Everyone believes that Donovan McNabb, quarterback for the Washington Redskins, was a bit too kind during his radio show on Tuesday. He said that he felt “disrespected” with how Coach Mike Shanahan benched him in their game last week. But he could have been
much more hostile with his choice of words. Since McNabb didn’t say anything, someone has to come out and say it point blank.
Shanahan is losing his touch as the head coach of the ‘Skins.
Even though Rex Grossman was fine as starting quarterback in last week’s loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Shanahan’s handling of the entire incident has been confusing. Like McNabb said on his radio show, he didn’t even know that he was being demoted to third
string quarterback until Shanahan told reporters about it on Friday.
It must have been even more puzzling to McNabb, since this is the second time that Shanahan has gone after him. The first time, Shanahan replaced McNabb with Rex Grossman in the final two minutes in their loss to the Detroit Lions. Shanahan later offered
two entirely different explanations as to why he did so.
Shanahan should know that you just can’t do these kinds of things to a player who is as eminent as McNabb is. Even though he has been playing below standards this season, with 15 interceptions and 14 touchdowns in 13 starts, he still should be respected
enough to know that he is being demoted before the rest of the world does. Honestly, the man is an amazing quarterback. He has been playing for 12 seasons and has been selected to the Pro Bowl in half of those. Not any normal player can accomplish either one
of those feats.
This is exactly why Shanahan’s attitude towards McNabb is so strange. He has been known for his ability to work with quarterbacks, but it is not apparent in his handling of the star quarterback that the ‘Skins acquired in April. Shanahan was more lenient
and kind to less talented players such as Jake Plummer and Brian Griese when he was with the Denver Broncos.
In fact, all of the incidents between Shanahan and McNabb make it seem as though there is something more sinister lurking behind the team. As much as McNabb claims that this relationship with the head coach isn’t permanently damaged, he should look back
at what has happened.
For starters, why in the world would a quarterback trust a coach who has burned him twice in the last three months? He has also refused to give him a permanent spot on the team next season. This far into their feud, it is difficult to think that they will
be exchanging Christmas gifts in a couple of days.
A league executive said that Shanahan’s biggest flaw is for not accepting the star quarterback for who he really is. Philadelphia Eagles head coach, Andy Reid changed his entire offence to cater to McNabb’s superb deep passing and improvising skills. McNabb
never was, and never will be, the typical, incredibly accurate quarterback that the West Coast is known for. However, that seems to be exactly what Shanahan is looking for.
"Mike should've just let Donovan be who he is," the executive said. "That's what worked in Philadelphia."
What makes the entire matter even worse is that Shanahan has also been battling with defensive tackle, Albert Haynesworth. True, Haynesworth hasn’t done anything to improve his image, but Shanahan has been dealing with him in the wrong fashion. The head
coach has been trying to create a distraction for Haynesworth instead of helping him get sorted out. All that he showed his team and the public is that he has the power to take anybody down, and with force if necessary.
Sure, this sort of approach might work for a problem child like Haynesworth, but definitely not for the player brought in a widely publicised trade to lead your team. By treating McNabb like a stooge, other players wonder if they can really trust him.
Overall, this season does not look good for McNabb and Shanahan. Will Shanahan be the next NFL coach fired this year? There have already been multiple changes in leadership this season, but only time will tell about Shanahan’s status.
Stay tuned!
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