Ryan Wilson wrote a good piece for CBS Sports on some coaches that are struggling right now. He started off by talking about the Skins.
As RG3 progressed through his rookie season, it was easy to overlook another looming issue: Coach Mike Shanahan was firmly on the hot seat heading into the 2012 season. He was hired in 2010 and Washington won six games with Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman (don’t forget, it was Shanahan’s son, Kyle, the ‘Skins’ offensive coordinator, who wanted Grossman in Washington). The team managed just fives wins in 2011 with Grossman and John Beck.
Then RG3 happened, everyone conveniently forgot about Shanahan’s struggles, and all was right in the world … right up till the moment Griffin blew out his knee.
Put another way: If you take out the Redskins’ seven-game winning streak to end the 2012 season (which, incidentally, took place after Shanahan gave up on the season following a 3-6 start), his record in Washington is 15-31. Even Matt Millen thinks that’s embarrassing.
The takeaway: This isn’t about Griffin, per se. He’s a young quarterback, recovering from a serious injury, and still growing as a player.
This is about the consequences of betting the farm that he’ll magically mask all the team’s other problems. And from the perspective of Week 6, the Redskins look like they’re a lot closer to rebuilding than reloading — except that they’re already out of ammunition.
Ouch.
And Wilson is so right. Shanny did a lot of dumb things for a couple of years, but RG3 washed them all away…temporarily. Now everyone is seeing the flaws. You wonder if a terrible season will put Shanny back on the hot seat. The Skins are 1-4, with a struggling offense and continually bad defense. Tough times in Washington.
Wilson also talks about the Houston Texans and Bucs DC Bill Sheridan. Good stuff all around.
One thing that might save Shanahan are the salary cap sanctions from the last two years. He has been limited in what he could do to help the team roster-wise.