Thomas Boswell: Mike Shanahan is a "weasel of a coach who defames his enemies, deflects blame and now may duck out of town"

[Hooper]

Watching his mouthpiece Adam S speak on ESPN right now, it's clear to me Shanny knows he screwed up and that he has no shot of being a HC again in this league unless by some miracle he gets another year here.

What an arrogant fool. He thought everyone would blame Snyder, he could salvage his rep, and get the Houston gig.

Now he's drowning and desperate and having Schefter say "Snyder might realize Shanahan is good for him" and imply there's no better coach out there for him to hire.

It's pathetic.

Snyder should simply lay low and fire him without fanfare at end of the season.

I don't like our owner at all, but the worst thing he could do is let a weasel like Shanny around for one more year.

[chipwhich]

Watching his mouthpiece Adam S speak on ESPN right now, it's clear to me Shanny knows he screwed up and that he has no shot of being a HC again in this league unless by some miracle he gets another year here.

What an arrogant fool. He thought everyone would blame Snyder, he could salvage his rep, and get the Houston gig.

Now he's drowning and desperate and having Schefter say "Snyder might realize Shanahan is good for him" and imply there's no better coach out there for him to hire.

It's pathetic.

Snyder should simply lay low and fire him without fanfare at end of the season.

 

Wow you and I have different interpretations of that interview.

[Hooper]

Please, after the fact that the coach has been blamed for everything wrong with the team now you write this article, that's going out on the limb.. and the talent level on the team is still BELOW average no matter how much you hate Shanny.

Shanny has had complete control since day one. If the talent is below average, it's on him, no one else. Even Shanny knows this. It's why the only BS defense he could come up with for failing is "the owner and QB are too close."

That said, Snyder was the one who gave him complete control in the first place.

[skinzfan112]

We've given up on too many coaches and Shanahan has done the cleaning up that needed to be done.  If we end this early, its another rebuilding five years going forward and we're saying goodbye to RG3 as a free agent and looking to start it all over again. 

 

Shanahan may or may not be the answer for next year, but we're better off with him than without.  Rumors of Baylor's coach coming here make me long for the day we courted Spurrier.  He was a moron but he won consistently with a few programs.  We need to right the ship on Defense to ensure that our Offense has a chance to stay in games.  Giving up Lorenzo Alexander and Danny Smith in one offseason was a mistake but it happened and we need to get Special teams back on track.  Let's invest in our core players, build from within, and concern ourselves with safe free agents instead of wasting money like we always do. 

 

RG3 - take some leadership courses over the offseason and fire your PR guy.  Learn what not to say and work on your listening skills.  You may have gotten away with raw talent in college, but it won't work in the NFL.  You need the brains, the talent, and the drive - not just your mouth, to win consistently.        

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

We've given up on too many coaches and Shanahan has done the cleaning up that needed to be done.  If we end this early, its another rebuilding five years going forward and we're saying goodbye to RG3 as a free agent and looking to start it all over again. 

 

Shanahan may or may not be the answer for next year, but we're better off with him than without.  Rumors of Baylor's coach coming here make me long for the day we courted Spurrier.  He was a moron but he won consistently with a few programs.  We need to right the ship on Defense to ensure that our Offense has a chance to stay in games.  Giving up Lorenzo Alexander and Danny Smith in one offseason was a mistake but it happened and we need to get Special teams back on track.  Let's invest in our core players, build from within, and concern ourselves with safe free agents instead of wasting money like we always do. 

 

RG3 - take some leadership courses over the offseason and fire your PR guy.  Learn what not to say and work on your listening skills.  You may have gotten away with raw talent in college, but it won't work in the NFL.  You need the brains, the talent, and the drive - not just your mouth, to win consistently.        

Yeah five years to rebuild teams

 

Glad that myth is still alive and well

[MusicCitySkin]

If the team finishes 4-12 or worse, there will have been zero improvement since Shanahan was hired, and perhaps even regression. This is the product of what he has put together after four years, this is his culmination, and it's shaping up to be no better than Vinny.

