McNabb's agent blasts coach; Shanahan responds
We interrupt coverage of the latest Eagles news from NovaCare withthe next step in the disintegration of Donovan McNabb's relationship with the Washington Redskins.
McNabb's agent blasts coach; Shanahan responds
Daily News staff
We interrupt coverage of the latest Eagles news from NovaCare withthe next step in the disintegration of Donovan McNabb's relationship with the Washington Redskins.
You know all the background and the continued back and forth. Honestly, there is not much more to say than let the following statement from McNabb's agent Fletcher Smith provide the latest salvo.
I think it is important to clarify some misinterpretations following Donovan comments made earlier this week on his radio show.
Donovan did say that “he didn’t want to go anywhere” and that he “enjoyed himself” in the Washington DC area. He and his family truly enjoy living in the Washington, DC, area and are overwhelmed by the outpouring of support the fans have shown him this year. He stated that he wishes to stay in Washington because he came to complete a task - and that task has not yet been accomplished.
While Donovan’s feelings about Washington remain the same, the Shanahans - both Mike and more specifically Kyle - have made this an extremely difficult relationship to maintain. Their comments have been beyond disrespectful and unprecedented for a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback such as Donovan.
There have been many reports leaked of Donovan not being in shape and not being able to grasp Kyle’s offense. The fact is Donovan came into camp in the best shape of his career having dropped 10 pounds in the offseason. Donovan spent most of his offseason in Washington working out with the Redskins and never missed a practice. Unfortunately, it appears as though the Redskins coaching staff decided that their 12-year veteran quarterback, who flawlessly executed one of the NFL's most complex offensive systems (in Philadelphia), is unable to grasp Kyle’s offense.
I believe there is tension between Donovan and Kyle that's rooted in the fact that Donovan has suggested modifications to Kyle's offense based on intricacies Donovan has learned in his NFL career. For example, Donovan has asked all year that the team run more screen passes to help manage the pass rush more effectively. Ironically, Kyle decided to employ Donovan's suggestions after he unceremoniously benched him on Sunday.
After Donovan quickly led the Redskins down the field and scored what appeared to be the game saving drive against Tampa Bay, Kyle was quoted as saying “He’ll (McNabb) never take another snap for me again.” Remember that statement came after Donovan led the Redskins on one of their best drives of the entire season.
Donovan is coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2009 where he threw for 3,500+ yards on 60% completions, with a TD:INT ratio of more than 2:1. He also led his team to the playoffs with an 11-5 record, and that's what he hoped to accomplish in Washington.
This year, Donovan was on pace to set the Redskins all-time passing yards mark before being benched.
Every week he went out there in solidarity with his teammates with one goal: to win as much as possible for the fans in this town who deserve a championship caliber team.
Make no mistake, this has been a difficult season for Donovan. Some may say that he has had a down year....that is true specifically because of the high standards that he has set as an elite NFL quarterback in his previous 11 seasons.
Donovan has maintained a high level of professionalism on and off the field. He is determined to continue his relentless commitment to win and looks forward to the opportunity wherever that may be!
Fletcher Smith III
President
Blueprint Sports Group
Later Friday, Mike Shanahan responded to Fletcher Smith's statement with the following press release of his own:
“As I stated earlier, when I traded for Donovan McNabb I had hoped that he would lead us to the playoffs. No one wanted him to be more successful than me. When the team was 5-8 and mathematically out of the playoffs, I made the decision to evaluate our other two quarterbacks. This was not personal, but strictly professional. The decision was made in the best interest of the Washington Redskins and I stand by my decision. I will attempt to talk to Fletcher Smith directly to clear up every one of his misconceptions.”
