Mike Shanahan Let’s His Arrogance Get The Better of Him

Posted on November 22, 2010 by James W

There is a time to be tough and there is an equal time to be stupid and Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan moved into permanently stupid territory by benching Donovan McNabb with two minutes to go in a crucial game. He benched him in favor of longtime back up and one time starter Rex Grossman. The game was decided on an expected Grossman mistake.

Shanahan was wishy washy after the game. He claimed that the move was strictly because Grossman understood the system better. This, of course should mean that he didn’t in fact bench McNabb because the two don’t get along. He, the next day, claimed that he benched him because he wasn’t in shape enough to run the two minute drill because of all the running. This also didn’t go over well.

The problem with Shanahan since Elway left the Broncos has to do with his arrogance to make the calls and be the coach in the room with the most authority. When he talked about McNabb’s conditioning you couldn’t help but wonder about the Albert Haynesworth situation.

Earlier in the offseason Haynesworth was not permitted to practice because he had not been able to pass the conditioning test. McNabb presumably passed it though but wasn’t in enough shape to play the two minute drill? So the conditioning test is a good indication of whether or not you are in condition to practice but not if you are good enough to play in the game.

It looks like the McNabb experiment is failing but maybe that isn’t so much McNabb’s fault as much as it is the fault of Shanahan’s. The coach had better do some soul searching before he throws his quarterback under the bus again.