[darrelgreenie]

He seams to be getting a pretty large share of the blame...

thats not the impression I get reading this forum or listening to national media

People are forming there opinions from leaked 'reports' that people should see as obvious propaganda

And Mike only get part of the blame is proof of my point; people are blaming RGIII and Snyder but..............What do they have to do with the personnel?

With the historically bad special teams?

With the league worst defense?

[Skinsinparadise]

Mike is doing a masterful job of controling that media perception.

 

Danny Rouhier on 106.7 actually depicts the media game well.  Saying Shanny calculated to pick a fight with Danny because he's unpopular and the media would cling to the belief that's he is the problem.  That part of the strategy has worked.   But Shanny is far from unscathed with this stuff, he has gotten  hits, too.  I'd say though more from the local media than national.  I'd say with local, Shanny is considered the main culprit, outside of Loverro's take and to a lesser degree Sheehan.

 

Nationally, Shanny's usual critics have taken big shots, the guys from First Take, Sean Salisbury, etc.  Here's a good article from NY Post, totally taking Danny's side and blasting Shanny

 

http://nypost.com/2013/12/09/shanahans-redskins-exit-plan-seems-to-be-backfiring/

[Boss_Hogg]

Oldfan must feel vindicated.

[grego]

Watching his mouthpiece Adam S speak on ESPN right now, it's clear to me Shanny knows he screwed up and that he has no shot of being a HC again in this league unless by some miracle he gets another year here.

What an arrogant fool. He thought everyone would blame Snyder, he could salvage his rep, and get the Houston gig.

.

Shockingly, some if our own fans are still not blaming shanny. Like a few in this thread.

Shannys a weasel? How dare you! Shanny leak a bogus story? Madness !

Perhaps the same folks believe in bigfoot.

[HeluCopter29]

thats not the impression I get reading this forum or listening to national media

People are forming there opinions from leaked 'reports' that people should see as obvious propaganda

And Mike only get part of the blame is proof of my point; people are blaming RGIII and Snyder but..............What do they have to do with the personnel?

With the historically bad special teams?

With the league worst defense?

 

You have clearly not read this forum.

 

These are the top three coach related thread titles:

 

1. If Mike Shanahn's back next year, I may well not be.Not on the boards.But watching this team period.A lost fan's plea amongst the continued absurdity.

 

2. Who is the best potential head coach that is available?

 

3. A bunch of news articles about how Shanny is a weasel and how we're pursuing Art Briles.

 

Yeah, he's getting a huge share of the blame.

[darrelgreenie]

Nationally, Shanny's usual critics have taken big shots, the guys from First Take, Sean Salisbury, etc.  Here's a good article from NY Post, totally taking Danny's side and blasting Shanny

 

http://nypost.com/2013/12/09/shanahans-redskins-exit-plan-seems-to-be-backfiring/

RE:First take/Sean Salisbury are they taking shots at Mike for the current debacle or for previous stuff?

That's article is only the second piece i've seen that points the blame squarely at Mike, where it belongs.

[Skinsinparadise]

RE:First take/Sean Salisbury are they taking shots at Mike for the current debacle or for previous stuff?

That's article is only the second piece i've seen that points the blame squarely at Mike, where it belongs.

 

On First Take Stephen Smith thinks Shanny is the main problem, this week he didn't so much hit Shanny for that story but said he has been a failure of a head coach and needs to go, he has been on that for weeks.  Bayless, has some weird love hate thing with RG3, he thinks he is a stud QB, better than Luck, etc, but thinks his ego got the better of himself this year, hes hurt and his performance suffered, so he thinks he brought the drama on himself.  He did tweet on Sunday though that Shanny needs to go.

 

On Salisbury, yeah I've not heard his take on the story.  I know from previous excerpts that he is a big RG3 guy and at the same time doesn't think much of Shanny and has talked for years now about how the Redskins should consider firing him. 