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Comments (49)
This is beyond pathetic
This is a crazy situation. Andy Reid once again proves to be one of the best coaches in the NFL by getting rid of McNabb but McNabb is a joke. He wanted to go to the Redskins and they are a team filled with drama, losing and lack of talented players. McNabb is a bigger Joke because he continues to say he wants to be there Next Year and Shanahan would welcome back as a backup. It's Funny How McNabb thought Philly was Bad but his career has went down the drain pipe with the Washington Redskins. Wonder what he will be thinking when the Eagles are in the playoffs and he is on the couch watching it from home.— briandawkins20
The combination of McNabb having to learn new system, playing with what is clearly a far less talented group of receivers, washed up tailbacks,behind an o-line that is one of the worst in the league, and Shanahan and his offspring are not the coaches everybody thought they were. McNabb could really help a team like the Vikings or maybe even the, ugh, Cowboys, which would be really crazy to see. But with the weapons the cowkissers have and a much better o-line, and coaching he can manage a team to the playoffs and maybe contend for a title.- Somewhere in the middle of this muddle lies Truth....always one of the causalties in a war.— TBear
- poor wittle guy whined his way out of philly, and he gets this.
Comment removed.
Franchise Vick; Bring Mcnabb back as the Back-Up; Trade of release Kolb; If Kafka is not the Future, get rid of him and find a young quarterback that's capable of taking the reigns in about 3-4 years!- Bring back McNabb?Release Kolb? What did you smoke today? — pjv13
McNabb wants more screen passes because that's one of the few throws he can make reliably. I usually lay off McNabb because, despite his erratic play, I always thought he was a stand-up guy. Enough, just go to Chicago or Nashville or wherever your services are needed and move on. The Redskins are rotten from the head down, and the current ownership has destroyed a once-proud franchise.— Hame of Famer- Yea, I'm just about through with McNabb. He really needs to just stop having others do his fighting for him and just stand up on his own 2 feet. Imagine if McNabb had ever shown as much backbone as Vick has, he might still be an Eagles. Everything is everyone else's fault, yet the only constant in any of this seems to be his woefully underwhelming performances.— papabear702
- If McNabb had ever listened to Reid, I think we might already have our championship. I think it's time for McNabb to shut his mouth and let his play speak for him. If he still has it, he will get another job and he needs to just win games and stay out of the Soap Opera. He brought all of this upon himself and now he needs to live with it.
— papabear702 - And where the hell is DooDoo Fresh when you need him. I need another Air Guitar one liner from him. CMon man.— papabear702
- Comment removed.
- enough off the stand up guy McNabb. the guy needs to grow a set. He wanted DC with visions of sticking it to the Eagles twice a year. Nice try. Actually not a nice try, you were lucky the first game and showed you true colors the second game. McNabb was a Pro Bowler because of Andy. Now look at him getting abused by his coaches and saying the equivalent of "thank you sir may I have another". Pathetic!
- This is a "for the record" sort of statement.
It serves to influence the opinions of potential teams interested in #5's services.
Let the record show that we firmly believe that Kyle Shanahan is the problem with the Skins.
Maybe a team trades for #5 at the draft.
