Kirk Cousins’ season ended Saturday, however, Washington Redskins fans will still be reminded of the past front office’s mishandling in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game.
Next Sunday, the Green Bay Packers will travel to face the San Francisco 49ers with both being one win away from Super Bowl LIV. The Packers are led by first-year head coach Matt LaFleur. Meanwhile, the 49ers will be guided by head coach Kyle Shanahan.
Both LaFleur and Shanahan were assistant coaches together with the Redskins from 2010-2013. LaFleur was the quarterbacks coach and Shanahan was the offensive coordinator behind his head coach father Mike Shanahan.
Both were not retained following the firing of Mike Shanahan. LaFleur landed in college as Notre Dame’s quarterbacks coach. Shanahan as the offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns.
The two paired up again from 2015-2016 with the Atlanta Falcons.
The two were on the Falcons’ sideline during the New England Patriots’ epic Super Bowl LI comeback.
Embed from Getty ImagesShanahan built a reputation of being one of the best young offensive minds in the NFL among coaches during his time with the Houston Texans. LaFleur was with Shanahan in Houston before their time in Washington.
Together they had a pair of wasteful seasons in terms of success with Donovan McNabb at quarterback in 2010 and Rex Grossman and John Beck as QBs in 2011. Then the Redskins landed Robert Griffin III in the first round of 2012 NFL Draft and later drafted Kirk Cousins in the fourth.
While Shanahan and LaFleur built an offense around Griffin’s unique running style, they also helped develop Cousins.
It was that development that benefited the Redskins when Griffin went through a torn ACL as rookie in 2012 and struggled in his return in 2013. Cousins assumed the starting QB position by 2015 long after Shanahan and LaFleur were gone under the guidance of head coach Jay Gruden, who replaced Mike Shanahan in 2014.
Both Shanahan and LaFleur were responsible for Falcons’ QB Matt Ryan having a career-year that earned him NFL MVP in 2016 and an epic comeback away from winning the Super Bowl.
Embed from Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Gruden had another up-and-coming offensive mind in Sean McVay. McVay blossomed in Washington with Cousins as his quarterback. That helped turn McVay into the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams.
He guided the Rams to a Super Bowl LIII loss last season with Jared Goff at quarterback. Now, LaFleur or Shanahan will extend the streak of former Redskins assistants-turned NFL head coaches to reach the Super Bowl.
Shanahan, LaFleur and McVay all were with the Redskins during the Bruce Allen era. The embattled team president was fired on Dec. 30 after 10 seasons in charge of the franchise. It’s hard to find a Redskins fan that is not happy with that decision.
The Redskins were 3-13 this season after being 6-10 last season. Gruden was fired after a 0-5 start this season. While their former assistants have enjoyed success recently in the playoffs, the Redskins have not won a playoff game since 2006.
Former Carolina Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was named his replacement on Jan. 1, and he subsequently let another young offensive mind, Kevin O’Connell talk to other teams.
O’Connell ultimately landed with McVay in LA. Rivera opted for Scott Turner, who was on Rivera’s staff, as O’Connell’s replacement as offensive coordinator. It was a decision that was met with mixed reactions from Redskins fans.
In an off-season that saw the Redskins clean house and rid themselves of Allen’s tyranny, Redskins fans have a lot to look forward to.
However, seeing Shanahan and LaFleur square off in the NFC Championship Game Sunday, may be tough for Redskins fans to watch, knowing the struggles of their team. And how, it appears to be a reoccurring theme of offensive assistants finding greater success elsewhere around the league.
