Burner's Burning Questions: Mike Shanahan, The Time Has Come

[Burgundy Burner]

Once again, BBQ has decided to stray from the weekly grading format and continue examining the current state of affairs with the Redskins. For those who want grading for this week

More...

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Burner’s Burning Questions – Mike Shanahan, The Time Has Come​

Once again, BBQ has decided to stray from the weekly grading format and continue examining the current state of affairs with the Redskins. For those who want grading for this week – it is an “F” across the board for last week’s game against the Chiefs. The topic header is an obvious clue for the blog this week and let’s get right to the matters at hand.

BBQ now believes that Coach Mike Shanahan is largely responsible for the debacle of 2013 and should be relieved of his duties at the conclusion of this season.

The Case Against Mike Shanahan

Mistake Number One:
First and foremost, Shanahan should not be the de facto General Manager. His poor management and personnel skills date back many years to his time in Denver. Would you trust the next head coach with GM duties?

Mistake Number Two:
Nepotism rarely works when both individuals are at or near the top of an organization or business. Being objective about a close family member is cloudy at best and will have a detrimental effect. When was the last time you heard Coach Shanahan criticizing his son and vice versa?

Mistake Number Three:
Shanahan insisted on a 3-4 defense and it has been nothing short of a huge debacle. Several players do not fit the scheme and little has been done to secure the kind of personnel that is needed. With the current roster, is a 4-3 defense a bitter fit?

Mistake Number Four:
Vowing to make the Redskins younger and better, Shanahan pulls an Easter surprise and trades for a thirty-four year old Donovan McNabb. The results were disastrous.

Mistake Number Five:
Albert Haynesworth was not dedicated to the team. Shanahan had a golden opportunity to unload the lazy player for a third round draft pick and save $21 million from the salary cap. Unfortunately, Shanahan’s massive ego was determined to teach Haynesworth some sort of lesson. Today, Shanahan is on the verge of watching his coaching legacy being torn to shreds and the former free agent bust is living a life of luxury with many millions in the bank. Who was the teacher in this disaster?

Mistake Number Six:
The cap penalty was certainly unfair to the Redskins and there is no need to rehash everything about it. However, if Shanahan takes the original deal for Haynesworth, the penalty is far less and almost negligible. Was the calculated risk worth the trouble?

Mistake Number Seven:
Throughout his tenure in Washington, Shanahan has hired a number of assistant and position coaches who are, quite frankly, not qualified to do such work.

Mistake Number Eight:
If an offense is successful in the NFL, you can usually look at the offensive line and the talent that it embodies. One blue chip lineman has been drafted in the Mike Shanahan era. One. Just one. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no excuse for such negligence and it renders the offense to poor production on the field.

Mistake Number Nine:
The Redskins are heading toward what could be the worst season ever for the special teams – as in worst ever by any team statistically. Special teams execution has been a thorn in the side of Shanahan and their poor play has cost the team some victories along the way. It’s inexcusable.

Mistake Number Ten:
The handling of Robert Griffin, III’s injury has been a colossal failure. Did RG3 have an ACL tear after the Baltimore game last year? We may never know. The Seattle playoff game injury is now an admitted mistake by Shanahan (leaving RG3 in the game). The trust between coach and player is gone and BBQ believes that it can never be repaired.

Mistake Number Eleven:
For all of his faults over the last four years, the one personal shortcoming that stands out the most for Mike Shanahan is his vindictive nature. There is nothing wrong with fining and/or suspending a player for an infraction or behavior that is detrimental to the team. However, Shanahan tends to make it very personal and holds long term grudges. Just ask the late Al Davis (if there was a way to make contact), Jake Plummer, Donovan McNabb, Albert Haynesworth, Gerard Warren, and Fred Davis, amongst others. Holding grudges against opposing teams and players can be a good thing and a motivating factor, but going against one’s own team and players is not conducive to a winning atmosphere. At no time has it really been of any benefit to the Redskins.

There are too many mistakes, issues, and concerns with Mike Shanahan as head coach of the Washington Redskins. To be sure, he has done some good things for the organization and those contributions can’t be overlooked. The negatives have piled up though and when the season is over, the Redskins and Mike Shanahan need to have an amicable parting of the ways. It would be beneficial to Mike Shanahan and his future and to the Redskins and their future.

