2014 Coaching Search Rumors

[Bulldog]

Boone, on a team that just finished 3-13 and went 0-6 in a fairly weak division, I think we are looking at a rebuild.

A new coach coming in here IMO will need at least 2-3 years to turn this thing around.

The lack of picks has meant no depth on defense or the offensive line.

The front office is going to have a LOT of work to do to find OL and DL players as well as rebuild the secondary.

On offense, the Redskins may be able to score points early with a healthy Griffin, Morris, Garcon and Jordan Reed so the cupboard there is not bare.

But to put ourselves in position to arm wrestle the Seahawks and 49ers in the NFC this team needs major upgrades across the board.

I think it would take Beathard 2 years to get this team back into contention.

If we find the right coaching candidate, we have to give him that long at least to build this back.

If not then we are as guilty as others claim Snyder has been.

 

[Goaldeje]

Didn't he hire Shanny? With that incredibly stupid contract? Or, was he just playing the 'yes' man to The Dan?

It's a blemish any way you cut it.

Shanahan was the Team President, wasn't he? Bruce was under him, organizationally. I'm not making the argument that Bruce is blameless for the mistakes of the last four years, just putting it in perspective. Assuming that organizational structure is accurate, there's a LOT we don't know about what went on behind the scenes, and how often Shanny could easily have overruled Allen. We just don't know.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

Sorry, he's been here 4 plus years. He's part of the state of this franchise right now.

And, one press conference isn't going to change my mind. Besides, he's got a history in the NFL, and it ain't great.

He does have a history in the NFL, and it isn't great - that's true. He is respected in this league at managing contracts though. He has succeeded at that extremely well with the Redskins.

It may not be a bad thing to have someone with that kind of mentality in charge of personnel. I hope. In other words, I hope it will be someone who will always keep an eye on the $$$ and the value of players without getting too blinded by the supposed talent. I like having real cap room, made by good salary cap management.

This will be his first opportunity with the Redskins in a role beyond salary cap management, a place that we excelled at. It was the one place that Shanahan tried to take credit for, too, mentioning that now the Redskins were out of their salary issues and blah blah blah. Personally, I do think Shanahan had a hand in that; I do think you have to understand the value of a player (talent evaluation) and work on the contract ($$/Bruce) that makes sense for the organization given the talent. But how much of talent evaluation ever fully resides with a GM vs. a head coach? Coaches do have to pick the players they want to some degree, at all times, regardless of how much the GM has to do with player personnel. I don't envision a coach ever really showing up with a scheme and just getting players thrown at them, there is always some level of involvement there.

I am not thinking that we're headed for great things right now (how could you?). I do think that this organizational structure is still much improved than anything we had from 2000-2009 though. That is a step in the right direction, even if it doesn't succeed in the implementation.

Nice post - and welcome to the site

I think there are a number of us who are rightfully skeptical that there's been a 'sea change' at Redskins Park and that the Redskins and Snyder are going to find their 'Gibbs'. I hope Allen is making all the decisions and that he is the guy that the more positive among us believe he is. But I am very skeptical at this point. Maybe I'll find my homerism as we see what transpires. I hope so. I wouldn't even want to have a beer with me right now

Thanks for the welcome. I've pretty much been lurking and occasionally reading since the beginning, but finally pulled the trigger on making an account! Great site, really impressive work. As someone in the field, I can definitely appreciate what you've put together.

I am also very skeptical. I am only hopeful that in the post-Cerrato era we've only had one coach. This is just our second coach in the post-Cerrato era. This is also still our first GM in the post-Cerrato era. Basically a lot of my hope is based on the fact that Vinny Cerrato was horrid, and he's not here anymore. Bruce Allen is definitely better than Cerrato in at least one way (salary cap management), and I have heard some good things from Cooley... so there is at least some reason to have hope that they'll manage to do "some" good things. I'm going to see what shakes out in the coach search and the draft, and then we'll obviously have a much better idea of what we're dealing with. I'm not thinking "failure" but I'm not thinking "Super Bowl" either. I'm more thinking "intriguing" than anything else. I don't feel that this structure with Bruce as GM (if it stays that way) is a guaranteed loser.

I will say that Haslett involved makes me queasy, but there is no guarantee he will still be around after a new head coach gets hired, and also even if he gets one more year to see if he can do something running a scheme he wants... it's a year forward in an organization that makes decisions in a sensible manner (I hope). In the post-Cerrato era, we have to be patient and hope that with sensible decisions, things will fall into place in the next couple of years... and under no circumstances would I want the current structure involving GM/coach/etc to change, regardless of success/failure.

 

[SkinsNumberOne]

I agree with you Bulldog. But I don't think 'moving in a positive direction' is the goal. Just as you pointed out that Shanahan deserved to be fired on performance/record alone (setting aside what appears to be some juvenile, egotistical dysfunction), Allen/Snyder are going to and should be judged on whether we can start winning and be a consistent playoff team. That's where most of my concern lies. I would hope to God that Allen is able to set up a front office and coaching staff where there isn't the kind of dysfunction we just witnessed going on. Where I'm skeptical is our ability to find a young coaching staff that can produce teams that can get the job done on the field, with NFL caliber talent across the board.

