Mike Shanahan - Pro Football Rumors

Mike Shanahan Not Interested In Coaching

December 21st, 2016 at 6:39pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Longtime NFL head coach Mike Shanahan was in contention last winter for the 49ers’ job before it went to Chip Kelly. Now, a year later, Shanahan says he has no plans to return to the sidelines. The 64-year-old told Colin Cowherd of FOX Sports Radio on Wednesday that he’s “not looking for a head coaching job,” per Chris Wesseling of NFL.com.

“This game is for younger guys, guys that are really fired up to run a team, put a good team together,” Shanahan said.

One younger guy who could land a head coaching job in the coming weeks is Shanahan’s son, 37-year-old Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. The elder Shanahan opined that “it’d be a lot smarter” for a head coach-needy team to hire his son than him. However, Mike Shanahan would be open to a prominent role as a team executive, perhaps working with Kyle Shanahan.

“I think I would give an organization maybe a lot more input from top to bottom,” Mike Shanahan stated. “You know, the little things that are the difference in the structure of the organization.”

Mike Shanahan has never worked as an executive, but he did have major input in how the Broncos and Redskins constructed their rosters when he served as the head coach of those clubs. Shanahan won two Super Bowls in Denver, where he was at the helm from 1995-2008, but the Redskins went just 24-40 under him from 2010-13. In 20 years as a head coach, including a stint with the then-Los Angeles Raiders from 1988-89, Shanahan’s teams have gone 170-138 with eight playoff appearances.

Kyle Shanahan previously served as an assistant on his father’s staff in Washington. He also held high-profile positions in Houston and Cleveland before taking over the Falcons’ offense last year. Atlanta is an NFC South-leading 9-5 largely thanks to Shanahan’s attack, which ranks top two in the NFL in points (33.5 per game – good for first overall and a whopping 4.5 more than second-place New Orleans), DVOA (first) and yards (second). As a result, the Rams and Jaguars have shown interest in him since firing Jeff Fisher and Gus Bradley, respectively, earlier this month.

Rams, Jaguars Interested In Kyle Shanahan

December 19th, 2016 at 9:20pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Two clubs — the Rams and the Jaguars — have already fired their head coaches, and both teams are interested in Falcons offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). If Shanahan does land a head coaching job this offseason, Shanahan could aim to team with his father, former NFL head coach Mike Shanahan, placing the elder in a football operations role.

Kyle Shanahan, 37, has experienced success at nearly every stop during his career, a path that has included time with the Texans, Redskins, Browns, and most recently, the Falcons. He’s already worked with his father in Washington, when the pair helped turn rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III into the Offensive Rookie of the Year and led the club into the playoffs. This year, his second in Atlanta, Kyle has guided quarterback Matt Ryan to the best season of his career, while the Falcons offense ranks first in the NFL in DVOA.

Shanahan has interviewed for a head coaching vacancy once before, as he met with the Bills in 2015 before Buffalo hired Rex Ryan. Additionally, the Shanahans have been viewed as a package deal in the past, as several clubs were considering the pair during the 2015 offseason. In that scenario, Mike Shanahan would have become a club’s head coach, while Kyle would have taken on offensive play-calling duties.

Mike Shanahan, meanwhile, has been linked to the 49ers in recent weeks, although subsequent reports have downplayed any chance of Shanahan landing in the Bay Area. Shanahan, 64, interviewed for the 49ers’ head coaching vacancy in each of the past two seasons, and was thought to have finished second to Chip Kelly for the job earlier this year. Shanahan has never worked in a front office capacity, but he has exerted personnel control over his rosters as a head coach in his previous stops.

Mike Shanahan Could Take Role With 49ers?

