As speculation mounts about Mike Shanahan's future in Washington, details have emerged about the coach's dissatisfaction with the relationship between owner Dan Snyder and quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Disillusioned with the way Snyder was running the organization, Shanahan cleaned out his office in advance of January's wild-card playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks and expected to leave the team whenever the season ended, according to a source who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
[+] EnlargeGriffin III Jonathan Newton/Getty ImagesMike Shanahan grew disillusioned at the special treatment Robert Griffin III received from owner Dan Snyder and had planned to resign after last season before the quarterback hurt his knee in the playoffs, a source said.
The source said Shanahan had grown tired of the way Snyder empowered Griffin and openly esteemed him above all other players. Shanahan didn't blame Griffin but did blame Snyder for creating an atmosphere that Shanahan did not believe was conducive to winning. Shanahan privately told people close to him that he felt Snyder's behavior with regard to Griffin was a "complete farce."
In spite of that, Shanahan believed he would be leaving the team on a very positive note, as the Redskins had won the NFC East in his third year as their coach and were preparing for a playoff run. He believed the team had come together and shown strong character during the seven-game winning streak on which it ended the regular season.
But when Griffin injured his knee in that playoff loss, a source said, Shanahan changed his plans. He believed leaving at that point was no longer an option. He didn't want the general public, or possibly even his players, to think he left because of Griffin's injury.
Contacted this weekend about this information, Shanahan declined to comment.
Through team spokesman Tony Wyllie, the Redskins said, "That story is ridiculous."
A team source said Shanahan had grown weary by January of the way Snyder treated Griffin, empowering his quarterback and helping make him feel bigger than the team. The issue apparently carried over into the offseason and into this season.
Snyder regularly sent his security team to accompany Griffin when he went out in Washington. Snyder's personal driver was spotted picking up Griffin's then-fiancee (now wife) at road games.
But it wasn't just Snyder's relationship with Griffin that irked Shanahan. It was also the way in which he dealt with employees who had less star power than his star quarterback, sources said. After Kirk Cousins relieved an injured Griffin last December in Cleveland and led Washington to a 38-21 victory over the Browns, players and coaches spotted Snyder standing at the quarterbacks' lockers, talking only to Griffin while, one source said, Snyder "didn't acknowledge" Cousins.
The strain in the Shanahan-Snyder relationship is one of several negative backdrops to a season gone wrong in Washington, and the question now is what happens with Shanahan at season's end.
Those who know him believe that, if he was willing to walk away last season, he might be willing to do the same this offseason. Snyder also could decide to fire him.
Either way, it appears a breakup is inevitable. Shanahan has one year left on his contract, and the Redskins are struggling through a disappointing season at 3-9. As a result of the 2012 trade that allowed the Redskins to draft Griffin, the team doesn't even have a first-round draft pick in 2014. The Rams hold that pick, which, if the season ended Sunday, would be the No. 2 pick overall.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
I actually think this smells like Shanahan planning an out. He knows he's going to be fired and now this is leaked, he can blame the owner to get a new HC job next season. I'm reading many Redskins writers and bloggers and they are saying that RG3 and Snyder didn't talk and hang out during the season. May be a few charity events, but Shanahan was afforded the same benefits that RG3 was. Shanny's ego is hurt and he's planning his exit route.
spudstr04 wrote:I actually think this smells like Shanahan planning an out. He knows he's going to be fired and now this is leaked, he can blame the owner to get a new HC job next season. I'm reading many Redskins writers and bloggers and they are saying that RG3 and Snyder didn't talk and hang out during the season. May be a few charity events, but Shanahan was afforded the same benefits that RG3 was. Shanny's ego is hurt and he's planning his exit route.
I agree. I think it's extremely fishy that the first time we heard about a Snyder-RG3 link was from the national sports media, and not from local media.
Regardless of how the dots connect as to the latest report out of Washington, here’s how the dots connect going forward. Snyder is going to fire Shanahan. We wouldn’t be surprised if it happens later today, if the Redskins lose to the Chiefs.
Really, what else is Snyder going to do? He’s been openly disrespected. If that was enough to prompt Joe Pesci to riddle Spider with bullets, it’s enough to get Snyder to fire Shanahan.
