While reading through Florio’s breakdown of a possible Donovan McNabb trade and the column from Jason Reid of the Washington Post that inspired it, we couldn’t help but have one takeaway:
Mike Shanahan has used up most of the goodwill and trust he came to Washington with as a two-time Super Bowl champion.
After Washington’s opening week win last year, local columnists took turns saying that this fresh start felt different. That feeling didn’t last throughout a tumultuous 2010 where Shanahan the coach was again undone by Shanahan the personnel guy.
Here’s the open to Reid’s column Monday:
“The NFL lockout has resulted in one positive development for Washington Redskins fans: At least Coach Mike Shanahan couldn’t do more damage to the team. He was unable to approve another disastrous trade. He was forbidden from tinkering with a Redskins defense he significantly weakened before last season,” Reid writes.
Boom. Roasted.
We don’t disagree with anything Reid writes. Shanahan has a long track record of questionable personnel decisions. There is a feeling in Washington that things are better than they were under Vinny Cerrato, which is true. That doesn’t mean they are headed in the right direction.
We get the sense that Redskins fans give Shanahan a long leash, and trust he’ll turn things around. The question is whether Dan Snyder feels the same way.
If Washington bottoms out this year -- and there is every reason to think they will based on their roster -- it’s fair to wonder whether Snyder will be patient enough to see Shanahan’s vision through.
