Shanahan in as Skins new head coach

[Chronic Husker 85]

Per espn. He might be the answer there, but it's gonna take a few years.

[GettnHuge 1]

Shanahan in deep crap as Skins new head coach

fixored

[Boston Three Party 6]

Welcome to the no-RB draft list boys and girls.

 

As if "Portis" wasn't on that list before this year anyways!

 

[Busted by the Feds 9]

He becomes head rat in a town full of 'em .

[Dr Hook 6]

Welcome to the no-RB draft list boys and girls.

 

As if "Portis" wasn't on that list before this year anyways!

 

 

 

I think Portis will be OK for a year, maybe 2. After that he will be junk. It will take Shaanhan that long to get his people in place.

[JT 137]

Welcome to the no-RB draft list boys and girls.

 

As if "Portis" wasn't on that list before this year anyways!

 

 

Didn't Portis do fairly well with Shanahan previously?

[mambokings 0]

I like the choice. Shanahan is a good coach, maybe not the ultimate answer for Washington, but it's a big improvement and a step in the right direction.

 

He'll need a couple years to get his type of players, there will need to be a roster overhaul, but he should at least be able to improve that anemic offense.

[Cuse9 128]

Shanahan's problem is he's killing himself in an effort to find duplicates of John Elway and Terrell Davis. He knows exactly what he wants, but unfortuneatley he's not gonna find it! That was his downfall in Denver. Portis was good, but he was no TD, same for the other backs he had. He seemed to be his own worst enemy. Maybe a new change of scenery will help him see a new light. The problem is Dan Snyder doesn't really give coaches mush time to get things figured out.

[Blue_Star_Wrecking_Crew 0]

I will never draft a skins rb again........

[Apu Nahasapeemapetilon 0]

Bruce Allen and Shanny will hardly be saviors. But Allen is better than Cerrato, and Shanny is much, much better than Zorn.

 

The defense can easily improve under Shanny and the right DCordinator.

 

But the offense needs a personnel overhaul before it improves much. Campbell, Portis, the OL, the WRs. There isn't much there to be excited about.

[Houston Texans 10]

Didn't Portis do fairly well with Shanahan previously?

Yes, but he didn't have the "wear on this tires" that he does now, AND he had a great O-line to run behind.

 

Those 2 factors are, IMO, more important than his head coach/OC.

[Houston Texans 10]

Bruce Allen and Shanny will hardly be saviors. But Allen is better than Cerrato, and Shanny is much, much better than Zorn.

 

The defense can easily improve under Shanny and the right DCordinator.

 

But the offense needs a personnel overhaul before it improves much. Campbell, Portis, the OL, the WRs. There isn't much there to be excited about.

I'm kind of curious to see what happens with Campbell. He, IMO, didn't fit in Zorn's offense, which required him to make quick reads, and shorter, accurate throws. Campbell has a big arm (kind of like Cutler), and perhaps he'll be a better fit for an offense like Shanny ran with Cutler the last 2 years.

[surferskin 30]

The problem is Dan Snyder doesn't really give coaches mush time to get things figured out.

He would have gave Gibbs all the time in the world but Gibbs retired. I see Snyder giving Shanahan similar respect.

[mambokings 0]

I'm kind of curious to see what happens with Campbell. He, IMO, didn't fit in Zorn's offense, which required him to make quick reads, and shorter, accurate throws. Campbell has a big arm (kind of like Cutler), and perhaps he'll be a better fit for an offense like Shanny ran with Cutler the last 2 years.

 

Fock Jason Campbell

 

Bring on Colt Brennan

[Busted by the Feds 9]

Will that mean the Skins will turn to a zone blocking scheme ?

[cyclone24 1,814]

I almost choked on my mountain dew....but did i read someone post that Dan Snyder will give Shanny "respect"?

 

I hardly call anything that guy has done lately as "respectful" to his coach.

 

 

You interview a guy on Zorns staff while hes coaching for HIS job, left him twisting in the wind the second half of the season, and fired him on the plane ride home. And from reports....flew on a plane with Shanny not more than 2 hours after he fired Zorn.

 

Nevermind that the reason the redskins are terrible are because of dan snyder and his choices in players.