We used to have a coaching carousel (I just forwarded the carousel graphic to some friends btw, nice)... now we have (I hope) a GM carousel as well. If the GM (Bruce) fails, he will get replaced. This is generally how successful organizations are run. I think we'd all feel more comfortable if Bruce had a better history, but sometimes it happens this way. Belichick didn't have a great HC history himself when he was hired by the Pats. Let's wait and see, and for me - above all else - I want to see the organizational structure get stronger regardless of success/failure. Then I see reason to hope with every new season, unlike in 2000-2009 where Cerrato's stench made things fairly hopeless (Schott had to deal with the stench/marks on the team he had, and before you knew it the source was re-hired anyway).

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Kevin ‏@HTTR24_7
RT @Manny_PPI Adam Schefter just said on 980 that the Redskins reached out to David Shaw six weeks ago through 3rd party.

 

[tshile]

Hah. Kind of foils the hole 'we waited until after the dallas game, and were 99%, but wanted to see the giants game' spin they put on the season.

 

[Goaldeje]

Hah. Kind of foils the hole 'we waited until after the dallas game, and were 99%, but wanted to see the giants game' spin they put on the season.

It might. It also just as easily could be Shanny using Schefter to get his preferred version of events out there.

 

[fansince62]

Hah. Kind of foils the hole 'we waited until after the dallas game, and were 99%, but wanted to see the giants game' spin they put on the season.

how you figure that? what I heard Allen say was they wanted a reason to keep Shanahan and the acid test was gonna be the final 3-4 games. multi-tasking is a concept you are certainly familiar with..and parallelism. I don't see anything wrong or deceitful in what they did. it's prudential - especially in a context where your HC leaked he almost packed it all in after the Seattle game. hopefully, the groundwork they did knowing the odds did not favor keeping Shanahan will expedite the current search.

 

[tshile]

how you figure that? what I heard Allen say was they wanted a reason to keep Shanahan and the acid test was gonna be the final 3-4 games. multi-tasking is a concept you are certainly familiar with..and parallelism. I don't see anything wrong or deceitful in what they did. it's prudential - especially in a context where your HC leaked he almost packed it all in after the Seattle game. hopefully, the groundwork they did knowing the odds did not favor keeping Shanahan will expedite the current search.

to be clear, i'm not faulting them and i don't see anything wrong with it. and I agree, Shanahan forced this entire situation to escalate the way it did.

i'm probably remembering the press conference a little wrong, and honestly it's just not that big of a deal. i just recall them saying they didn't really make any decisions until the last week or two, now we have a report saying they were reaching out to coaches 6 weeks ago.

it's just an observation based on what i remember, and it could very well be an incorrect one. i'm on board with what the organization is doing right now. wasn't tying to be overly critical at this point.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN
Six weeks ago would have been after the Eagles game in Philly. #RedskinsTalk

Rich Tandler ‏@Rich_TandlerCSN
Interesting that, per Schefter, Redskins contacted Shaw 6 weeks ago. That’s well before the blowup prior to KC game.

 

[Boone]

They should have fired his ass in-season if you ask me. I'm not going to fault them for seeing the writing on the wall, God knows Shanahan did. He wanted out of DC and he made sure that's what happened. And as far as I'm concerned Shefter can suck it too - he's just a puppet for whomever he's cozy with that wants to get their version of events 'out there'.

 

[Hog Fever]

So what names have surfaced to this point? I've heard:

Jim Caldwell – former Colts Head Coach and current Ravens' O-coordinator
Perry Fewell – current Giants' D-coordinator
Darrel Bevell - current Sehawks' O-coordinator

If reports are to be believed the Redskins HAVE NOT reached out to Bill Cowher. Take that for what it's worth.

I'm intrigued by Fewell and Bevell, less so by Caldwell. No word on when/if Grimm will get a look. He's a sentimental favorite but I'm not sure if he'll get a legit look.

Any thoughts?

 

[tshile]

So what names have surfaced to this point? I've heard:

Jim Caldwell – former Colts Head Coach and current Ravens' O-coordinator
Perry Fewell – current Giants' D-coordinator
Darrel Bevell - current Sehawks' O-coordinator

If reports are to be believed the Redskins HAVE NOT reached out to Bill Cowher. Take that for what it's worth.

I'm intrigued by Fewell and Bevell, less so by Caldwell. No word on when/if Grimm will get a look. He's a sentimental favorite but I'm not sure if he'll get a legit look.

Any thoughts?

The reports I've seen say they ahve reached out to Cowher, and they've met multiple times, but in general it wont work out. I've heard a mix of - He won't work for Snyder (doesn't make sense, why meet him with him then?) and He wants full control, but they wont give it (much more likely in my opinion.)


They've also talked to Shaw from Stanford, or reached out to him, I believe... hard to keep it all straight at this point.