December 12th, 2016 at 8:18pm CST by Dallas Robinson

MONDAY, 8:18pm: A Shanahan-49ers reunion will not happen, a source informed Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, who reports the former 49ers OC and Raiders, Broncos and Redskins head coach will not be overseeing the 49ers “in any capacity.” Florio’s source spoke differently of the team’s plans compared to a Monday La Canfora report made during a radio appearance, one that centered around a forthcoming 49ers decision to bounce CEO Jed York of the football-operations side of the team and bring in Shanahan or someone else to run the football side.

La Canfora reported John and Denise York would not be replacing Jed York but instead hire someone else to oversee the football ops. Florio reports a Jed York demotion will not occur.

SUNDAY, 11:33am: A report last week indicated a “growing sense” that the 49ers will fire general manager Trent Baalke at the end of the season, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com now reports that it would be a “mild surprise” if Baalke were to be retained. One candidate to fill a role with San Francisco — whether in the club’s front office or in a coaching capacity — is longtime NFL coach Mike Shanahan, according to La Canfora.

Shanahan, 64, interviewed for the 49ers’ head coaching vacancy in each of the past two seasons, and was thought to have finished second to Chip Kelly for the job earlier this year. However, with Denise and John York set to take an active role in the franchise, Shanahan’s name could once again pop up, as he’s spoken to the couple about club openings in the past. Shanahan reportedly wanted to part ways with quarterback Colin Kaepernick if he secured the San Francisco job earlier this year, and while that may have caused him to miss out on the gig at the time, a wish to release Kaepernick now presumably wouldn’t be a hindrance.

However, most reports indicate that Kelly should be safe, which could mean that Shanahan would instead be targeted for an executive role. Shanahan has never worked as a general manager, but he has exerted personnel control over his rosters as a head coach in his previous stops.

Florio: Mike Shanahan Has “Given Up” On Coaching

May 22nd, 2016 at 11:24am CST by Rory Parks

Several days ago, Jason Reid of TheUndefeated.com shed some light on the beginning of the end of Mike Shanahan‘s tenure as head coach of the Redskins. In 2012, Robert Griffin III‘s rookie campaign, Washington grabbed the NFC East title behind it’s dynamic young quarterback before succumbing to the Seahawks on Wild Card Weekend.

Despite the loss, and despite the fact that RGIII would need surgery to repair the damage to his knee that he sustained during that matchup with Seattle, the 2012 campaign was widely regarded as a harbinger of good things to come for the Redskins. But about a month after Washington was bounced from the playoffs, Griffin held a summit with Shanahan, then-OC Kyle Shanahan (Mike’s son), and then-QBs coach Matt LaFleur to discuss changes he wanted to make to the offense. Mike Shanahan, who was very candid and expansive in his interview with Reid, knew from the language that Griffin used during his audience with the coaching staff and the substance of the concerns that Griffin voiced that the young signal-caller was either acting on the orders of team owner Dan Snyder, or at least had ownership’s blessing to call the meeting. All that did was further strain the relationship between head coach and owner, and both Shanahans were fired after the 2013 season, which saw the Redskins stumble to a 3-13 record.

As Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes, Shanahan’s openness with Reid suggests that his career as an NFL head coach is officially over. Per Florio:

“Shanahan’s decision to speak so openly and candidly—and critically—regarding one of his former NFL bosses reflects an acknowledgment that the two-time Super Bowl winner[‘]s chances of getting another NFL head-coaching job are slim and none. Whatever they were before his comments were published, his prospects are dimmer now, because owners don’t want to have to worry about a former coach putting the organization on blast after walking out the door, voluntarily or otherwise.”