 

Ill just say it.....they will never go anywhere with Jason Campbell. Hes brutal.

[Busted by the Feds 9]

Rotoworld says that Shanny has signed on the dotted line and will be introduced to the media 2 PM Wednesday. The final deal was for $ 7 million a year and not the reported $ 10 million a year because Pat Bowlen is still paying Shanny $ 3.5 million a year till 2011.

 

Hey, maybe with a GM they finally made a sensible deal. If that was Cerrato and Snyder, they would have paid the entire $ 10 million a year.

[DocNiner 44]

Shanny will get rid of Jason Campbell. He'll trade him to the Rams who are in desperate need of a breathing QB. Campbell would be a big upgrade over what they have. Snyder will give Shanny a max of 3 year to see an improvement. If they don't make the playoffs within 3 years Shanny could be gone. Snyder changes coaches like underwear. Very impatient hard man to please and Snyder needs to understand it's gonna take time to turn this team around.

[pimptastic69 0]

Bruce Allen and Shanny will hardly be saviors. But Allen is better than Cerrato, and Shanny is much, much better than Zorn.

 

The defense can easily improve under Shanny and the right DCordinator.

 

But the offense needs a personnel overhaul before it improves much. Campbell, Portis, the OL, the WRs. There isn't much there to be excited about.

 

The rumor has been that he'll steal Zimmer from the Bengals.

[scherber830 0]

Devin Thomas and Malcolm Kelly were talented wideouts in college, so perhaps a new system will bump one or both of their value?

[Melissa Stark 1]

It will be interesting to see how this works out. Marty didn't get much time coaching there either.

[surferskin 30]

I almost choked on my mountain dew....but did i read someone post that Dan Snyder will give Shanny "respect"?

 

I hardly call anything that guy has done lately as "respectful" to his coach.

You interview a guy on Zorns staff while hes coaching for HIS job, left him twisting in the wind the second half of the season, and fired him on the plane ride home. And from reports....flew on a plane with Shanny not more than 2 hours after he fired Zorn.

 

Nevermind that the reason the redskins are terrible are because of dan snyder and his choices in players.

 

Ill just say it.....they will never go anywhere with Jason Campbell. Hes brutal.

Zorn was incompetent and definitely deserved to be fired but doing in mid-season was pointless...but that doesn't mean you don't find your guy in the mean time. Last time the skins had a coaching search they waited til the last minute to find a coach and they ended up with Zorn. How'd that work out? I have no problem with how getting their guy ASAP. Snyder is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. He'll continue to take the blame until the actually win but this is a step in the right direction.

[Chronic Husker 85]

This is a very interesting situation. It looks as if Shanahan is expected to show progress in the win column right away. Going to be a tall order when taking into consideration the division the Redskins are in, all the money they have tied up in an aging and injured roster, the question mark at QB, and the absolute train wreck of an offensive line.

 

The Skins are competing against two playoff teams from this season and the Super Bowl champion just two years removed. All three division foes have seasoned QBs. All of those teams have their own flaws but they're also all a lot better off as of right now than the Skins. That's what Shanahan is up against.

 

Defensively, it seems that Washington could bring in a free agent or two, get healthy, and basically be OK. It's a very old defense and filled with overpaid underachievers - pretty much the hallmark of Snyder's time owning the team. I have no clue who will be coaching this defense next season but I assume they'll build around Haynesworth (not make him think too much - and basically keep him happy). If Shanahan's job is to start winning in 2010 he doesn't need much on the defensive side of the ball except for the players to get healthy and motivated. Easier said than done, but less of a task than turning the offense around. This unit would look a lot better with Shaun Taylor in the secondary.

 

I don't see Shanahan dumping Campbell without seeing what he can do, first hand. Campbell has had so many coordinators and systems that I don't know if it's possible to truly judge him yet. It seems to me that he has the tools (the size, the arm, etc.) to succeed if Shanahan can harness them and surround Campbell with a decent cast. Sounds a bit like Cutler, huh? I definitely see Shanahan going out and signing an experienced starter to either back Campbell up or compete right away. Shanahan was always successful in Denver at getting a pretty solid backup - I would expect more of the same here.

