Mike Shanahan says he has considered benching RG3, hasn’t spoken to him about it

The Mike Shanahan watch is in full swing, with many speculating that the Washington Redskins head coach is going to be fired in the wake of his team’s embarrassing 45-10 home loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Redskins are 3-10 this season after reaching the playoffs in 2012. Shanahan’s relationship with Robert Griffin III has seemed rocky all season, and it may have just gotten rockier.

On Monday, Shanahan told reporters that he is considering benching RG3 for the remainder of the season to protect his health. Griffin, the future of the franchise, has been sacked a whopping 24 times in the past five games — all losses.

“I want to make sure he’s healthy going into off season,” Shanahan said, via Around the League. “I’ll think about it and decide Wednesday.”

The move would almost certainly upset Griffin, who vowed to be ready for the start of the regular season and let it be known publicly that he was upset with Shanahan for holding him out of practices and preseason play. But the worst part of all is that Shanahan said he has not discussed the prospect of benching RG3 with RG3. That means the former Baylor star found out about it during the press conference like the rest of us.

“I told him I’m his coach, not his best friend,” Shanahan said when asked about his relationship with Griffin.

RG3 recently denied that he rushed back from knee surgery because he believed backup quarterback Kirk Cousins could steal his job. A number of people have insisted Cousins would give the Redskins a better chance to win right now given the way Griffin has played and how ineffective he has been, particularly with his legs. Based on Shanahan’s comments, it sounds like we’re about to find out.

Unless, of course, team owner Daniel Snyder accepts the dare Shanny threw at him on Monday. What dare is that? The “fire me, I dare you,” line he might as well have dropped when discussing RG3.