Report: Shanahan to DC done deal

Shanny loves Portis.
I think we will see a rebirth of CP in the stretch running offense.

Really? Why'd he trade him then? And this isn't the same Clinton Portis he traded five years ago? And Bruce Allen, our new GM and all, said he's not a fan of folks that don't practice day in and day out.

I'm not so sure it's a gimme that Portis is staying just because Shanny is coming here.

Chuck Noll was 1-13, 5-9, and 6-8 in first three seasons with Pittsburgh. So yes, there is something to be said for patience with head coaches. Could it be that Zorn just needs one more year to "learn" how to be a head coach? Maybe. But are we willing to wait for his on-the-job-training to be complete?

In this day and age, with the league structured the way it currently is, I just don't think you can do that.

Whether we're a team that needs to be blown up and rebuilt from the foundation up, or if we're a team on the verge that's just a player or two away, there needs to be a coach here with experience, and a track record of sustained success. I just don't think you can afford to bring Zorn back and hope that he's the guy who can do that.

I agree in part and I think your reasoning is well founded. However , in Zorn's case management knew what they were getting. It's not like they brought in a coach with a fancy resume and handed him a team that was on the cusp of winning a championship. It's like sending a PCP to perform open heart surgery and the patient dies on the operating table......then blaming the PCP because the patient died. I said that because IMO the hiring of Zorn was a situation where you knew going in that patience was going to be required if you have any intention of seeing what the eventual finished product is going to be.

But it's as you say, the way the league is constructed today where coaches are concerned, patience is a lost virture, it has come to win now at all cost and I'm not so sure in all cases that should be a mandated expectation. Remember, the more things change, the more they stay the same. You do express an interesting point of view however.

Really? Why'd he trade him then? And this isn't the same Clinton Portis he traded five years ago? And Bruce Allen, our new GM and all, said he's not a fan of folks that don't practice day in and day out.

I'm not so sure it's a gimme that Portis is staying just because Shanny is coming here.

CP is so done here. I mean the guy is a professional football player and he doesn't want to practice. WTF??? I just don't think the guy has ever been a true pro and that shit gets old when you're losing. It's time to move on.

My biggest problem with Shanahan is that he's clearly more interested in coaching again then he is in winning ever again. I'd rather he go play his games somewhere else than my team.

He'll bring in Bob Slowik to be our DC, and Kyle Shanahan to be our OC, and well, we won't have much by way of a coaching staff. I don't think we'll have much of an edge over other playoff teams. But he would correct the major flaw in our rushing attack without majorly overhauling the blocking schemes, and we'd never have to worry about having crappy QB play, because I don't think Shanny would ever trade in Campbell for someone markedly worse than Campbell.

I think a Mike Shanahan offense would be fun to watch, but ultimately, we'd still play most of our games on the margin, and just never be a great super bowl threat under him. I really don't think Shanahan is coming back to win another super bowl. I think he just enjoys coaching a lot.

Which is fine. It's great actually. But we're only going to go as far as our talent carries us, and we don't have very many GREAT players, especially on the offensive side. We have functional talent (and youth), at times, around a pretty good quarterback, who again, isn't a guarantee to be back. A defense coached by Bob Slowik may or may not be better than a Blache coached defense (I can't imagine it would be worse), but again, Shanahan builds around the concept of comfort, rather than excellence.

In other words, I can see why Danny and Shanny are a good fit.

You eloquently described my fears about Shanny. In his latter years in Denver it seemed clear to me that he had lost his competitive fire and I'm not sure a year off will stoke it at his age. He will bring many positives to the table, to be sure. But I think that we'll end up being like his later Broncos teams: playoff contenders in good years, mediocre in bad years, but never really contending for a Lombardi.

Really? Why'd he trade him then? And this isn't the same Clinton Portis he traded five years ago? And Bruce Allen, our new GM and all, said he's not a fan of folks that don't practice day in and day out.

So I'm so sure it's a gimme that Portis is staying just because Shanny is coming here.

Agreed, but Shanahan has consistently shown the ability to get high performance from relatively low profile backs. He traded Portis 5 years ago because he was confident that he could maintain success in the running game while getting the maximum value for Portis to shore up his defense.

