NFL: Redskins Talking to Mike Shanahan
The Denver Post is reporting that the Redskins have contacted former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan about its head coaching position. This comes on the heels of Vinny Cerrato resigning and the team hiring Bruce Allen as its new General Manager.
I guess this means Jim Zorn won’t be next year huh? Everyone knows that Zorn will not be back as the head coach next season. Heck, I think we have known that for well over a month now. But why start talking to someone like Shanahan before the season is even over?
It was rumored last summer that one of the reasons the Redskins made a play for Jay Cutler was due to Shanahan’s interest in coaching the Redskins. The thought was if they landed Cutler Shanahan was going to take over head coaching duties shortly thereafter.
I know Shanahan has a relationship with owner Daniel Snyder but I am not so sure that means he has any real interest in coaching the Redskins. Would it not behoove a coach of Shanahan’s stature to wait and see how the coaching landscape unfolds this off season? Why would he jump at the first offer to come along when there could be a more intriguing job that comes open a month from now?
He has already met with the Bills about their open head coaching job but we all knew that was a bit of a long shot begin with. The Bills are unlikely to pay him the type of money he can get elsewhere and there is not a ton of talent to work with in Buffalo.
There is some growing sentiment that Lovie Smith is on the outs in Chicago and the Bears job may come open. Shanahan drafted Cutler and has an affinity for him as a quarterback. Cutler had his best season as a professional quarterback under Shanahan last season, so it would stand to reason the Bears might have an interest in hiring Shanahan as head coach.
With Texans potentially on their way to a third straight 8-8 finish under head coach Gary Kubiak that job could potentially come open. Kubiak was Denver’s offensive coordinator for a time under Shanahan so the offense is already in place for him to slide right in. That could be a job that interests him as well.
Would he have an interest in working with Mike Holmgren in Cleveland if he takes over as top dawg in Cleveland? They both come from the Bill Walsh coaching tree and have similar offensive philosophies and Mangini is probably as good as gone if someone like Holmgren takes control. With the Browns looking at a top five draft pick they are looking at having the pick of the litter from next spring’s quarterback class in the draft.
Then there is the specter of the Dallas Cowboys job lingering on the horizon. It seems to be a foregone conclusion that if Wade Phillips fails to pull the Cowboys out of their latest December tailspin and does not make some kind of a run in the playoffs then he will be fired after this season.
There was a lot of chatter last spring that shortly after Shanahan got fired Jerry Jones tried to hire him as a consultant to come in and work with Jason Garrett and the offense over the off season. It is widely expected that when Phillips gets fired in January that Jones will put the full court press on Shanahan to get him to come to Dallas.
From a talent standpoint the Dallas job would be the most attractive to a coach like Shanahan. They have a deep stable of running backs, an established quarterback, a solid defense, and an owner who will probably be willing to give him any amount of money he asks for. They potentially have the best talent base of potential openings being bandied about right now. The main question there is whether or not a Shanahan would be willing to work with an owner like Jones, or Snyder for that matter.
Shanahan butted heads with Al Davis in Oakland causing him to get fired four games into his second season. Pat Bowlen was a fairly hands-off owner in Denver and let his football people make the football decisions. Shanahan needs to have some creative control over his team and I am not so sure he would survive on a team like Washington or Dallas where the owners continually butt into personnel decisions and insist on running the team like a fantasy football team.
Unless the Redskins offer him the moon and give him an offer he simply cannot turn down Shanahan is probably better off sitting it out for the time being and seeing what other jobs come open that may be better suited to what he brings to the table.