Florio’s conclusion is a logical one, but it is noteworthy because Shanahan was recently a finalist for the 49ers’ head coaching job before San Francisco hired Chip Kelly to fill the vacancy. Shanahan did say at the beginning of April that, if he were to return to the NFL as a head coach, it would have to be a perfect situation, and he conceded that he may be better suited to a consultant position at this stage of his life. Nonetheless, the fact that he was apparently a viable head coaching candidate just a couple of months ago do render his remarks to Reid somewhat surprising, but if Shanahan simply does not want to coach anymore, he really does not have anything to lose. And, as Florio observes, he may have something to gain, because his comments help to absolve Kyle Shanahan of responsibility for much of went wrong in Washington during the early RGIII era. As such, Mike Shanahan may be attempting to help get his son, once predicted to be a head coach himself sooner rather than later, reestablish his head coaching candidacy.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Mike Shanahan Wasn’t Sold On RG3 Trade

May 18th, 2016 at 8:14pm CST by Sam Robinson

Lukewarm about Washington trading so much to acquire Robert Griffin III in the first place, Mike Shanahan became further divided against the team’s then-franchise quarterback and Daniel Snyder, whom he felt was partially responsible for pulling the strings for Griffin, after a February 2013 meeting.

The current Browns projected starter, Griffin addressed Mike Shanahan, then-OC Kyle Shanahan and then-QBs coach Matt LaFleur to discuss things he wanted to change about the offense, according to an expansive report from TheUndefeated.com’s Jason Reid. Then coming off a torn ACL sustained during Washington’s playoff defeat against the Seahawks, Griffin said 19 of Washington’s plays were unacceptable to run, primarily identifying several from the zone-read-based package that helped the former Baylor spread passer to the 2012 offensive rookie of the year award, and expected them to be removed from the playbook, Reid writes. RG3 concluded the meeting, which featured video examples of his points, by identifying himself as a dropback passer rather than a running quarterback.

Griffin using the word “unacceptable” pointed Mike Shanahan to connect the dots to this mandate having a Snyder touch, in his opinion, with Washington’s owner using that word often.

“I said to Dan, ‘Do you realize what you’re doing to this kid?’” Shanahan told Reid of a coach-owner summit that occurred immediately after Griffin’s address. “He was using phrases Dan used all the time. There’s only one way a guy who’s going into his second year would do something like this: If he sat down with the owner and the owner believed that this is the way he should be used. He had to have the full support of the
owner and, in my opinion, the general manager to even have a conversation like that. … We tried to get him to slide. We tried to get him to throw the ball away. If he had told me he was hurt, I would have taken him out of the [playoff] game. To hear him … it was really incredible.”

Ironically, Shanahan changed Washington’s offense to fit Griffin’s speed and lack of polish as a dropback passer. Griffin, though, hasn’t been the same since that rookie slate when he threw for 20 touchdown passes and rushed for 815 yards while throwing for 3,200. In 13 games in 2013, RG3 threw for 3,203 but rushed for just 489 as Washington went 3-10 during his starts before giving way to the now-franchise-tagged
Kirk Cousins to close out that season.

“When I finally sat down with Dan, I said, ‘Hey, you own the team. We can work with him and do some things. But we haven’t seen anything on tape that warrants giving [up] this type of compensation.’ To me, it was absolutely crazy,” Shanahan told Reid about his stance at the time on Griffin, for whom Washington traded its first-round pick in 2012, along with its 2013 and ’14 first-rounders. “But I told Dan that if that’s what he wanted to do, I’d make it work.”

Responding to his former coach’s comments, the recently signed Browns passer did not offer a rebuttal, according to the team website.

“I’m so far removed from Washington now and focused on this opportunity here in Cleveland that I don’t even worry about those things anymore,” Griffin said. “I can only focus on what I can control and that’s here in Cleveland … I didn’t even see that story.”

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images

East Notes: Wilkerson, Carter, Bills

April 1st, 2016 at 10:46am CST by Luke Adams

According to Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News, Muhammad Wilkerson and his camp “are in full-fledged get-me-the-heck-out-of-here mode,” angling for a trade out of New York. As Mehta details, Wilkerson doesn’t dislike playing for the Jets, but he doesn’t believe the team is willing to pay him what he believes he’s worth, so he wants to join a club willing to pony up for a long-term deal.