— CouchKing - I was never a major Donovan fan, but I never dislike the guy either. Donovan was a very good quarterback for the time we had him, and a stand up guy to boot. No one is perfect, nor was he, but he does not deserve what he's getting this season. Say all you want, but he DID bring us back to win the NFC championship game vs. Arizona, and it was only our defense that lost that game for us. Any team like Arizona itself, or the Vikings, would be smart to get Donovan IF they know how to shape a system to the players they have. For Donovan, that would mean playing to his strengths. He's a tough dude and was very good for Philadelphia. Not many remember all the losing that went on around here before him, but in the light of it, Donovan shined very well here. Peace to Don.— landt
- Watch the first half of that Arizona play-off game,McNabb misses 2 EASY touchdowns with his poor accuracy,so don't just blame the defense. — pjv13
Wait for it...wait for it...— tpizza- even McFraud's biggest apologist ran out of excuses for the heartless alternate pro bowler-LOL...wolf. — wolf 4
- Donovan deserves so much better than this. I'm sorry. He wasn't mean't to get thrown into a situation where Kyle Shanahan , who is a total punk, plays this power trip on a Pro Bowl caliber QB,
knowing " Daddy " has his back.. That's pathetic. This situation is Nepotism defined.Donovan WILL find a better situation come March/April. He has plenty of football left to play.— MJPD345 - I like for Fletcher to explain how Grossman, in his first start all year, amd probably a little rusty, threw for over 300 yrds and 4 tds, while his poor client sits near the bottom of the QB rankings after starting every game. And his guy is disrespected, while every commentator says Grossman stinks and can't play. I'm not a Grossman fan, but listening to some of the things said about him, then watching Donovan and his agent cry because of being benched is pathetic. If anyone deserves an apology, its Grossman.— watsonmr
Lorenzo Booker was a nice guy too. Cornelius Ingram, great guy. what do they both have in common with McNabb ? They all SUCK.- I personally think what's going on with the Skins says alot more about Shanahan than it does McNabb. Shanahan has come off like he needs a psychiatric evaluation immediately - he couldn't be any more erratic if he tried. I think the mess in DC starts with the coach.— kat20
"""""""""""After Donovan quickly led the Redskins down the field and scored what appeared to be the game saving drive against Tampa Bay, Kyle was quoted as saying “He’ll (McNabb) never take another snap for me again.” Remember that statement came after Donovan led the Redskins on one of their best drives of the entire season""""""""""
That above,if true,is a killer.How can any player perform with that
hanging over his head.Again,if true and i saw that game,DM/QB's call
their own 2 min plays and that drive was flawless-even with Davis dropping a TD.I guess Kyle pouted that Don suceeded without his calls.It sounds like he was teed-off that Don was sucessful on the drive.
We should all get off DM.He did the Eagles/fans well and
just not win the big one.We should thank him for VICK instead of trying to compare them.If he didnt approve Vick being brought here-Vick would not be here.Also Shanahan supposedly bumped into him in a hallway and said-oh by the way you are not playing--sunday-on a thurs eve..Whatever really happened--The Shan's have to work on their
people talents.I understand Den is still paying him $7mill/yr.
Don needs to go to one of those teams in that weak NFC West-or a dome
stadium---
Eagles have a chance to go a long way
and that is the here and now.It will be interesting to see how far they go and the fan reaction.When they clinch it will be Eagles/Falcons for the NFC title and a birth in the.....cant say it--i dont want to jinx them.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all who celebrate this holiday.I hope it is still legal to say that.
— HO HUM
Wow, where's the communication w/ these guys? Seriously, how hard would it be to just have a simple meeting w/ each other? I swear, sometimes I think all this drama is just a promotional ploy by the teams and players. So damn juvenile...- FORGET MCNABB .. GONE ALREADY & FORGOTTEN! TRADE KOLB FOR DRAFT PICKS , SIGN VICK AND EAGLES KEEP GETTING BETTER & YOUNGER!— bill poore
- Donovan's shortcomings may have finally caught up to him, and he may never be successful again. But no one seems to realize that the crazy owner in DC may choose Donovan over the coach, who has handled things pretty poorly.— VicM
- Comment removed.
