Our next coach??

Call me crazy: I think Zorn should stay HC and be able to draft his own qb like so many other coaches get to do--- the coined term "his guy". If we keep Lewis who has our offense not looking so bad, we've got our 3rd year in the same system, same coach, more developed players (davis, kelly, thomas, rhinehart). We draft qb and o line, and i feel more confident in that than starting fresh again. we should let zorn continue to build his staff.

im basically saying this because I don't like shanahan. he only accomplished what he did because of davis and elway. Broncos were good at best in his tenure otherwise.

don't need a head coach to groom a QB

yes...Yes...YES TO THE HEAVENS!! HERE MY PLEA???? yes...GM first
Agreed for the most part but some HCs are good enough to pick their GMs or personnel guys.

I asked Mooch in a live chat when he was going to come to WAS and he ignored my question :(

Not that I was surprised but I thought that maybe he'd have something to say about the Skins either way.

As you noted, Mike Holmgren and Marty arent coaching ANYWHERE in 2009. The same applies to Gruden and Dungy. So, then, we're left with the following coaches, which you rank in this order: Shanahan, Fassel/Mariucci and Cowher/Grimm.

Lets take a look at these guys, shall we?

Name / Wins / Losses / Win % / Comments

Mike Shanahan / 146 / 98 / .598 / Won two superbowls in '97 and '98 with Elway. With the exception of the 2005 season, Shanahan hasn't won a playoff game in over a decade. In a "what have you done for me lately league," Shanahan hasn't done anything in recent history to justify giving him total control of our franchise.

Jim Fassel / 58 / 53 / .522 / Only 1 superbowl appearance (2007 season) when he lost to the Giants in Superbowl. That season aside, his team never won a playoff game. In seven years, his team average a record slightly above .500. He has a proven record of mediocrity in the NFL. Yes, his team just won the UFL title, but that whole league is a joke. There are only 4 teams, for goodness sakes.

Steve Mariucci / 72 / 67 / .518 / Has never appeard in the superbowl. The best one of his teams ever did was lose to the packers in '97 in the NFC championship game. Now, if you wanted to forgive his years in Detroit because he was working under Matt Millen, his record with the 49ers was pretty good (57 / 39 .594). However, when you consider who he'd be working for here, i think we'd be more likely to see Lion-esque performances from his teams.

Russ Grimm / 0 / 0 / 0 / He used to be a Hog. Thats it.

Bill Cowher / 149 / 90 / .623 / He has the best record of any head coach available. He also has the longest sample-size to look at - 15 years. In that time, his team made the playoffs 10 times. 9 of those times, his team had 1st round byes. 7 of those times, his team appeared in the AFC Championship game. What this means is that 50% of the time, his team was one of the top 4 in the NFL. He appeared in 2 superbowls and won the most recent. The man wakes up in the morning and pisses excellence.

So, what exactly is it about excellence that you don't like?

Funny how Shanahan won two Super Bowls "with Elway" but your favorite coach didn't win the Super Bowl "with Roethlisberger".

Generally speaking, I prefer offensive-minded head coaches. I'd make an exception for Marty Schottenheimer, and a few others. But with Cowher, I just feel like his stock is a bit overrated. When the flock says to go with conventional wisdom, and Cowher seems to be what the flock wants, I go the other way. Cowher lost a bunch of home playoff games before finally reaching the summit. With offense being our biggest problem, Cowher with his 'defense-first' mentality would only place it on the back-burner.

I'm simply not as sold about Cowher just as others apparently feel the same way about Shanahan. Ultimately, I agree with the sentiment that as long as our bumbling, inept front office stays intact, it won't matter who the head coach is.

Funny how Shanahan won two Super Bowls "with Elway" but your favorite coach didn't win the Super Bowl "with Roethlisberger".