I think Portis stays precisely BECAUSE he's not the Portis from 5 years ago, and his trade value is slightly lower than his value to the Redskins as their primary running back. If I'm Shanahan, I might as well work with somebody who is a known quantity, somebody who I might be able to motivate to get more involved in practice. Portis' mental algorithm that decided whether he practiced or not probably was based on risk-vs.-reward, which not only takes into account the state of his body, but the state of the team as well. All the up-and-comers behind Portis obviously had more to gain and less to risk by going all-out in practice. With a fresh start under Shanahan, the equation in Portis' brain changes a little. I actually can't blame Portis for sitting out, even before the concussion. The Redskins weren't a team worth risking your health for. Period.

From what we've learned, Bruce Allen was hired because Shanahan wanted him. He's a GM who admittedly is more of a contracts kind of guy rather than an evaluator of personnel. Just because he doesn't like people who don't practice every day doesn't mean he has any power to do something about it. He's a contracts guy, which is perfect.

2010 is going to be exciting, and not in the "this-year-might-be-our-year" kind of way. Don't forget that the salary cap may be coming off in 2010. Doesn't make too much of a difference for the 2010 season itself, but I'm now looking down the road. With our team's value and revenues, we may not be the NY Yankees of the NFL (Dallas), but the Boston Red Sox are definitely an appropriate comparison.

Agreed, but Shanahan has consistently shown the ability to get high performance from relatively low profile backs. He traded Portis 5 years ago because he was confident that he could maintain success in the running game while getting the maximum value for Portis to shore up his defense.

I think Portis stays precisely BECAUSE he's not the Portis from 5 years ago, and his trade value is slightly lower than his value to the Redskins as their primary running back. If I'm Shanahan, I might as well work with somebody who is a known quantity, somebody who I might be able to motivate to get more involved in practice. Portis' mental algorithm that decided whether he practiced or not probably was based on risk-vs.-reward, which not only takes into account the state of his body, but the state of the team as well. All the up-and-comers behind Portis obviously had more to gain and less to risk by going all-out in practice. With a fresh start under Shanahan, the equation in Portis' brain changes a little. I actually can't blame Portis for sitting out, even before the concussion. The Redskins weren't a team worth risking your health for. Period.

From what we've learned, Bruce Allen was hired because Shanahan wanted him. He's a GM who admittedly is more of a contracts kind of guy rather than an evaluator of personnel. Just because he doesn't like people who don't practice every day doesn't mean he has any power to do something about it. He's a contracts guy, which is perfect.

2010 is going to be exciting, and not in the "this-year-might-be-our-year" kind of way. Don't forget that the salary cap may be coming off in 2010. Doesn't make too much of a difference for the 2010 season itself, but I'm now looking down the road. With our team's value and revenues, we may not be the NY Yankees of the NFL (Dallas), but the Boston Red Sox are definitely an appropriate comparison.

The Redskins are not a team worth Portis risking his health for: I doubt he has any problem finding his way to the bank. If that's actually the way he felt then that's a sad, sad proclimation coming from one considered to be a leader on your team.

On NFL Sunday (Saturday) Countdown Mort said Shanahan is coming but it's not a done deal until after the season. Also, he said that last night Rich Gannon said that Allen told him that Kyle Shanahan is coming also. I think that's borderline tampering but it's heresay. Either way, the Texans were the #3 offense last year and are #8 this year (#10 in scoring) with Kyle as the OC.

Thanks for texting that in Smoot. So what are the chances shanahan is our next coach?

It sounds like nothing will happen until the seasons over. Three weeks is a long time for something bad to happen and screw everything up - like Dallas firing wade Phillips. Dallas worries me - franchise qb, good young running backs... And Shanahan allegedly would rather coach there.

And if things do fall through, what's snyders plan b?

I don't know what plan b is quite honestly.

As for Shanahan as a coach here, I'm on the fence about it. I'm probably moreexcited about Kyle Shanahan. He's a good guy and I think going to make a very good, if not great, head coach one day.

Really? Why'd he trade him then? And this isn't the same Clinton Portis he traded five years ago? And Bruce Allen, our new GM and all, said he's not a fan of folks that don't practice day in and day out.

I'm not so sure it's a gimme that Portis is staying just because Shanny is coming here.


Because we traded the best pure cover corner in the league and a 2nd rounder.

i'm excited about kyle as well. one advantage of having mike shanahan as our head coach is that after 5 years or so, he could retire, turn the team over to kyle and stay on as team president. continuity.