Even when he was caught in the crossfire between Dan Reeves and John Elway in Denver or Joe Montana and Steve Young in San Francisco, even when he was trading verbal rabbit punches with Al Davis and getting fired just 20 games into his head-coaching tenure, Mike Shanahan had the armor-piercing glare that he brought with him to the Washington Redskins along with his enduring nickname, "My Way Mike." As game faces go, Shanahan's is the best in the business. It's neither inscrutable as Lovie Smith's nor red-faced as Tom Coughlin's, and you don't need a spit shield or welder's mask as you did with Bill Cowher.
The beauty of Shanahan's incinerating in-game look is it can best be described as clinically insane. It's a death ray stare. When he focuses it on that playlist he has in his hand, it's as if he's commencing to do something right then and there that will rip out your larynx and entrails.
You can see why the look might have endeared him to Dan Snyder, the perennially disappointed Redskins billionaire owner who started secretly romancing Shanahan in the first few weeks of the 2009 season even though he already had a head coach in Jim Zorn. Owners have affairs of the heart all the time with head coaches who are not their own. Snyder, in particular, has been lampooned for his long-running habit of throwing big money at boldface names, only to get results that are lost in eight-point agate on the sports pages by the season's end. And after last year, Shanahan's first with Washington, it looked as if Shanahan's stay might not end any differently.
Shanahan began his first Redskins training camp by jousting with out-of-shape defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth over a fitness test, then got locked up in a passive-aggressive midseason standoff with quarterback Donovan McNabb (this after he had traded for McNabb and given him a contract extension). Both duels looked more gratuitous and insulting than they had to be. Washington again looked like a circus.
But now look: Haynesworth, who was traded to New England, can't stay on the field for the Patriots. McNabb, who was shipped off to Minnesota, can't buy a win to save his soul or his career.
And the Redskins are 3-1, and sitting atop the NFC East with the 1-3 Eagles awaiting them on the other side of their bye-week break.
Which makes it only natural -- even imperative -- to ask: What do you think of "My Way Mike" now?
Nobody's pretending the Skins have become a juggernaut overnight. But they were expected to be the dregs of their division once Shanahan said he intended to rely on either John Beck or Rex Grossman as his quarterback this season.
So at minimum, at least for now, their fast start should prevent Snyder from being mocked for the comical details recently reported by The Washington Post's Mike Wise about how he pursued Shanahan to be his coach. (It happened after a particularly bad loss in Detroit on Sept. 27, 2009. Some Crown Royal whiskey was involved. As Sunday night turned into the wee hours of Monday morning, Snyder ordered that his private jet be fired up for the second time that night and off he and a handful of advisors flew, landing in Denver around 4 a.m. ET to pay a house call to Shanahan at his 35,000-square-foot spread outside Denver. Why? Because this is what impulsive rich guys do. (The rest of us go to White Castle when we've been drinking.)
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When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hold on....
Have always liked the hire. Love Mike and Kyle. Always have. Haslett's surprising me a bit as a DC. I'm beginning to like him as well. I love the fact that Mike is not settling on players. We all know we need a QB, but if a QB is not available, that fit's his system, he'll wait. This was also evident in the Williams vs Okung debate. I think that mindset is a long term approach and one that will ultimately make this franchinse the best there is.
Miss you 21
12/17/09 - Ding Dong the Witch is Dead...Which Old Witch? The Wicked Witch.
He is 3-1. That is fine for now, but I will like him a whole lot more if we end the season at 10-6. Remember, Zorn was 6-2 at one point in 2008.
I have liked how MS and Allen have dedicated themselves to building through the draft. What I have LOVED is how they put a dunce cap on Snyder and forced him to quietly sit in the corner and buy yachts. I make the Zorn analogy, but there are very little similarities between the Zorn and MS tenures.
langleyparkjoe wrote:I can honestly say I've always liked him since we got him. I kept telling people to be patient. Now we're 3-1 going into a bye. Awesome.
I didn't really care for Shanahan before he came to the Skins, and I was leary last year with the whole McNabb and Haynesworth debacles, but I'm quickly changing my attitude.
Andre Carter wrote:Damn man, you know your football.
Chris Luva Luva wrote:Loved it from day 1. Only issue I didn't like was how he handled the benching of McRibb. It was unprofessional.
I don't agree that there was a problem with branching McFlab, either time.
However, his explanation of why he benched him in Detroit was terrible. He should have come straight our and said, "I benched him because he wouldn't run the plays as we called them and I had enough!" He didn't want to call out Donnie and embarrass him, so he made up of a story, but since he doesn't care enough about the media to put to much thought into it he butchered it.
On topic. I wasn't fond of Rattahan at first because he amped me, but I respected him as a coach. Now I still think he is a pompous a$$, but a brilliant coach and a very good personnel man.
"Dovie'andi se tovya sagain"
(It is time to roll the dice) Tai'shar Manetheren
"Duty is heavier than a Mountain, Death is lighter than a feather" Tai'shar Malkier
I've been good with Shanahan and Allen since the get go as well, and also hated the "explanation" for benching McNugget. Can't say that I minded how he handled McNugget or HaynesWorthless though. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't PC, but it established a new "What it is" at Redskins Park. If you are not about the team, you are not sticking around. If you won't do what must be done, then YOU'RE done. Been waiting a long time for a shift in paradigm, and ...
I LIKE MIKE
Everybody funny, now you funny too ...