Generally speaking, I prefer offensive-minded head coaches. I'd make an exception for Marty Schottenheimer, and a few others. But with Cowher, I just feel like his stock is a bit overrated. When the flock says to go with conventional wisdom, and Cowher seems to be what the flock wants, I go the other way. Cowher lost a bunch of home playoff games before finally reaching the summit. With offense being our biggest problem, Cowher with his 'defense-first' mentality would only place it on the back-burner.

I'm simply not as sold about Cowher just as others apparently feel the same way about Shanahan. Ultimately, I agree with the sentiment that as long as our bumbling, inept front office stays intact, it won't matter who the head coach is.

Exactly. Does it really matter which coach comes here?

Funny how Shanahan won two Super Bowls "with Elway" but your favorite coach didn't win the Super Bowl "with Roethlisberger".

Generally speaking, I prefer offensive-minded head coaches. I'd make an exception for Marty Schottenheimer, and a few others. But with Cowher, I just feel like his stock is a bit overrated. When the flock says to go with conventional wisdom, and Cowher seems to be what the flock wants, I go the other way. Cowher lost a bunch of home playoff games before finally reaching the summit. With offense being our biggest problem, Cowher with his 'defense-first' mentality would only place it on the back-burner.

I'm simply not as sold about Cowher just as others apparently feel the same way about Shanahan. Ultimately, I agree with the sentiment that as long as our bumbling, inept front office stays intact, it won't matter who the head coach is.

Heck, Cowher got to the Super Bowl with Neil O'Donnell. Seriously though, Cowher's teams were pretty inconsistent offensively so I can see where you might be considered. Either way I suspect he'd bring in an offensive minded guy to run the offense while he serves in a "CEO" type role.

What's made you change your mind on Shanahan by the way?

If Cowher would of coached anywhere other than Pittsburgh he would of been fired too.

Heck, Cowher got to the Super Bowl with Neil O'Donnell. Seriously though, Cowher's teams were pretty inconsistent offensively so I can see where you might be considered. Either way I suspect he'd bring in an offensive minded guy to run the offense while he serves in a "CEO" type role.

What's made you change your mind on Shanahan by the way?

offenses may have been inconsistent, but the team as a whole consistently not only made the playoffs, but won games in the playoffs. thats all that matters. i agree that he'd bring in an offensive mind to run the offense though.

Didn't Cowher once remark if he coached again it would be in Carolina...who btw is primed for a new coach after this season? Not totally sure when/where I read this but it totally is stuck in my mind.

...anyway I think it's absurd to daydream about great coaches coming to Redskins park if Snyder keeps Cerrato on the payroll anywhere and maintains the same incompetent FO. I mean Shanahan is the possible exception cuz that dude loves his money and might take the huge blemish to his resume (working in Snyder's circus) for a gigantic payday.

If he is motivated by money, it would have to be a truly gigantic payday for him to take a "blemish," given that he can take $7 mil. from Denver to do nothing all year.

NFL - Adam Schefter: Why Bill Cowher might be coaching the Carolina Panthers in 2010 - ESPN (http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4718812&name=schefter_adam&action=login&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fesp n%2fblog%2findex%3fentryID%3d4718812%26name%3dsche fter_adam)

Those that know former Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher say he now is gearing up to return to the NFL next season. Cowher is mentally preparing himself to return to coaching and contemplating how he would structure his organization, according to those that know him. With a return on the horizon, many around the league believe the most logical landing spot, by far, is the Carolina Panthers, where speculation is mounting that Panthers coach John Fox is on the endangered list. Of course, Fox has been there before and always has done what he could to keep his job. But this time, the Panthers have a newly hired president, Danny Morrison, who has no ties or connections to anyone in the organization other than Jerry Richardson. A source connected to the Panthers source said he expects the team to pursue Cowher, who lives in North Carolina and has been waiting for the ideal opportunity to return to coaching. Plus, consider these notable coincidences: Cowher has a daughter who is a freshman at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C., where the Panthers hold training camp. Morrison also graduated from Wofford, where he later became the director of athletics and the school's senior vice president. Cowher continues to be on Carolina's radar, and the signs as of late only reinforce the notion.