 

I would agree that you got a divide as for the media.  The local media for the most part see Shanny as the primary villain. But a good chunk of the national media has bit on the idea that Shanny wasn't able to do his thing because of owner interference.   The one thing I'll say though is I don't think the NFL owners will look at it that way which is the bottom line as for Shanny getting that next job.  You don't have to know much about football to know that whether Danny has thanksgiving dinner with RG3 or not has nothing to do with historically bad special teams and defense, etc.    It's interesting that the Texans media is already shooting down the idea that the ownership there has any interest in hiring Shanny.

 

Forget the offense for a 2nd, Shanny got fired in Denver for having historically bad defenses.  What is he going to say in an interview, well yeah in Denver that was a fluke and in Washington it was RG3 and Danny's fault?  Not to mention that with the Plummer,  McNabb and AH drama played out in the media, you don't have to be a super smart people observer to figure out that Shanny is a weasel when it comes to bad mouthing players he has a beef with, and spreads stories, etc. Recall all those leaks about McNabb -- he doesn't practice hard, can't lean the playbook, goes off script, etc.

[MustangSteve]

Wow - I fear that Bos is spot-on.  In that case, I want Shanahan on the next train outta here - and I was not a fan of letting him go after the season prior to today.  Jeez, this is depressing.

I was hoping the same thing, that Haslett and Kyle saw the door and Mike finish his contract, until this mess came out. I been saying all year the coaching is the problem with this team and damn if that wasn't the truth. Mike needs to go right now and take all his coaches with him, they all suck! 

[Hooper]

thats not the impression I get reading this forum or listening to national media

People are forming there opinions from leaked 'reports' that people should see as obvious propaganda

And Mike only get part of the blame is proof of my point; people are blaming RGIII and Snyder but..............What do they have to do with the personnel?

With the historically bad special teams?

With the league worst defense?

This is dead on.

 

Mike has no excuses. He has had COMPLETE CONTROL from day one. He knows that is irrefutable so he came up with some BS about the owner and QB being too close because Snyder is such an easy target.

 

But it explains NOTHING about his failures here. 

[darrelgreenie]

...Not to mention that with the Plummer,  McNabb and AH drama played out in the media, you don't have to be a super smart people observer to figure out that Shanny is a weasel when it comes to bad mouthing players he has a beef with, and spreads stories, etc. Recall all those leaks about McNabb -- he doesn't practice hard, can't lean the playbook, goes off script, etc.

You would think that, but there are still those lemmings that buy into whatever Shanahan's leaks out.

[Skinsinparadise]

You would think that, but there are still those lemmings that buy into whatever Shanahan's leaks out.

 

Yeah no doubt a bunch in the national media are biting on Shanny's spin.  But IMO its hard for me to imagine NFL owners aren't going to pause about Shanny both based on his coaching job and also this game he is playing with the media.  If you want to hear Shanny trashed, put on 106.7 right now, Danny and Holden are no holds barred against Shanny, they have been going full out on him and so far ditto this morning

[SkinsTight]

It is soo sad as a Redskins fan to see everyone bashing our organization (Coach, QB, owner).  It is so easy to point the finger when doo doo is falling everywhere.   This article is bias in my opinion and the author is defaming  ahd hating Shanny and Snyder just as much as he is claiming they are.   It's garbage! 

[darrelgreenie]

Yeah no doubt a bunch in the national media are biting on Shanny's spin.  But IMO its hard for me to imagine NFL owners aren't going to pause about Shanny both based on his coaching job and also this game he is playing with the media. 

I was talking about people on this board.

And I think Mike Shanahan is done as a HC. I think NFL owners can be duped but GM's can see through this charade a mile away.

 

(remember what I said about Tannehill/Luck?)