 

[Boone]

Cowher has expressed numerous times, aside from any overtures from the Redskins, that he doesn't want to get back to coaching anytime soon, and that he's happy with what he's doing. That may be as big a factor as anything else if true. 3 years ago, I was in a leadership fast track with huge responsibilities and considered a 'wunderkind' in my organization. I had an epiphany that the course I was on just didn't make me happy, and made a change. I took a huge paycut and don't have the 'glory' and attention I had previously. A lot of people would probably look at what I did and say 'what's wrong with that guy?'. But for me, I'm 1000 times happier now. I have a life, I can enjoy it, and 'success' and 'money' aren't everything. I get the feeling that may be where Cowher is right now.

Having said all that, watch him turn out to be our next coach

 

[tshile]

my like is for your first paragraph.

your last sentence is not included in my like.

 

[tshile]

another name thrown out by cooley and czabe

Hue Jackson

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Are Briles, Shaw in the mix for the Redskins? | Comcast SportsNet Washington

Are Briles, Shaw in the mix for the Redskins?

January 2, 2014, 3:00 pm
Rich Tandler

From what we have been able to gather, the Redskins’ coaching search has focused on NFL coordinators so far. That could soon change.

Art Briles’ Baylor Bears ended their season with a 52-42 loss to UCF in the Fiesta Bowl last night. The loss doesn’t do much to dim Briles’ star, however. He has resurrected Baylor from the dregs of college football to a legitimate and entertaining program.

"I think he'd be open to the Redskins job," said Adam Schefter on ESPN 980 this afternoon.

If there is mutual interest, there would be a big hurdle. Briles, of course, was the coach at Baylor when Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy. Hiring Briles might be (make that would be) perceived by many as a move proving that Griffin runs the franchise.

But if neither side views that as an impediment, Briles will answer if the Redskins call, at least according to Schefter.

Another coach who is thought to have the potential to move up to the NFL is David Shaw of Stanford. The Cardinal ended their season with a 24-20 loss to Michigan State in the Rose Bowl. As with Briles, the loss did little to diminish Shaw’s desirability as an NFL coaching candidate.

According to Schefter, the Redskins reached out to Shaw about six weeks ago via a third party. (As an aside, that would be prior to the report that Mike Shanahan had considered quitting in 2012 emerged. Six weeks ago would be sometime after the loss to the Eagles, so perhaps removing Shanahan was being considered even before the report.)

Here is what Shaw had to say about taking an NFL job earlier this week.

"I have no desires to pursue another job," Shaw told reporters in Los Angeles. "As I said, I have not and don't plan on interviewing with anybody. I think it's really nice that my name gets batted around and that's great, and part of it is because I do have nine years of NFL experience, so it seems like an easy transition for some people."

Let’s parse these words a bit. “No desires to pursue another job” but didn’t say what he might do if someone pursued him. Same thought with “don’t plan on interviewing with anybody”. No plans, but the door isn’t closed to anyone offering to set one up. And the concluding part where he makes sure everyone knows that he has a solid resume to be an NFL coach, well, that speaks for itself.

What’s more important is what he didn’t say. There is no “I intend to fulfill the rest of my contract.” He doesn’t say “I won’t leave this group of guys.” The words “I would not talk to an NFL team” aren’t there either.

Of course, it’s not as though those words would mean anything if Shaw had said them. Coaches always say they’re staying until the sign on the line to leave. But as far as “I’m staying” statements go, this one was fairly soft. In fact, it almost invited NFL teams to get in touch with his agent.

That doesn’t mean that he’d talk to the Redskins or take the job if offered. But the situation does bear watching.

 

[Go Deep]

I think firing Shanahan when there is no one out there who's better and when we're ready to turn the corner is idiotic, but it's done and time to move on.

I know people will roll their eyes and laugh but I wouldn't be against at looking in-house at either Haslett or Morris. They're both familiar with the team and know what we have and don't have. They also know RG3 and would have an informed say at what type offense he could do well in. The last reason and probably the most important is we could hire anyone of these guys at a reasonable price. You can't tell me throwing a small fortune at a coach doesn't interfere with his motivation.

Regardless of who we hire I want someone at a reasonable price.

 

[Boone]

If we're going to hire a young guy (Jackson is 48), let's hire one who's actually accomplished something. Jackson's had like 3 shots at being an offensive coordinator. And ended up a running backs coach. That isn't an accident. Just because someone has Redskins ties (like Russ Grimm) doesn't qualify them to be our next head coach.

 

[Boone]

I think firing Shanahan when there is no one out there who's better and when we're ready to turn the corner is idiotic, but it's done and time to move on.

I know people will roll their eyes and laugh but I wouldn't be against at looking in-house at either Haslett or Morris. They're both familiar with the team and know what we have and don't have. They also know RG3 and would have an informed say at what type offense he could do well in. The last reason and probably the most important is we could hire anyone of these guys at a reasonable price. You can't tell me throwing a small fortune at a coach doesn't interfere with his motivation.

Regardless of who we hire I want someone at a reasonable price.

Who cares what the coach costs? That's Snyder's concern. What has either Morris or Haslett done to inspire even a modicum of confidence? It's not going to happen, and it shouldn't. Either of them will be the luckiest bastards in America if they even have a job when the dust settles.