Mike Shanahan and RGIII hint at problems in postgame presser
Shanahan gives non-denial denial in regard to an earlier report about wanting to quit last season.
Things are off the rails in D.C. The Redskins aren’t rebuilding, they’re regressing and it’s painfully obvious to anyone with a functioning set of eyes and empathy that the Washington Redskins will have a different coach for the 2014 season at the latest.
After Dan Graziano’s report that team owner Dan Snyder’s relationship with Robert Griffin III was toxic to the point where Shanahan considered quitting as the Redskins were preparing for a playoff game, the Redskins came out and laid an egg to the fullest extent in front of one of the sparsest crowds you’ll ever see at an NFL game. The media was chomping at the bit to ask Shanahan and Griffin about the report during their postgame press conferences, and both player and coach seemed resigned and defeated.
Griffin seemed to hint to some locker-room issues with Shanahan saying, “You partially understand some of it. There are other questions that need to be asked and there are other things we need to do like playing better.”
Later, Griffin seemed to struggle biting his tongue and conceded, “I’m getting frustrated now trying to hold everything back.” He added, “Some things are allowed to happen and we can cut a lot of this stuff out and it’s not being cut out. I don’t know what else I can do about that.”
Shanahan refused to address the report, which is much different from denying it, saying only, “It’s not the right time and place to talk about something that happened a year ago” and “It’s not the right time and place to talk about my relationship with Dan Snyder.” This quote is like listening to jazz -- the notes that Shanahan’s not playing here is where you hear the real music. Without parsing his words too much, we can surmise that there was something that happened a year ago. Whether that involved physically packing up his own office before a game or not is anyone’s guess.
The coach also refused to name a starter at QB for next week’s strugglefest against the Falcons, which leads us to believe either that he’s considering a change, or that he doesn’t believe he’ll be around long enough to make the decision.
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