Mike Shanahan Introduced As Redskins Coach At Press Conference

The Redskins officially introduced new head coach Mike Shanahan at their press conference today. Notably absent from the stage? The team’s three Super Bowl trophies (which owner Daniel Snyder is fond of trotting out), and Snyder himself, who take a seat while newly minted GM Bruce Allen opened things up.

Shanahan praised the hiring of Allen, calling him “second to none” as an executive”. As for the coaching staff, Shanahan pledged not to make any immediate moves — aside from bringing in his son and former Texans offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan to fill the same position in Washington — and said he would sit down with all of the current staff to find out their philosophies and beliefs.“

Shanahan seemed to indicate that the team wants to retain restricted free agent Jason Campbell, telling reporters that he “loves the way Jason handles himself” and that “hopefully [Campbell’s] best years are ahead of him.” As for running back Clinton Portis, who has been in something of a feud with Campbell the past few days, Shanahan was more ambiguous. In perhaps a thinly veiled shot at Portis, Shanahan told reporters that while he admired Portis’ toughness, it would come down to how hard he and other older players worked during the team’s offseason program.

Surprisingly, Shanahan said that former Skins coaches Marty Schottenheimer and Joe Gibbs both gave positive reviews of working with owner Dan Snyder. And in reference to the perhaps opaque decision-making set up in the Redskins front office, Shanahan confirmed that he would indeed have final say on personnel matters, although he would rely heavily on the team’s scouts and GM Bruce Allen.