Elephant
The Commissioner
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Lots of good opinions - and here is mine...
In order to succeed in the NFL today, you need the right combination of players and coaches. Bill Belichik was a has-been until he was paired with Tom Brady. For whatever reason, that combo worked. Ditto for Shanahan/Elway. Same for Favre/Holmgren. McNabb/Reid too. Had none of these combos come to pass, chances are most of them would've been nothing more than serviceable, decent, and reliable journeymen.
I really believe there is more to Mike Shanahan coming to DC as head coach. Yes, it is to turn the franchise around. However, I think it is more than we know at this juncture and this is simply speculation from my own mind. So here goes...
Although they won't admit it publicly, the Redskins are in a rebuilding process and knew it the moment Coach Shanahan signed the contract. Go back to that first paragraph. Each one of those successful coaches were good coordinators, but nothing was certain when it came to the future. The only known coach was Belichik and his resume was sorely lacking. Coach Gibbs' first head coaching gig was with the Redskins. Too, he was an unknown.
The goal in DC is to get this franchise pointed in the right direction and hand it over to a good, young coordinator. Can you say nepotism? Normally, I would have a problem with such a scenario, but Kyle Shanahan should be ready to take the helm when the time comes. The team will have the many pieces in place and KS will be the young coordinator turned HC who leads them to the next level.
I may be saying things that are known to a certain extent, but KS can get the job done. It's a great short term and long term deal that could pay big dividends for the Redskins well into the future. For now, the common theme is patience and we need it more than ever. We have our Sean Payton in waiting. After the McNabb temp solution thing, KS will have his QB. Give it time - you will see. Have faith. Patiently endure. It will be worth it.
At the beginning of the season I mentioned Kyle was a likely heir apparent and I was pleased that we may have the scenario that I wanted all along, a young hungry coach with a Front Office that was stable and would give him the players that coach needed. Last year I was calling for Brian Shottenheimer or someone along those lines, Jim Hargaugh maybe. Earlier in the season when I saw that potential you spoke of in your post, I was excited.
The most frustrating part of this season, and it may be a short sighted vision, was that I saw us being a better team if we had stayed in the 4-3, perhaps even a Wild Card contender. I claim our defense would not be the worst in the league had we stayed in that scheme. It made little sense to play a scheme that would not work with the personnel we had. If you are trying to get players used to a scheme, great. But the majority of the players on this D will not even be here to have that experience in the coming years since they don't fit, nor will they.
I agree BB, we need patience for the long haul, but I am concerned for the future by the coaching staff's decisions that seem to have been foolish.
I do disagree with one claim you made. You claimed that those coaches and QB's would likely have not been what they were without each other. You are likely correct in stating Brady may never have been more, maybe not even McNabb. But John Elway was a Hall of Fame QB before Mike Shanahan ever came along. Just me being difficult.