As we wait to see whether Gang Green finds a trade it likes for Wilkerson, here are a few more items from out of the NFL’s East divisions…

After meeting with the Lions and Jets earlier this week, free agent linebacker Bruce Carter is visiting the Bills today, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Buffalo doesn’t have a ton of cap flexibility, but it appears unlikely that Carter will require much more than a minimum salary deal.
Rich Cimini of ESPN.com provides the details on Erin Henderson‘s two-year contract with the Jets, writing that the linebacker will earn a guarantee of $750K, including a $365K roster bonus that was paid on Monday. The deal is worth $4MM overall and features a $250K option for 2017.
Before he decided to join the Patriots, Terrance Knighton had an offer on the table from Washington as well. However, Mike Jones of the Washington Post (Twitter link) hears that it was significantly lower than New England‘s offer. John Keim of ESPN.com adds (via Twitter) that Washington‘s offer was heavy on incentives.
Asked by Jenny Vrentas of TheMMQB.com if he wants to return to the NFL as a head coach, former Washington coach Mike Shanahan said it would have to be the perfect situation, suggesting that it might be a better fit for him to be a consultant for a team.

Schefter On NFL Head Coaching Searches

January 21st, 2016 at 8:42am CST by Luke Adams

While the Browns liked Lions defensive coordinator Teryl Austin and Patriots defensive coordinator Matt Patricia, the team recognized the importance of upgrading its offense, which was one reason Hue Jackson was the choice as Cleveland’s new head coach, writes Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. According to Schefter, the Browns believe that by hiring Jackson they not only strengthened their own organization, but weakened a division rival, in the Bengals.

Schefter has some details on the rest of the head coaching decisions as well, so let’s dive in and round up the highlights….

The Giants “seriously entertained” the possibility of hiring Mike Smith as their head coach and keeping Ben McAdoo at offensive coordinator, says Schefter. However, when the Eagles expressed legit interest in McAdoo, the Giants knew they couldn’t risk losing him.
As for those Eagles, they were determined to be more patient this time around than when they hired Chip Kelly, but two of their top candidates – Adam Gase and McAdoo – were hired by other teams while Philadelphia was being patient. Since the club was already familiar with Doug Pederson, it was “completely comfortable” turning to him despite the fact that his initial interview was ordinary, according to Schefter.
The 49ers viewed Kelly, Mike Shanahan, Tom Coughlin, and Anthony Lynn as viable candidates, and felt they would have been in good shape no matter which direction they went in. The fact that Kelly is the only one of the group without a Super Bowl ring was a factor in San Francisco’s choice, since the club feels he’ll be hungry to get that championship.
The Buccaneers took a week to hire Dirk Koetter even though most people expected him to be the choice all along, leading to some whispers that the Glazers “attempted a big swing” before officially promoting Koetter, says Schefter.
Despite a final push from Ray Horton last Saturday, the Titans‘ owners never wanted to get away from Mike Mularkey, who was their top choice all along.
As for the Dolphins, they entered their coaching search planning to be aggressive, and Gase’s desire to land a head coaching job – after being passed over last year – matched up well with that aggressiveness from the team, making him the first new coach hired this month.

NFC West Rumors: Shanahan, Long, Okung

January 20th, 2016 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

Mike Shanahan received strong consideration from the 49ers as the team was deliberating over its new head coach, with former players like Steve Young and Ronnie Lott talking to the team on Shanahan’s behalf, says Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). However, according to Cole, a key factor in the Niners’ decision to go with Chip Kelly was the club’s belief that Shanahan wanted to move on from Colin Kaepernick, using San Francisco’s first-round pick to draft a quarterback.

It remains to be seen whether Kaepernick will bounce back under Kelly’s system, given his accuracy issues, but 49ers management has some confidence that the quarterback can still have success in San Francisco, and Kelly appears likely to give him a shot.