- typical McFraud,he has no heart to stand up for himself,the great champion BHopkins said 'he has no heart to be a champion' BHop is 110% correct...ofcourse some of the diehard apologists(ppizza-will69-birdsh**-CYO-grownman-irahrabri-ike reese-zero77-etc etc)had the deadskins 1-winning the division and 2-he would make the probowl 3-he was an MVP 4-YEAH RIGHT!..LOL..McFraud is an embarrasment,BIG RED made him he's nothin without BIG RED's pampering..get lost McFraud and apologists..LOL...wolf.— wolf 4
- "...because he came to complete a task - and that task has not yet been accomplished.". Oh man, how many times have we heard that? I need a RB, I need WR's, I need.....Blah blah blah. Fact is, McNabb is just NOT THAT GOOD. Good enough to put up gaudy stats occasionally, but his 70 QB rating this year is about right. High, low, third row, behind, 200 miles per hour when the receiver is 10 feet away - and does everyone forget it took dude what, 6-7 years for ONE 4th qtr come-from-behind win? Because he is a LOSER and as far from a leader as you will get in a QB. Other than Eli Manning.— CiceroSpuriousDeodatus
- you 100% right,McFraud is the most overrated QB in NFL history he's the champ of padded stats,,atleast ELI has a SB win against the undefeated Patriots,the same team McFraud threw up on Jon Runyan's shoes because he couldn't take the pressure..LOL. — wolf 4
- Hahahahaha, right on cue!— tpizza
- Let's see, ridiculous McName [check], BBop quote of the day [check], apologist list [check], sprinkled in a few lies [check], Big Fred reference [check], barf reference [check], no SB ring reference [check], pressure reference [check], Eli reference [check], padded stats slam [check], acting like he's relevant [check]. I think you got them all wiff. Maybe you could have thrown in a Fred and Ethyl joke and you forgot Deion and a few others, but all in all it was as completely a rehashed post as all your other BS. Nice job wiff...and KK = LHS. You're still an idiot...and a right on cue idiot at that. Thanks for being punctual at least....hahahahahahahha.— tpizza
- The difference between Vick and McNabb is that if McNabb were in Sunday's game vs. the Giants, at the 4th quarter, McNabb would have given up hope of coming back and simply resort to "It's all on me" routine in the post game press conference. Whereas, Vick decided to make an attempt to win, because the game wasn't over. And if we had lost because of Vick, he would have owned up to it too. Huge difference in leadership.— awl
- It's unbelievable who many people are still willing to place blame on anyone but McNabb. McNabb is running out of excuses at this point ladies and gentlemen. By no means do I think the story of McNabb's career is writen and set in stone. However, this situation in Washington is all on McNabb and noone else. Until McNabb takes the inniciative to own up to his faults and do everything in his power to work on his weaknesses, ala Mike Vick, there will be no Playoffs, no HOF, and most certainly no Super Bowl. He has the worst work ethic ever. Who but a child repeats the same mistakes over and over and over again after being called out for them? Seriously, WHO???— papabear702
Oh my my. Donovan - thanks for taking this "pity me" act to a different venue. I love how only now do the national writers realize that maybe we weren't all making this stuff up. He has vindicated all the haters and continues to arm them with plenty of ammunition. At the start of this year, I was convinced that the bigger problem the Eagles had was Andy Reid, and not McNabb. I figured either way, we'd have a clearer answer. I never thought it would be so obvious how much of the problem falls at #5's thin-skinned feet.— Doctor D- You people are deranged. McNabb's stats over the course of his career in Philadelphia were phenomenal. He led the Eagles to the playoffs in all but 3 seasons, he brought them to the NFC championship game 5 times, won it once and took them to the superbowl, but all you care about is that somehow he himself is responsible for the fact that the Eagles lost to the Patriots by 3 points. In your stupid eyes that makes him a fraud and worthless.
Now he's been set up as a goat in an offense that is terrible, has no weapons, has no leadership from the coach or Offensive Coordinator, both of whom reveal a shocking lack of professionalism, class, and judgment. McNabb is not responsible for the wet paper towel they call an O-line there, nor is it his fault the Redskins D sucks, or that his kicker can't kick, his longsnapper can't snap, and his punter can't punt.
