ASHBURN, Va. — Donovan McNabb’s agent says the “tension” between the quarterback and Washington coach Mike Shanahan and offensive co-ordinator Kyle Shanahan is due to McNabb’s suggestions for improving the Redskins’ offence.
Fletcher Smith said in a statement Thursday that the Shanahans have made comments that go beyond disrespectful and that were “unprecedented for a six-time Pro Bowl quarterback such as Donovan.”
McNabb, who has declined requests for comment this week, was benched before last Sunday’s game against Dallas and told by Mike Shanahan that he would not play for the remainder of the season.
Smith said in the statement that the Shanahans — “both Mike and more specifically Kyle” — have made the quarterback’s relationship with Washington difficult to maintain.
He also said Washington used his client’s suggested changes against Dallas.
“I believe there is tension between Donovan and Kyle that’s rooted in the fact that Donovan has suggested modifications to Kyle’s offence based on intricacies Donovan has learned in his NFL career,” Smith wrote. “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.”
The Redskins did not respond to requests for comment on Smith’s statement.
The 34-year-old McNabb was listed as the No. 2 quarterback during the Redskins’ 33-30 loss to Dallas. McNabb said he felt “disrespected” by the way he was benched and demoted.
“Everything was handled awkwardly,” he said Tuesday on his weekly radio show on ESPN980, “somewhat to a disrespect to me and to the team.”
McNabb was benched only once in 11 years with Philadelphia, and he’s already doubled that total with the Redskins in less than one season. Shanahan yanked McNabb for Rex Grossman in the final two minutes against Detroit in October with the game on the line, then offered several strange excuses for the decision.
Smith said the benching of his client has been part of what he described as a “difficult season” for McNabb.
“Donovan is coming off a Pro Bowl season in 2009 where he threw for 3,500 (plus) yards on 60 (per cent) completions, with a TD:INT ratio of more than 2:1,” Smith wrote. “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.”
Earlier this season Mike Shanahan said he felt Grossman had a better grasp of the team’s two-minute offence, then said McNabb lacked the “cardiovascular endurance” to run a fast-paced drill because of nagging hamstring injuries. Kyle Shanahan said McNabb had been tipped off in advance that the team might go with Grossman; McNabb said he hadn’t.
Then the Redskins gave a McNabb a five-year contract extension worth up to $78 million — though the quarterback is only guaranteed to receive an extra $3.5 million this season. The deal contains a clause that allows the Redskins to cut McNabb before next season with no further financial obligation.
McNabb has expressed a desire to return to Washington next season, and Shanahan said he would be willing to have McNabb as a backup — a pairing that seems hard to imagine.