Here’s more from around the NFC West:

After battling through another injury-plagued season in 2015, veteran defensive end Chris Long is entering the final year of his contract, and the Rams seem unlikely to keep him around at his current price ($9.75MM base salary, $14.25MM cap hit). Would Long consider a pay cut to remain with the franchise as it moves to Los Angeles? “Of course I’m open to doing something like that,” Long said, per Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. “It’s not about the money at this point for me.”
As he prepares to represent himself in free agency, Seahawks tackle Russell Okung tells Sheil Kapadia of ESPN.com that he has done his homework and he thinks he’ll make out well.
Peter King of TheMMQB.com provides some illuminating details about last week’s owners meeting in Houston that resulted in the Rams‘ plan for relocation to Los Angeles being approved. According to King, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie and Seahawks owner Paul Allen were among those in the room who helped shift the momentum from the Carson project to Stan Kroenke‘s Inglewood plan.

49ers Expected To Choose Between Kelly, Shanahan

January 14th, 2016 at 11:50am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers are expected to choose between Chip Kelly and Mike Shanahan as their next head coach, league sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). A decision is likely to come within the next 24 hours, he adds.

Kelly would be a bold and interesting hire for San Francisco. It doesn’t hurt that the former Eagles head coach has long been said to be fond of quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Kelly’s ideal offense would feature a mobile signal caller, and that’s exactly what No. 7 would provide. After a disastrous 2015, Kaepernick’s future with San Francisco has been in question. Understudy Blaine Gabbert finished ’15 as the team’s starting QB.

The Niners are said to like Shanahan because of the discipline and foundation he could bring to the organization, as well as his connection to the Bill Walsh era. Of course, if the 49ers do decide to hire Shanahan, it would raise some eyebrows, since the club could’ve brought him aboard a year ago, but elected to go with Jim Tomsula instead. Tomsula, of course, lasted only one year at the helm in San Francisco.

Shanahan has a lengthy coaching resume, having served as the head coach in Los Angeles (1988-89), Denver (1995-2008), and Washington (2010-2013). Although he has a 170-138 regular season record overall, and has won a pair of Super Bowls, Shanahan produced a mixed bag of results during his most recent head coaching stint. Washington was 24-40 during his four years with the franchise, with just one winning season.

If things really are down to Shanahan and Kelly, then it’s not clear where this leaves Tom Coughlin in his employment search. Coughlin was said to be a strong candidate for SF and was said to be on his way to a deal with the Eagles. However, Coughlin has since withdrawn his name from consideration in Philly. If Coughlin isn’t going to land in Philadelphia or San Francisco as a head coach in 2016, it’s fair to wonder if he’ll get an NFL head coaching job at all.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Latest On 49ers, Mike Shanahan

January 14th, 2016 at 9:32am CST by Zachary Links

The 49ers’ interest in Mike Shanahan is ramping up, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. San Francisco interviewed Shanahan for its head coaching job on Tuesday.

[RELATED: 2016 NFL Head Coaching Search Tracker]

The Niners are said to like Shanahan because of the discipline and foundation he could bring to the organization, as well as his connection to the Bill Walsh era. Of course, if the 49ers do decide to hire Shanahan, it would raise some eyebrows, since the club could’ve brought him aboard a year ago, but elected to go with Jim Tomsula instead. Tomsula, of course, lasted only one year at the helm in San Francisco.

Shanahan has a lengthy coaching resume, having served as the head coach in Los Angeles (1988-89), Denver (1995-2008), and Washington (2010-2013). Although he has a 170-138 regular season record overall, and has won a pair of Super Bowls, Shanahan produced a mixed bag of results during his most recent head coaching stint. Washington was 24-40 during his four years with the franchise, with just one winning season.

Hue Jackson is no longer a candidate for the 49ers, having been hired by the Browns earlier this week, but there are still five other available candidates with whom the club conducted interviews. Bills assistant Anthony Lynn and Browns offensive coordinator John DeFilippo aren’t believed to be favorites for the Niners’ job, but former Eagles coach Chip Kelly, ex-Giants HC Tom Coughlin, and Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter are in play.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.