1. Most of the assistants, if not all, will be gone
Longtime offensive line coach Joe Bugel and defensive coordinator Greg Blache both could retire; WJLA reported that Bugel would do so and corner DeAngelo Hall intimated Blache would do the same. The only two who are possibilities are secondary coach Jerry Gray and special teams coach Danny Smith. Both are well-thought of at Redskins Park. But when Mike Shanahan was in Oakland, one point of contention for him with owner Al Davis was the inability to hire his own staff. After his first year he even fired some of the assistants, only to see them hired back. When he’s hired, he won’t be told to keep anyone; it’s his call. And if Cincinnati’s Mike Zimmer joins the Redskins as the defensive coordinator, as is rumored, then Gray likely would look elsewhere.
2. The first job is rebuilding the offensive line
Despite having an aging line, with key veterans having injury concerns, the Redskins failed to add quality backups. In fact, their solution was to think a once underachieving right tackle who had been out of the league for three seasons (Mike Williams) could start. Not one of their backups at season’s start appeared in a game for them last season. This was a gross error. The offense had to be tweaked to compensate for a line that could not sustain blocks. The line depth contributed to Jim Zorn‘s ouster.
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3. This could be a good fit
Here’s why: Shanahan’s reputation took a hit in Denver because of some risks he took in the draft, convinced he could get everyone to play at a certain level that others could not. It led to his downfall, especially on defense. Meanwhile, Redskins owner Dan Snyder needs to back off after yet another disappointing season. He’s better with a big-name coach, one who has the cache of Super Bowl victories. It’s why players did not go over Joe Gibbs‘ head and why they have with every other coach who has worked under Snyder. So it could be that these two are getting together at the right time.
