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http://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...b55ee4-5cfe-11e3-be07-006c776266ed_story.html
You don’t have to be an astute NFL observer to realize Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan could be on the verge of losing his job. The Redskins’ embarrassing collapse and Shanahan’s poor overall record in Washington (there’s no sugarcoating 24-36) have stirred speculation that team owner Daniel Snyder may fire Shanahan after the season.
Coaches with uncertain job security often dump coordinators in an effort to placate owners demanding change. And if Shanahan returns for the final year of his contract in 2014, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett likely will not. But don’t expect Shanahan to oust the team’s offensive coordinator because no father wants to fire his son.
There are many reasons to bench Robert Griffin III for the Redskins remaining four games, so the Post Sports Live crew debates whether protecting the quarterback from injury and any other arguments have merit.
The friction between the team’s top assistant on offense and its most important player — and the fact that the head coach is stuck in the middle — is proof that hiring your children can be risky. Assuming the Shanahans remain with the Redskins, Kyle must reconnect with Griffin, who isn’t going anywhere. It won’t be easy.
Since late last season, it has been known within the organization that Griffin isn’t happy working with Kyle. Their differences over play-calling resulted in Griffin losing trust in him, Redskins people with knowledge of the situation say, and that can’t help but affect the quarterback’s relationship with the guy who runs the football operation.
Whenever Griffin disagrees with Kyle about the direction of the offense — it has happened often — he isn’t merely at odds with a high-ranking assistant coach. He is challenging the person whose father ultimately determines how the Redskins play. From Griffin’s perspective, it’s always two against one. Former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb knows the feeling.
During McNabb’s season with the Redskins in 2010, he clashed with Kyle about everything from play-calling to the tone he used when criticizing the six-time Pro Bowler’s performance in front of the team, a person close to McNabb once told me. McNabb never believed he had the support of the head coach in his disputes with the offensive coordinator, which isn’t surprising.
Kyle left a good position running the Houston Texans’ offense to help his father rebuild the Redskins. The last thing Mike Shanahan wants to do is undermine his son, whom he’s grooming to be a head coach. In appearing to unconditionally support Kyle, though, Mike contributed to alienating McNabb and now Griffin.
That’s the sort of problem that can occur for teams led by powerful father-son coaching tandems. It’s exactly what Snyder doesn’t want.
When Marty Schottenheimer coached the Redskins in 2001, Schottenheimer’s son, Brian, was the quarterbacks coach. Snyder was uncomfortable with the whole father-son dynamic on his coaching staff.
You don’t have to be an astute NFL observer to realize Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan could be on the verge of losing his job. The Redskins’ embarrassing collapse and Shanahan’s poor overall record in Washington (there’s no sugarcoating 24-36) have stirred speculation that team owner Daniel Snyder may fire Shanahan after the season.
Coaches with uncertain job security often dump coordinators in an effort to placate owners demanding change. And if Shanahan returns for the final year of his contract in 2014, defensive coordinator Jim Haslett likely will not. But don’t expect Shanahan to oust the team’s offensive coordinator because no father wants to fire his son.
There are many reasons to bench Robert Griffin III for the Redskins remaining four games, so the Post Sports Live crew debates whether protecting the quarterback from injury and any other arguments have merit.
The friction between the team’s top assistant on offense and its most important player — and the fact that the head coach is stuck in the middle — is proof that hiring your children can be risky. Assuming the Shanahans remain with the Redskins, Kyle must reconnect with Griffin, who isn’t going anywhere. It won’t be easy.
Since late last season, it has been known within the organization that Griffin isn’t happy working with Kyle. Their differences over play-calling resulted in Griffin losing trust in him, Redskins people with knowledge of the situation say, and that can’t help but affect the quarterback’s relationship with the guy who runs the football operation.
Whenever Griffin disagrees with Kyle about the direction of the offense — it has happened often — he isn’t merely at odds with a high-ranking assistant coach. He is challenging the person whose father ultimately determines how the Redskins play. From Griffin’s perspective, it’s always two against one. Former Redskins quarterback Donovan McNabb knows the feeling.
During McNabb’s season with the Redskins in 2010, he clashed with Kyle about everything from play-calling to the tone he used when criticizing the six-time Pro Bowler’s performance in front of the team, a person close to McNabb once told me. McNabb never believed he had the support of the head coach in his disputes with the offensive coordinator, which isn’t surprising.
Kyle left a good position running the Houston Texans’ offense to help his father rebuild the Redskins. The last thing Mike Shanahan wants to do is undermine his son, whom he’s grooming to be a head coach. In appearing to unconditionally support Kyle, though, Mike contributed to alienating McNabb and now Griffin.
That’s the sort of problem that can occur for teams led by powerful father-son coaching tandems. It’s exactly what Snyder doesn’t want.
When Marty Schottenheimer coached the Redskins in 2001, Schottenheimer’s son, Brian, was the quarterbacks coach. Snyder was uncomfortable with the whole father-son dynamic on his coaching staff.
