Shanahan practices patience as Redskins rebuilding continues
By Albert Breer NFL Network
NFL Network Reporter
Published: Dec. 29, 2011 at 06:06 p.m.
Updated: Dec. 29, 2011 at 06:55 p.m.
Mike Shanahan is 11-20 in two seasons as head coach of the Redskins. (Brad Mills/US Presswire/)
The Redskins aren't going to the playoffs this season, and they didn't go last year either.
And by the standards Mike Shanahan set in his championship years in Denver, the results in Washington certainly aren't good enough. Not then. Not now. Not ever.
But the situation the coach faced in Washington, when he arrived there two Januarys ago, was much different than the job he had previously. Then, Shanahan had a Hall of Fame quarterback in his mid-30s, John Elway, and a veteran roster dictating a quick retool and win-immediately approach. Now, he's overhauling a place that had been dysfunctional for a decade.
Thirty-one games into his Redskin life, this much is clear: If Shanahan needed a proverbial chisel in Colorado, he's had to pull out the jackhammer in D.C.
"We needed to get depth at all positions," Shanahan emphasized, over the phone from his office recently. "We had no depth at all. And now, with a good draft and run in free agency, we'll be right in the thick of things next year. I really believe that. I told the owner when he hired me, 'This is not gonna happen overnight. You hire me for five years, you're gonna have to give us that time.' We're getting there."
Here's proof:
21 of the 53 men on the active roster (and this isn't including suspended left tackle Trent Williams, or injured rookies Jarvis Jenkins and Leonard Hankerson) have two or fewer years in the league. The club had just two picks in the first five rounds of the 2010 draft -- part of that was the swing-and-miss on Donovan McNabb, part of it was the previous regime's free-wheeling ways -- and both the first-round pick (Williams) and fourth-round pick (LB Perry Riley) in that equation are starting.
Last year, Shanahan attacked the depth problem head-on by dealing his way into a dozen picks, and all 12 of those players remain on the team. Four are starting, and another two could be, but are injured. And on top of all that, the veterans that Shanahan has brought are young and not back-breaking financially. The defensive line is now made up of three such 27-year-olds -- Stephen Bowen, Barry Cofield and Adam Carriker.
Knowing that group will get rookie Jarvis Jenkins back and is bookended by Brian Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan is enough to have Shanahan think coordinator Jim Haslett's unit has a big future. "You're looking at a defense that's going to be in the Top 10, for sure," Shanahan said.
There's more work to do offensively. While Roy Helu may have answered questions at tailback and the line has a foundation, the team needs more young talent on the perimeter and, most importantly, a guy to get that talent the ball.
But again, Shanahan knew this would take time. And he's not pressing to fill holes.
"I feel very good, especially going into next year with what we'll have back, especially having gone through some adversity," Shanahan said. "We're gonna keep building on it the right way. We're not gonna take guys just to get guys. Only one team is happy at the end of the year, and to be that team you have to build the organization the right way. To do that, you make sure you limit mistakes, especially with the cap, and bring in the right guys."
McNabb is one example of a player who didn't fit. Albert Haynesworth is another. Those guys were traded for sixth-round and fifth-round picks in 2012 and '13 respectively, and both have since been whacked by their new teams.
And while Shanahan wasn't pointing fingers at those guys in particular,
he did say that his second team has developed far more of an all-in mentality than his first Redskins group ever could.
"You get rid of guys that don't want to be part of it. Every coach does that," he said. "You don't do that, you have no chance. You have to have guys who wanna do it, who pay the price, who aren't just collecting checks. You get rid of them in that first year, or the first couple years, and we may not have it nailed yet, but we're much closer."
Last Sunday's loss to the Vikings aside, they've been close against some pretty good teams over the past month, as well. They had the Cowboys and Jets on the ropes, and were on the verge of tying their game with the Patriots at the wire, before breaking through with a convincing win over the Giants in Week 15.
"We want to try to be able to dominate teams," Shanahan said. "I thought with the Giants game, we played very well, did what we had to do in the second half, and took it to them physically. What we have to do now is do it week-in and week-out. Sometimes, when you have a young team, you have to grow. We have to learn how to win, and we've been close playing against some very talented football teams."
So what does it add up to? Shanahan has certainly changed the mentality at Redskin Park, and a load of the ancillary pieces to a team that should contend going forward are in place.
The elephant in the room remains the quarterback position, but Shanahan was in position to take one last year and passed, proving that he's willing to wait on the right one. On the surface, it appears to have been the right move.
The team took the pick that wound up being Blaine Gabbert, who's been shaky in Jacksonville, and parlayed it into Kerrigan, receiver Leonard Hankerson, tailback Roy Helu, and safety D.J. Gomes, 
who have all started games.
When I asked Shanahan if he'll be in the market for a young signal-caller this spring, he said coyly, "I think everybody's in the market for one." But he promised, too, that he'll take the same measured approach with that position that he's taken with every other one.
The coach has already been through 20 losses in Washington. He suffered just 17 in his first four years in Denver.
Different challenge here, sure. But the ultimate hope for Shanahan is that the end result will be the same.
Than you are very shortsighted. If you think this team is going to be a playoff contender next year you are in for a rough time. It was discussed ad nasuem in the offseason that this is a multi year rebuild and I would be surprised to see them be a huge player next year. I would expect another .500 season at best.
We should look towards the Lions and even Texans to see how long this can take. It took until Stafford's 3rd year for them to break into a playoff team. Once we get our QB for the future we need to extend a little patience. That is one of the reasons I and so many others want to go ahead and get that guy ASAP.