 

Now, to the elephant in the closet. Here is a local analysis of the situation at O-line:

 

http://www.csnwashington.com/12/09/09/Reds...&feedID=272

 

Yikes. I guess now is as good a time as any to make the switch to a zone blocking scheme if they're gonna do it. It will be interesting to see if Shanahan brings Alex Gibbs along with his son to Washington. Gibbs is about 70 years old and was the man behind building Denver's zone scheme. Even if Gibbs comes along to get Washington started, I don't see how the Skins will be able to get enough decent players to field a passable line. I can see Shanahan getting a couple castoffs from Denver and Houston. Snyder won't be afraid to throw money at a big time free agent or two. And most experts are picking the Redskins to take a tackle with their first pick, but to create an offensive line basically from scratch?

 

The problem is that it takes years to mold a good offensive line. My take is that by the time the offensive line starts to gel, the bulk of this defense will be pushing 40. It would make more sense to blow everything up piecemeal and revamp the whole team. I guess time will tell.

 

One thing that should be pointed out here is that Shanahan never had to "rebuild" a team, a la Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells. The Raiders experience didn't work out and when he came to Denver the Broncos were already a perennial playoff team with Elway at the helm. This is unchartered water for Shanny. The man brims with drive and self-confidence. He's going to need all of it here. Another thing to remember is that Shanahan was responsible for some awful free agent signings while in Denver. Simeon Rice. Daryl Gardener. Travis Henry. Niko Koutouvides. Keary Colbert. Dre Bly. Combine Shanahan's penchant for bad free agency moves with the Redskins overpaid, underachieving roster and Snyder's wallet and that could be a recipe for unparalleled disaster as far as Redskins fans are concerned.

 

Shanny is a great offensive mind with two more Super Bowl rings than most of his critics. If he turns this thing around in the near future, I'll be impressed. If not, we've seen Snyder's track record of patience.

[Busted by the Feds 9]

Hopefully, another wrinkle here is that Bruce Allen will be another voice in the decisions of drafting and free agency, not just Shanahan and Snyder alone.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Wow, another big, flashy, expensive signing in DC. This always works out well for Danny Boy

[The Football Guru 212]

This is a very interesting situation. It looks as if Shanahan is expected to show progress in the win column right away. Going to be a tall order when taking into consideration the division the Redskins are in, all the money they have tied up in an aging and injured roster, the question mark at QB, and the absolute train wreck of an offensive line.

 

The Skins are competing against two playoff teams from this season and the Super Bowl champion just two years removed. All three division foes have seasoned QBs. All of those teams have their own flaws but they're also all a lot better off as of right now than the Skins. That's what Shanahan is up against.

 

Defensively, it seems that Washington could bring in a free agent or two, get healthy, and basically be OK. It's a very old defense and filled with overpaid underachievers - pretty much the hallmark of Snyder's time owning the team. I have no clue who will be coaching this defense next season but I assume they'll build around Haynesworth (not make him think too much - and basically keep him happy). If Shanahan's job is to start winning in 2010 he doesn't need much on the defensive side of the ball except for the players to get healthy and motivated. Easier said than done, but less of a task than turning the offense around. This unit would look a lot better with Shaun Taylor in the secondary.

 

I don't see Shanahan dumping Campbell without seeing what he can do, first hand. Campbell has had so many coordinators and systems that I don't know if it's possible to truly judge him yet. It seems to me that he has the tools (the size, the arm, etc.) to succeed if Shanahan can harness them and surround Campbell with a decent cast. Sounds a bit like Cutler, huh? I definitely see Shanahan going out and signing an experienced starter to either back Campbell up or compete right away. Shanahan was always successful in Denver at getting a pretty solid backup - I would expect more of the same here.

 

Now, to the elephant in the closet. Here is a local analysis of the situation at O-line:

 

http://www.csnwashington.com/12/09/09/Reds...&feedID=272

 

Yikes. I guess now is as good a time as any to make the switch to a zone blocking scheme if they're gonna do it. It will be interesting to see if Shanahan brings Alex Gibbs along with his son to Washington. Gibbs is about 70 years old and was the man behind building Denver's zone scheme. Even if Gibbs comes along to get Washington started, I don't see how the Skins will be able to get enough decent players to field a passable line. I can see Shanahan getting a couple castoffs from Denver and Houston. Snyder won't be afraid to throw money at a big time free agent or two. And most experts are picking the Redskins to take a tackle with their first pick, but to create an offensive line basically from scratch?