We are lucky to have Vick -- he's amazing, he's also allowed to sell his body out. Guess who advocated for him and took him under his wing? McNabb. McNabb is one of the greatest players in Eagles history. Stupid people. Step away from the keyboard.— jojenkins 
Those of you who said McNabb is a "stand-up guy," are you referring to the time he stood next to the Giants bench and picked up the phone after running for a first down? Or when he wiggled his leg and did a stand-up comedy routine as he exited the tunnel before the Eagles playoff game last year? I guess I agree he was a stand-up guy in both of these cases, too.— Sam Crow- It must be very difficult to be a family member of the haters here, especially if they have the nerve to be not perfect. "Hey, what are you doing ? You opened your gift wrong ! You &#*%&@ !" If someone only expects Vick or Montana as their quarterback, and their very life depends on who the Eagles quarterback is, then most of their very life will be a wretched existence. Does it kill anyone here to wish McNabb well and be done ? It will definitely kill them if they can't, from the bile that rots their insides. And anyone being honest cannot possibly say if their kid was a pro quarterback that they would want him to work for Dan Snyder or the Shanahans. No one deserves that.— landt
I am a die-hard McNabb fan who thinks Philly will never appreciate him for what he did. I don't see how the guy above could blame him for the loss to Arizona. He missed a couple of throws but yet he brought them back to take the lead only to watch the D give it up. Not to mention the non pass interference call on Curtis. With that being said, this is a business and McNabb has had his worst season as a pro. That's not entirely his fault. There are numerous dropped passes by the receivers. But it is his fault with all the INTS. I still think he can produce at a high level. He can't be mad at Mike and Kyle because if he was playing at a good level, none of this would come up. Good players need help to win. Great players make everyone around them better. He was a great player at one point. Only Brady, Manning and Brees could could take a team with Todd Stinkston, James Trash, Deadex and a host of other bums to the playoffs on a consistent basis. Not even Brett Farve (where he is now) could have done it as he proved he is garbage without Sidney Rice. I hope things workout for McNabb. I know for sure, they will eventually retire his jersey and it is well deserved.— ewsavage
Shanahan should be Coach of the Year simply for how he's treated McNabb, degrading that insincere disingenuous phony. The icing on the cake- Shanahan telling McNabb if he's back next season, its as a backup.
First of all, Smith lost all credibility when he started with the "flawlessly executed" baloney. Second, why does he have to write this at all? Because he is promoting his client for another team so that he can extract more fees.
"Everyone makes mistakes in they lifetime"— Morty Seinfeld- In all McNabb's years in Philly, he never expressed this sort of dissatisfaction. Snyder is the real problem in DC and it sounds like Mike Shanahan doesn't handle players well. Also, if you're going to "move forward", you don't do it with Rex Grossman. I could maybe understand if it was a new player. And please Philly fans, stop talking about Vick like he's Gandhi - most of you hated his signing here. Until around 3 years ago, McNabb was an excellent qb. He's still decent in the right situation.— p-diddy
- The Redskins as an organization have trouble with success. They get a little, and waste it. Jason Campbell was probably about as good as McNabb, but they never gave him consistent coaching, and didn't stand by him. McNabb's skills don't seem to have waned a bit, but he's having less success this year. I know that he should be a better blocker, tackler, and kicker, he's letting his teams down in those areas, but his passing and running aren't all that bad. The Shanahans thought they could make him even better than he was in Philly -- that's obviously why they got him. They failed, so far, and are apparently giving up. The things they have said to the media are not only inconsistent and callous, but generally stupid. McNabb's agent has no choice but to make sure that teams shopping for QBs give him a fair look. McNabb never was and never will be a great quarterback. He's a good quarterback, and a good coach will use him well.— tacklinjoe
- So when is it the player's responsibility to play better or to rise above their apparent talent level? -- Campbell as good as McNabb? McNabbs skills have waned "a bit?" Shanahans thought they could make him better? -- What are you smoking?
- It took only a half season for Shanahan to understand that this guy just doesn't get it. Smart move. Yes, he was a good player, no question. But his performance plateaued to a level below that neede to win a championship years ago. It's never his fault. He has never sincerely taken the blame for any failures, instead couching his finger-pointing in politically correct language. Now it's two Super Bowl coaches in one year to dump him, and he's offended. And his idiot agent spews a lie a minute trying to rewrite history. What a joke. True leaders will self-reflect, admit shortcomings, correct them and succeed. McNabb is too old, with a deep seated personality flaw, to change.— Bob1
- Comment removed.
If McNabb had gone to Minnesota to play for Childress the football world would be a far different place at this very moment...
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