Mike Shanahan isn’t going down without a fight.He’s not stupid, and he sees the writing on the wall. His time as the Washington Redskins head coach is coming to an end, and he’s trying to drag down as many bodies with him as possible.
It’s awesome. Shanahan is going out on his own terms, much to the demise of Redskins owner Dan Snyder and quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Shanahan’s press conference announcing the benching of RGIII yesterday was nothing short of spectacular. The angry ranting coach used the press conference as a giant “F-U” to the organization.
“I’m trying to be as honest as I can, and I don’t normally do that,” he said.
BOOM, HEADSHOT.
After making the playoffs last season, Shanahan and his team has taken a huge step back this year. Washington is 3-10 on the season, RGIII hasn’t played well and this defense couldn’t stop a pee-wee football team right now.
This isn’t a secret – Shanahan was against trading away three first-round draft picks to move up in order to draft Griffin. He loved Kirk Cousins, and stuck it to Snyder by selecting the former Michigan State QB in the fourth round of the same draft.
So if Shanahan only has three games left as Washington’s coach, why not bench the franchise’s future QB and go to battle with the guy you originally wanted. He said the reason for RGIII’s benching was to protect him for the offseason. Yeah... okay.
During the press conference, Shanahan said he talked to Snyder about the potential QB change, but Dan "could care less about the other positions.”
GET ‘EM.
By doing this, Shanahan has all but eliminated any possibility of him ever getting a head coaching gig again. Even though he was brutally honest in the press conference, he threw haymakers at everyone in the Redskins’ organization, from his players to team owner.
The Mike Shanahan-RGIII-Dan Snyder marriage was a disaster from the beginning. When the coach and owner disagree on a franchise quarterback, issues are going to occur. Shanahan and RGIII haven’t seen eye-to-eye either.
"My job is not always to be somebody’s friend,” Shanahan said. “My job is to coach him. My job is to get the best out of somebody. I’m not looking to Robert to be liked. I hope that the respect level is there and that he does like me.”
This press conference rant won’t be remember like Dennis Green’s “They are who we thought they were!” rant. It wasn’t a crazy outcry like this, but it was better. Shanahan went up to defend himself, and by doing that, gave a big “F-U” to everyone else.
Mike Shanahan knows his time is running out, but he’s not going down without letting the world know he’s leaving on his own terms.
Stay seated ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Shanahan before his termination.
The veteran coach may have another trick or two up his sleeve, and he won’t be holding anything back.
By Mike Lucas