[Big Weirdo]

As an outsider I'm stunned at the defense of Dan Snyder. Blame Shanahan all you want, yeah he's a dick, but you can't "give someone the keys to the city" then undermine them by playing favorites on the field and in the locker room. That erases any power you've handed out. I had never seen that Cousins story about not acknowledging him after the Browns win. If true thats just incredible.

[darrelgreenie]

Man I would love to play poker with some of you guys

[Skinsinparadise]

I was talking about people on this board.

And I think Mike Shanahan is done as a HC. I think NFL owners can be duped but GM's can see through this charade a mile away.

 

(remember what I said about Tannehill/Luck?)

 

Ok, got it, people on this board taking Shanny's side, I guess I have been doing a good job avoiding those threads.  I have seen it from some though, and those are some of the same people who have been hardcore pro Shanny from day 1.  It's OK to admit when we are wrong.   I was one of Shanny's most adamant defenders, too.   He started to lose me some last year with his comments when they went 3-6 -- where he seemed so excuse driven that it turned me off -- his comments included they put together a top 5 defense, its just the injuries that are plaguing them, etc.  Ok so they got a top 5 defense when healthy.  Really?  They are arguably most healthy team in the NFL, so what's the excuse now?

 

After the playoff run last year, some seemed to think that the dude walked on water.  I recall the thread where in a post I said that John Schneider has done a better job building Seattle's roster than Shanny has here and I got trashed for that comment by some -- and you defended me.  Now, it would seem a bit crazy for the Shanny zealots to have that argument and keep a straight face.   

 

Before the season Shanny said superbowl or bust and this is the deepest team he has had.  Now he has saying the salary cap has hurt his depth and is the problem.  The dude seems delusional or at best just determined to have his spin on everything -- its someone else's fault or some circumstance.  I guess he wants to end it all by saying the team stunk this year because RG3 had thanksgiving dinner with Danny and he really didn't mean it before the season that the team has great depth -- its all about the salary cap.

 

I got the pro Shanny arguments better than most, I spent hours mostly debating Oldfan on this point, culling stats, and doing heavy pro Shanny spins for years.  But the facts are the facts, can't see how people can defend him now.

 

As for Luck and Tannehill not sure what you are getting at.  I recall you saying Luck and Tannehill would be more of a Kyle type of QB?  I think its BS that Mike didn't want RG3, I was a media hound predraft, Shanny seem enamored.  The reporter closest to him, Schefter said recently he talked to Shanny at the time predraft and he was all in.      

[Skinsinparadise]

As an outsider I'm stunned at the defense of Dan Snyder. Blame Shanahan all you want, yeah he's a dick, but you can't "give someone the keys to the city" then undermine them by playing favorites on the field and in the locker room. That erases any power you've handed out. I had never seen that Cousins story about not acknowledging him after the Browns win. If true thats just incredible.

 

If the Danny relationship with RG3 is the problem then how did they win all those games last year?  They went on that run after the supposedly infamous thanksgiving dinner shared between RG3 and Danny.  

 

Danny picking up RG3's wife in a limo explains the awful defense and comically bad special teams?   Shanny has made a habit his whole tenure of coming up with excuses for the teams failures.    Mcnabb is lazy.  Injuries.  The salary cap.  People need to be patient because it takes 5 years to turnaround a franchise.   Now its Shanny is too close with RG3?  What's Shanny's next excuse -- Danny was egging on Fred Davis to show up late to meetings?

 

There are teams that have turned around in 1-2 years.  Good luck to Shanny when he applies for the next job saying look yeah other coaches can do the quick turnaround, but that's not my thing, I am a 5 year turnaround guy, and heck yeah I got fired in Denver because my defenses were laughably bad -- and yeah it did happen on my next gig too, but that's purely coincidence.  And that is mostly to do by my QB having thanksgiving dinner with the owner.   

