Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is playing a game of chicken with Mike Shanahan and his coaching staff. It is widely assumed that Shanahan is going to be fired before the 2014 season, but for some reason he has been left to continue coaching his 3-10 team. And he’ll be doing so without the future of the franchise.
According to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport, Robert Griffin III is “extremely angry” that he has been shut down for what are being described as health reasons. Griffin was upset that he was not allowed to play or practice in the preseason, so you can understand why he is hesitant to accept health as a reason for being benched for the remainder of the season.
While some have speculated that Shanahan is trying to get fired by starting Kirk Cousins, Snyder has reportedly been “receptive” to the idea of avoiding potential injury with his franchise quarterback. However, NFL.com’s Mike Silver cited sources who claim Shanahan’s real motivation for benching RG3 has to do with performance.
Rapoport added that the Redskins coaches expect to be fired and would actually prefer to be “put out of their misery” at this point.
Here’s my personal opinion — Shanahan is not going to resign and forfeit the $7 million he has remaining on his deal. That’s a given. He’s going to wait to be fired so the Redskins have to buy out his contract, but in the meantime he still has to audition for future coaching opportunities. The Redskins have looked completely lost with RG3 under center. That reflects poorly on Shanahan and his staff. If Cousins performs well and wins some games, it will show that the Shanahans’ offensive system can still work.