I wish he would have quit last January. We should be so lucky. If Snyder can bypass the buy-out then even better. I wish the turd had never floated back to the top when he "retired" before.
hanburgerheel wrote:I wish he would have quit last January. We should be so lucky. If Snyder can bypass the buy-out then even better. I wish the turd had never floated back to the top when he "retired" before.
hanburgerheel wrote:I wish he would have quit last January. We should be so lucky. If Snyder can bypass the buy-out then even better. I wish the turd had never floated back to the top when he "retired" before.
Right, cause Shanahan is the problem, not Snyder.
Look, dude... Can you fire the owner? NO!
Mike Shanahan and his staff have shown me nothing except a win streak a year ago and then a series of bad decisions that almost sidelined RG3 permanently. I am fully aware that Snyder is not well-liked in DC and among the fan base. But, we are stuck with Dan Snyder. S-T-U-C-K with him. Mike Shanahan's record in DC is terrible. The scenery and details behind that don't matter to me. Get a coach and a system that can win. That's all I want. Period.
spudstr04 wrote:I actually think this smells like Shanahan planning an out. He knows he's going to be fired and now this is leaked, he can blame the owner to get a new HC job next season.
I don't think there is any question. When leaks like this start to happen, this is somebody positioning themselves. Possibly also Shanahan trying to force Snyder's hand into firing him.
I don't think the truth of the story is really as important as the fact that this story is coming out now at all. Its also not some random blogger speculating. This is coming through ESPN. This makes me think its a lot more likely that Mike is gone.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
hanburgerheel wrote:I wish he would have quit last January. We should be so lucky. If Snyder can bypass the buy-out then even better. I wish the turd had never floated back to the top when he "retired" before.
Right, cause Shanahan is the problem, not Snyder.
Look, dude... Can you fire the owner? NO!
Mike Shanahan and his staff have shown me nothing except a win streak a year ago and then a series of bad decisions that almost sidelined RG3 permanently. I am fully aware that Snyder is not well-liked in DC and among the fan base. But, we are stuck with Dan Snyder. S-T-U-C-K with him. Mike Shanahan's record in DC is terrible. The scenery and details behind that don't matter to me. Get a coach and a system that can win. That's all I want. Period.
Look, dude... I get your point. But what makes you think Snyder is EVER going to "get a coach and a system that can win"? The guy has gone through something like 7 coaches in 15 years? Perpetually hiring and firing coaches clearly isn't the solution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
hanburgerheel wrote:I wish he would have quit last January. We should be so lucky. If Snyder can bypass the buy-out then even better. I wish the turd had never floated back to the top when he "retired" before.
Right, cause Shanahan is the problem, not Snyder.
Look, dude... Can you fire the owner? NO!
If the owner is the problem, bringing on a different coach won't change things. Vince Lombardi couldn't win here with the way Snyder is acting. (Neither could a coach just as great: Joe Gibbs.)
Mike Shanahan and his staff have shown me nothing except a win streak a year ago and then a series of bad decisions that almost sidelined RG3 permanently. I am fully aware that Snyder is not well-liked in DC and among the fan base. But, we are stuck with Dan Snyder. S-T-U-C-K with him. Mike Shanahan's record in DC is terrible. The scenery and details behind that don't matter to me. Get a coach and a system that can win. That's all I want. Period.
Yeah, another turn 'round the revolving door oughta do it.
All of you people crying about the owner being the problem need to just go ahead and stop watching the team, posting on here, and anything else to do with the Redskins. The owner is here to stay. The coach is an option. Period.
How many coaches does he have to go through? I have no idea. I see that this choice he made in 2010 is crap. So, I guess it will take at least one more choice. This is simple. If you're that upset about the owner, then go and pull for another team because he's not going anywhere for a few more decades at least.
hanburgerheel wrote:All of you people crying about the owner being the problem need to just go ahead and stop watching the team, posting on here, and anything else to do with the Redskins. The owner is here to stay. The coach is an option. Period.
How many coaches does he have to go through? I have no idea. I see that this choice he made in 2010 is crap. So, I guess it will take at least one more choice. This is simple. If you're that upset about the owner, then go and pull for another team because he's not going anywhere for a few more decades at least.