 

[Bulldog]

Shanahan is done in the NFL.

He reminds me of Mike Ditka in New Orleans .

After trading for Heath Shuler and drafting Danny Wuerffel and then giving up an entire draft for Ricky Williams he was finally shown the door .

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Talked with a friend back in Virginia Beach a short time ago and he brought up something that is very, very interesting. The Broncos were caught manipulating the cap (a few years after it actually happened) during the Super Bowl years in Denver. MS was the coach and now he has been a part of the cap penalty here. I missed that one, but it really hit me when it came up in the conversation.

Coincidence? NFL paying back MS for the mistakes of years ago? MS thinking he can circumnavigate the cap?

 

[Bulldog]

Playing hardball with Haynesworth really cost Shanahan.

We could have taken the hit in 2010 but Shanny was impatient and wanted to win games right away.

So we kept the bad contract and then gave him a second bonus in his contract

 

[Boone]

Talked with a friend back in Virginia Beach a short time ago and he brought up something that is very, very interesting. The Broncos were caught manipulating the cap (a few years after it actually happened) during the Super Bowl years in Denver. MS was the coach and now he has been a part of the cap penalty here. I missed that one, but it really hit me when it came up in the conversation.

Coincidence? NFL paying back MS for the mistakes of years ago? MS thinking he can circumnavigate the cap?

I think that's connecting dots that weren't there. And guys, I'm perplexed that on top of everything else Shanahan now has to own responsibility for (deservedly so) he's also saddled with blame for the cap penalty stuff too? It's arguable that it's the Redskins that are to blame in that travesty at all. But assuming they should have seen it coming, you all don't think Snyder and Allen might've had a little bit to do with how we managed the decisions that were made that we were later 'punished' for???

 

[Burgundy Burner]

I put it out there, but have no opinion one way or another. Just found it interesting.

 

[Chris]

24-37.

That's enough for me.

 

[Fear The Spear]

Nepotism rarely works when both individuals are at or near the top of an organization or business. Being objective about a close family member is cloudy at best and will have a detrimental effect. When was the last time you heard Coach Shanahan criticizing his son and vice versa?

To be fair, it's extremely rare that you publicly hear any fellow coaches on the same team, criticize each other.
But you have a valid point, on the dangers of nepotism.
On the other hand, unfortunately it will always exist in the league, as there are so many coaches with relatives or close friends in the same "business", and the temptation to hire them is overwhelming.

 

[SkinsFTW]

It's arguable that it's the Redskins that are to blame in that travesty at all. But assuming they should have seen it coming, you all don't think Snyder and Allen might've had a little bit to do with how we managed the decisions that were made that we were later 'punished' for???

I remember at the time it made no sense to pay a 20+ mil bonus for a guy that they already knew didn't want to play in the 3-4 and they really should have known considering his giving up on the field in 09 because he didn't like Blaches version of the 4-3, but they did it for a reason and it backfired apparently:

Source: ?Skins offered Haynesworth to Eagles - NFL.com

They wanted to use Haynesworth as bait to get McNugget. From what we've all heard Snyder really wanted McNugget, but was it really true or just Shanahan?

The worst part is that the only reason they got stuck with that bonus and couldn't cut him was because of language in the actual CBA which they couldn't get around, but then when they took advantage of 2010 and NO CBA, 2 years later they get hit with the penalty for that too: Here's a link i found that gives that info:

Can The Redskins Recoup Albert Haynesworth's Bonus Money? Probably Not - SB Nation DC

"Based on the terms of the contract itself, the Redskins have the right to recover not only the $21 million in signing bonus money paid on April 1 but also $4,285,716 of the $5 million paid to him in 2009. But the contract ignores specific language in the 2006 CBA, which dramatically limits the forfeiture of cash money from signing bonuses to two specific circumstances."

 

[SkinsFTW]

To be fair, it's extremely rare that you publicly hear any fellow coaches on the same team, criticize each other.
But you have a valid point, on the dangers of nepotism.

How many assistant coaches, other than the Head Coaches son, can come out and disagree with a decision the Head Coach makes in an obvious attempt to play good cop bad cop with the Fans/Media?

How many of us will be royally pissed if Cousins comes out and lights it up for 3 weeks? I know I wasn't the only one questioning starting RG3 Game 1, that would make these guys look as if they tanked the season on purpose.