 

The problem is that it takes years to mold a good offensive line. My take is that by the time the offensive line starts to gel, the bulk of this defense will be pushing 40. It would make more sense to blow everything up piecemeal and revamp the whole team. I guess time will tell.

 

One thing that should be pointed out here is that Shanahan never had to "rebuild" a team, a la Jimmy Johnson or Bill Parcells. The Raiders experience didn't work out and when he came to Denver the Broncos were already a perennial playoff team with Elway at the helm. This is unchartered water for Shanny. The man brims with drive and self-confidence. He's going to need all of it here. Another thing to remember is that Shanahan was responsible for some awful free agent signings while in Denver. Simeon Rice. Daryl Gardener. Travis Henry. Niko Koutouvides. Keary Colbert. Dre Bly. Combine Shanahan's penchant for bad free agency moves with the Redskins overpaid, underachieving roster and Snyder's wallet and that could be a recipe for unparalleled disaster as far as Redskins fans are concerned.

 

Shanny is a great offensive mind with two more Super Bowl rings than most of his critics. If he turns this thing around in the near future, I'll be impressed. If not, we've seen Snyder's track record of patience.

 

Good stuff, Chronic. If Alex Gibbs does come along with Shanny, don't look for any high picks on the o-line. Gibbs has long taken pride in his ability to get the most out of low-round draft choices and has even stated he doesn't require or want high-round picks to build a solid line.

 

Regarding Snyder's lack of patience with coaches, I blame former VP Vinny Cerrato. Being best buds with the owner usually gets you the benefit of the doubt when the coach is "underperforming", after all, it can't be a lack of talent...IMO, Cerrato is one of the worst talent evaluators and he isn't even a smooth talker, so I never quite understood how he became an NFL exec in the first place or how he got rehired by Washington after Marty fired him (but I guess that's what happens when you are friends with the owner). I honestly believe it has been Cerrato, and not Snyder, who has been to blame for the Redskins' designation as "offseason champions". Cerrato knew he had the money to spend and he often used it as a way to cover up his inability to recognize talent in the draft. I'm sure Snyder doesn't mind the pub that comes each year when he gets his guy in March, but you know that he has to be getting tired of the backlash he receives each year when his team is a paper tiger.

 

Shanny already has a good working relationship with both Snyder and Allen from what he has said in post-hire interviews, so I expect him to get every benefit of the doubt from Snyder. However, I believe the key here is Allen, who Shanny has stated isn't afraid to disagree with him. So long as Shanny doesn't go on some power trip and has a good give-and-take relationship with Allen, I don't expect near the FA disasters he experienced in Denver. I expect a decent offense in Year 1, a surprisingly above-average offense in Year 2 and a typical Shanny offense in Year 3, so long as Washington can snag Alex Gibbs and Kyle Shanahan doesn't become a hot head-coaching candidate in that time and leave his dad.

 

I've always believed that Campbell could be a good (not great) NFL QB, but he may be too far gone by now with all the systems he has been through and all the punishment he has taken in Washington. What he needs most is a stable situation and good QB coach, but I don't think Shanny will ultimately decide to keep him around. I'm not thrilled with the draft-eligible QBs behind Jake Locker (and it doesn't sound like he's coming out), but I think Washington will be eyeballing Jimmy Clausen. It appears he played most of 2009 with torn toe ligaments, so that could explain some of the inconsistencies I saw in his play. I really like the fact he threw only four picks in 2009 and I know that has to make GMs happy as well.

[surferskin 30]

Wow, another big, flashy, expensive signing in DC. This always works out well for Danny Boy

Yeah, it worked out so much better when they signed an under the radar assistant from the seahags.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

Yeah, it worked out so much better when they signed an under the radar assistant from the seahags.

 

Nice QB coach, but Zorn had never been a head coach at any level. I applaud Danny Boy for thinking outside the box, but common sense should have prevailed.