06 January 2010 - 08:11

Shanahan agrees to five-year contract to coach Redskins  Comments

Mike Shanahan agreed to a five-year contract to become coach of the Washington Redskins on Tuesday night, a source with knowledge of the situation told NFL Network's Jason La Canfora.

The Redskins announced they would hold a news conference at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday, but didn't say why.

Shanahan's hiring comes less than 48 hours after the Redskins fired Jim Zorn -- and less than three weeks after front-office chief Vinny Cerrato resigned and quickly was replaced by general manager Bruce Allen.

All of which means that, within one month, the Redskins have gone from an organization that revolved primarily around owner Dan Snyder and yes-man Cerrato to one that includes two powerful decision-makers who are sure to yield much clout.

Allen -- son of Hall of Famer and former Redskins coach George Allen -- became the first person to hold the title of GM during Snyder's decade-plus of Redskins ownership, and Shanahan is known to demand a heavy say-so in personnel decisions.


David Zalubowski / Associated Press
Mike Shanahan compiled a .599 winning percentage
in 14 seasons with the Broncos and becomes the second-winningest active coach behind Bill Belichick.

Citing a league source, La Canfora reports that Shanahan will hire his son, Kyle, away from the Houston Texans to be the Redskins' offensive coordinator. The Redskins also are prepared to interview Cincinnati Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer for the same position should his team lose at home to the New York Jets in an AFC wild-card playoff game Saturday, according to a league source.

Should Shanahan not hire Zimmer, former New Orleans Saints coach Jim Haslett is another possibility, league sources indicated to La Canfora. Haslett recently coached in the UFL, and there are rumblings in coaching circles that Shanahan isn’t averse to going with a 3-4 defense in Washington.

All in all, it's quite a contrast to Washington's previous transition, when Joe Gibbs abruptly left as coach and team president after the 2007 season. The Redskins went through a whole slew of coaching candidates during a month-plus search and wound up turning to Zorn after others showed no interest, dropped out or were deemed unsatisfactory. Zorn initially was brought aboard as a first-time offensive coordinator, then was promoted to head coach two weeks later.

No such suspense or drama this time.

"You always wonder what's going to be happen," Redskins defensive end Andre Carter said. "You don't want to be on pins and needles. When we had the team meeting with Bruce Allen, he told us something would happen hastily. He wasn't joking when he said that."

The Redskins are 82-99 since Snyder bought the team, missing the playoffs in eight of 11 seasons, and the toll of below-.500 seasons and accompanying fan unrest left him little choice but to hire established names and put them in charge.

Shanahan will be the Redskins' seventh coach since Snyder bought the team in 1999 -- a stretch that has included just two playoff victories for a team that proudly displays three shiny Super Bowl championship trophies in the lobby of its practice facility.

Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Denver Broncos, but he was fired a year ago after the team missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season.

Before word of Shanahan's agreement with Washington emerged, running back Clinton Portis -- who played for the coach for two seasons in Denver -- described him as "the perfect guy for the job" and a "straight shooter."

"If you're doing the stuff you're supposed to be doing, you're fine with him," Portis said during his weekly radio appearance on ESPN980. "If you're not, no matter how much you're getting paid, he's going to get you up out of there."

Shanahan made the playoffs in half of his seasons with the Broncos and had just two losing campaigns -- 6-10 in 1999 and 7-9 in 2007. His greatest successes came early, earning consecutive Super Bowl championships after the 1997 and 1998 seasons with a team led by quarterback John Elway and running back Terrell Davis.

Shanahan's career regular-season record is 146-98, including 138-86 with the Broncos from 1995 to 2008 and 8-12 with the Los Angeles Raiders in 1988 and '89. Shanahan's playoff record is 8-5.

Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons, but he lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled despite a weak early schedule this season and finished 4-12, their worst record since 1994.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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posted by Alex. 06 January 2010 - 08:11

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