 

Edit:  Even if I ran with the idea that this is the main culprit to the teams problems.  Cofield said he and by extension he assumed the team had no idea about Danny and RG3 and implied he doesn't care.  And for that matter one of the things I read the other day included RG3's camp saying the Danny stuff is way overblown, they barely talk during the season. etc.   Why should we buy Shanny's camp spin on this like its gospel?  He definitely hasn't earned stripes for being a truth teller -- even some of his strongest advocates joke that you can't trust Shanny to tell the truth that includes Cooley who played with him.  Cooley said yesterday that Shanny loses respect with some players in the lockeroom because of his habit of lying.  Cooley expounded that Shanny for example lectured the team about not leaking stories to the media, and then they discovered the main leaker is Shanny himself.

[Big Weirdo]

If the Danny relationship with RG3 is the problem then how did they win all those games last year? They went on that run after the supposedly infamous thanksgiving dinner shared between RG3 and Danny.

Danny picking up RG3's wife in a limo explains the awful defense and comically bad special teams? Shanny has made a habit his whole tenure of coming up with excuses for the teams failures. Mcnabb is lazy. Injuries. The salary cap. People need to be patient because it takes 5 years to turnaround a franchise. Now its Shanny is too close with RG3? What's Shanny's next excuse -- Danny was egging on Fred Davis to show up late to meetings?

There are teams that have turned around in 1-2 years. Good luck to Shanny when he applies for the next job saying look yeah other coaches can do the quick turnaround, but that's not my thing, I am a 5 year turnaround guy, and heck yeah I got fired in Denver because my defenses were laughably bad -- and yeah it did happen on my next gig too, but that's purely coincidence. And that is mostly to do by my QB having thanksgiving dinner with the owner.

Edit: Even if I ran with the idea that this is the main culprit to the teams problems. Cofield said he and by extension he assumed the team had no idea about Danny and RG3 and implied he doesn't care. And for that matter one of the things I read the other day included RG3's camp saying the Danny stuff is way overblown, they barely talk during the season. etc. Why should we buy Shanny's camp spin on this like its gospel? He definitely hasn't earned stripes for being a truth teller -- even some of his strongest advocates joke that you can't trust Shanny to tell the truth that includes Cooley who played with him. Cooley said yesterday that Shanny loses respect with some players in the lockeroom because of his habit of lying. Cooley expounded that Shanny for example lectured the team about not leaking stories to the media, and then they discovered the main leaker is Shanny himself.

Its about undermining the power of your coach. If you give him full control but then buddy up to a franchise player and seem to play favorites you don't see how that could make things difficult?

There are things which Shanahan is culpable for in DC. The defense, the personnel etc. He's not off the hook by any stretch. But you have to look at the history of everything in context. People on here are literally at wits end because Snyder has tried everything yet nothing works. Why is that? There's only one constant, and no matter how mad anyone gets or how much they go out of there way to say HE DID IT RIGHT THIS TIME, that constant has always been Dan Snyder.

[grego]

As an outsider I'm stunned at the defense of Dan Snyder. Blame Shanahan all you want, yeah he's a dick, but you can't "give someone the keys to the city" then undermine them by playing favorites on the field and in the locker room. That erases any power you've handed out. I had never seen that Cousins story about not acknowledging him after the Browns win. If true thats just incredible.

 

 

its not 'defending' snyder, its correctly pointing out who is responsible for the product on the field. 

 

dan snyder likes to have dinner with griff, so we are now a 3 win team with a horrible D, horrible special teams and a completely overrated offense that hasnt been able to score against mostly bad defenses?

 

thats ridiculous. 

 

shanahan had this team unprepared week one vs a coach making his NFL debut. shanahan had this team unprepared the SECOND time we played the same rookie coach and were even worse. shanahan had this team unprepared to play after a bye week against dallas where we scored 16 points vs a historically bad D that everyone else shreds. 

 

maybe people arent blaming dan snyder because this is not dan snyders fault? its the fault of the guy who assembled this team and coaches it, albeit badly, every week. 

 

of course, maybe hes coaching badly cuz hes spending so much time attempting to cover his ass by leaking stories to his media buddies.

 

thanks, mike. 

 

dick.