell. Shanahan may well be the right guy for this rebuilding job - it looks like he's kept this locker room together despite a disasterous plummet this season, which says a lot about him and about the character of the team he's assembled. I'm no huge Snyder fan. I do think he has a burning desire to win, but has fumbled badly in his quest to do so. His ego and his impatience got in the way in the past. I also think he's learned a thing or two in the years he's owned the team. So I hope you're right that he's patient with Shanny.

And as to the facts around Spurrier's leaving... if Snyder wasn't going to fire him, that is the one time he wasn't going to pull the trigger when he should have. Spurrier was over his head as an NFL coach and he himself knew it by then.

[Bliz]

Very good question. That has been my biggest criticism of Shanahan this year.

I've been advocating starting Helu since Hightower went down.

If there is one thing Shanny has proved in his tenure so far, it is that playing time is earned, not just handed out. Rookies and backups have displaced starters and veterans in multiple positions. If Helu wasn't starting, it was because he wasn't ready. Didn't have command of the full playbook, needed to continue working on his blocking technique, wasn't showing the effort in practice, wasn't conditioned enough...or maybe just needed a few reps over a few weeks instead of going from 0 to 100.

Let's also not forget how great Torain looked at the end of last year. Shanny was more than justified in turning to him first. Then doing RBBC for a few weeks to get Helu up to game speed, correct his mistakes and see how he responded to various situations, before turning to him as the feature back.

I like the direction the franchise is going. Some good young talent. Smart drafting. Low drama. I think at the end of year 5, whether Shanny re-ups or not, we will look back on him as the right man at the right time

[Dan T.]

If there is one thing Shanny has proved in his tenure so far, it is that playing time is earned, not just handed out. Rookies and backups have displaced starters and veterans in multiple positions. If Helu wasn't starting, it was because he wasn't ready. Didn't have command of the full playbook, needed to continue working on his blocking technique, wasn't showing the effort in practice, wasn't conditioned enough...or maybe just needed a few reps over a few weeks instead of going from 0 to 100.

Let's also not forget how great Torain looked at the end of last year. Shanny was more than justified in turning to him first. Then doing RBBC for a few weeks to get Helu up to game speed, correct his mistakes and see how he responded to various situations, before turning to him as the feature back.

I'm fine with how he handled Helu this year. He brought him along just right, IMO.