On the heels of the Washington Redskins' loss on Sunday to Philadelphia, quarterback Robert Griffin III seemingly took a shot at his coaches and indicated the Eagles knew what plays were coming. With one more year left on his contract and an extension unlikely to come, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan appears to be finished in D.C. after the season.
Washington fell to Philadelphia, 24-16. The offense once again looked anemic in the first half, and despite a near-comeback, the Redskins sank to the bottom of the NFC East with a 3-7 record.
After the game, Griffin offered a possible explanation for the offense's lack of production: Philadelphia knew what plays were coming.
"They did a good job of scheming us up," Griffin told reporters, via the Washington Post. "They kind of knew what was coming before it was coming and that was disheartening.
"But like I told the guys, regardless of what's going on out there, we're the players and we have to make the plays work, and we just weren't doing that in the first half."
Although Griffin stopped short of calling the team's play calling predictable, he did seemingly take a jab at the coaching staff with his comments - intentionally or not.
Griffin, however, may not have the Shanahans - Mike and his son, offensive coordinator Kyle - to gripe about for much longer. Shanahan's contract expires after next season, and he's unlikely to receive a contract extension anytime soon.
Coaches rarely enter a season in the final year of their contracts. Doing so diminishes the coach's power in the locker room, and it makes it more difficult to convince free agents to sign amid the possibility of an impending regime change.
To date, Shanahan has a 24-34 record in Washington. After almost four full seasons, there're still major holes in the roster - something not helped by two years of cap penalties, which Shanahan isn't to blame for. The relationship between Shanahan and Griffin, which at times seems strained, doesn't help Shanahan's case for an extension.
It's unfair to place all the blame for the Redskins' woes on Shanahan, especially given the unexpected cap penalties, but Shanahan's resume with the team makes it difficult, if not impossible, to justify giving him a contract extension.
Washington can begin retooling its roster next season with a projected cap space of around $43 million, but it'll likely be with a new coach.