Thanks mr. 70 posts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
Regardless of how the dots connect as to the latest report out of Washington, here’s how the dots connect going forward. Snyder is going to fire Shanahan. We wouldn’t be surprised if it happens later today, if the Redskins lose to the Chiefs.
Really, what else is Snyder going to do? He’s been openly disrespected. If that was enough to prompt Joe Pesci to riddle Spider with bullets, it’s enough to get Snyder to fire Shanahan.
At a minimum, it’s enough to get Snyder to angrily demand answers as to how in the hell this got reported, setting the stage for a showdown between a pair of strong-willed, wealthy men.
And here’s where it could get even more interesting. Snyder could try to fire Shanahan with cause, stiffing Shanahan out of his $7 million for 2014. It wouldn’t be the first time Shanahan was blocked from a buyout, and if Snyder can prove that Shanahan was involved in leaking the story, maybe Snyder can convince the Commissioner to side with the Redskins.
Regardless, it’s now clear that Shanahan wants out. And if this maneuver doesn’t work, maybe he should spill strawberry sauce all over Sammy Baugh’s uniform and/or drag the three Lombardi Trophies around the parking lot by the bumper of Shanahan’s car.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
hanburgerheel wrote:All of you people crying about the owner being the problem need to just go ahead and stop watching the team, posting on here, and anything else to do with the Redskins. The owner is here to stay. The coach is an option. Period.
How many coaches does he have to go through? I have no idea. I see that this choice he made in 2010 is crap. So, I guess it will take at least one more choice. This is simple. If you're that upset about the owner, then go and pull for another team because he's not going anywhere for a few more decades at least.
This is a dum*** argument. The fact that we have a crap argument doesn't mean we should all support the revolving door of coaches. We don't just have a stupid owner, we have an abundance of stupid "fans".
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
hanburgerheel wrote:All of you people crying about the owner being the problem need to just go ahead and stop watching the team, posting on here, and anything else to do with the Redskins. The owner is here to stay. The coach is an option. Period.
How many coaches does he have to go through? I have no idea. I see that this choice he made in 2010 is crap. So, I guess it will take at least one more choice. This is simple. If you're that upset about the owner, then go and pull for another team because he's not going anywhere for a few more decades at least.
Thanks mr. 70 posts.
Yeah, my post-count makes my post less valid...to YOU. You geniuses who measure facts and wisdom by how often someone has been parked on this website sharing their ideas are hilarious. Any other fool-proof measures? Like, maybe how many letters are in my name?
From what I remember last year, Shanahan was about to give up before the win streak. He said something like he was going to evaluate players and see who will be here next year. Fletcher was ticked off. So were some other Redskins. The Skins started winning despite Shanahan. If he was really planning on leaving Shanahan did act like it if he was planning for next year. I think Shanahan figured out he had lost the locker room then.
hanburgerheel wrote:Yeah, my post-count makes my post less valid...to YOU. You geniuses who measure facts and wisdom by how often someone has been parked on this website sharing their ideas are hilarious. Any other fool-proof measures? Like, maybe how many letters are in my name?
Your comment that fans on here who obsess over the Redskins and have been discussing the team on here for years should just stop following the Redskins is irritating. I could give two s how many posts you have made.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax "We're on the rise, man, whether you're on the train or not." - Josh Norman
hanburgerheel wrote:Yeah, my post-count makes my post less valid...to YOU. You geniuses who measure facts and wisdom by how often someone has been parked on this website sharing their ideas are hilarious. Any other fool-proof measures? Like, maybe how many letters are in my name?
Your comment that fans on here who obsess over the Redskins and have been discussing the team on here for years should just stop following the Redskins is irritating. I could give two s how many posts you have made.
Debating the owner is a waste of time. The owner is stuck there. That's like arguing about the weather.
You could give two sh*ts? How many more than two? 4? 6?
“It’s not the right time or place to talk about my relationship with Dan Snyder,” Shanahan told reporters after Sunday’s embarrassing loss to the Chiefs. “Or it’s not the right time or place to talk about something that happened a year ago.”