"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have." -Vince Lombardi
Chris Luva Luva wrote: ... snip ... I didn't like was how he handled the benching of McRibb. It was unprofessional.
+1
“I wish I would’ve handled the one in Detroit a bit differently,” Shanahan said referring to his benching of McNabb in the final 1:50 of the Redskins’ loss to the Lions.
“I should’ve been more honest than I was,” Shanahan confessed. “Some times you do things to protect players and at the same time, you are actually hurting them, so I wish I had handled it differently.”
skinsfan#33 wrote:I don't agree that there was a problem with branching McFlab, either time.
I didn't say that I minded the benching, I said that I didn't like how he handled it.
Now, I will say that benching him WHEN he did in the Detroit game cost us the game. It was HORRIBLE. The last play? Rex Grossman? Please. That was just utter stupidity.
If he wanted to Bench McRibb, he should have done it at the half. You don't bring a bum off the bench, for the game winning drive. And he got what he paid for as result.
Mike is, & always has been, driven to succeed
Mike has ZERO feelings for ANYTHING but being a winning HC - NOBODY dares stand in his way
I agree with CLL in that the way he handled the McNabb deal left A LOT to be desired - that's the way he does things - if there were 2 ways to handle a situation (or a player) and one of them was guaranteed to piss everyone off, but both would have the same effect, Mike would pick the 'hard' way - It's Mike's way or the highway - always was
We are lucky to have this guy as our HC
I don't like him as a person - I like what he's doing & how he's putting this franchise together
3-1 is the now. hell, Zorn was 6-2 - many here were a little giddy at the time
Mike is building and remaking this franchise into having a consistently competitive product on the field
THIS WILL TAKE TIME - enjoy the SHANAPLAN
Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
I supported Shannys of the get go.. The changes that took shape last year totally sold me the D all the addition and subtractions he did gave me hope we were finally on the right path. As far as worthless and mcbung I support both the actions and how. Only because he made a strong point to the team about how things were gonna be. He also at the same time kinda tried to protect the players- trade value wise. He didn't want to make them look like total bums but retain some of there get out of worth. What ever he got for those zeros in trade is a stellar deal.
#21 forever in our hearts “I wanted to just… put his lights out ….because, you know, …Dallas sucks…” - Dexter Manley
langleyparkjoe wrote:I can honestly say I've always liked him since we got him. I kept telling people to be patient. Now we're 3-1 going into a bye. Awesome.
Good job Mike!
I admired him and the Broncos team with Elway. Shanny was a winner then.......he'll make the Skins a winning team ONCE AGAIN....!!!
Proverbs 27:17 As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.
What won me over was that Mike Shanahan + Bruce Allen = No More Vinny. So from day one he's gotten the benefit of the doubt from me.
The first year was tough, but I actually thought he did a good job with Haynesworth and my respect for him increased from that whole situation. McNabb was a difficult situation all around, and I think mistakes were made in acquiring / handling him initially, but I did like that Shanahan admitted his mistake and didn't delay in moving on. We got a chance to see Rexman at work last year which helped Shanahan make his QB decision this year.
And of course every fan has seen the improvement in this team from the very first preseason game. The personnel management has been solid to excellent. I'm still hoping for 8-8, but next year I fully expect us to be aiming for 10+ wins and a serious spot in the playoffs.
I saw a lot of him here in Denver. He was always a class act that represented his team well. He also was a consistent winner. We were very lucky have to come to DC. Like him or dislike him I don't think it was ever a question he would restore credibility to our team.
langleyparkjoe wrote:I can honestly say I've always liked him since we got him. I kept telling people to be patient. Now we're 3-1 going into a bye. Awesome.
langleyparkjoe wrote:I can honestly say I've always liked him since we got him. I kept telling people to be patient. Now we're 3-1 going into a bye. Awesome.
Good job Mike!
I admired him and the Broncos team with Elway. Shanny was a winner then.......he'll make the Skins a winning team ONCE AGAIN....!!!
I loved watching the Broncos lose ONLY because of Shanahan - could not stand him
loved all the great players that played for the Broncos - just could not stand the coach - still can't
just LOVE that he's here and turning things around but I still do not like him
he just needs to keep doing what he's doing here and keeping the dumb owner out of things - I don't plan to like him, he's not 'likeable'
Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
KCskin wrote:I'd say the same about Shanahan now as I did the day he was hired.
He's a great coach who got fired for being a rotten personnel man.
I think he's doing a fine job of living up to that expectation.
Mike Shanahan is a 10-6 program with bolts of 11-5 when the Division is bad. The Division is bad this year.
Glad to have him. He'll win the NFCE on occasion and compete. After all the years of Danny, I'll take it.
Sure Shanny is not batting a thousand with our personnel moves BUT in 18 months this team's talent level is now the highest since the early 90's. Shanny knows what the one major piece to this team is missing and until he gets that right it will be difficult to win the big one.
Love the job he's doing with Bruce and love him as the HC of the Washington Redskins
still cannot stand the man or his ego
Until recently, Snyder & Allen have made a lot of really bad decisions - nobody with any sense believes this franchise will get better under their guidance Snyder's W/L record = 45% (80-96) - Snyder/Allen = 41% (59-84-1)
Love the job he's doing with Bruce and love him as the HC of the Washington Redskins
still cannot stand the man or his ego
Ah, but do you remember Old George? (George Allen, that is...). Ego? Maximum. Crazy? Beyond. Did he win? Yes, he started the string from 1971 - 1992. Think of it this way...he's Wacky Shanny, but he's our Wacky Shanny.
