SB Nation DC - Donovan McNabb Benched: Mike Shanahan, Fletcher Smith Have Yet To Meet

Donovan McNabb Benched: Mike Shanahan Hasn't Met With McNabb's Agent Yet

2011-01-03T21:58:25Z

During the back-and-forth between Donovan McNabb's agent Fletcher Smith and the Redskins organization a couple weeks back, coach Mike Shanahan mentioned that he planned to sit down and speak with Smith at some point. That meeting, however, has not happened. During his season-ending press conference on Monday, Shanahan confirmed that he has yet to speak with Smith and that no meeting has been planned yet.

"I have not talked to Fletcher. When I will meet with him, I am not really sure. We don't have a definitive date at this time."

Shanahan said he still has not made a decision on whether to bring McNabb back next season, saying he will look at film and make his decision from there. However, he did have one surprising admission: he wished he had handled parts of the McNabb situation better. In particular, he said he wished he hadn't used the dreaded "cardiovascular endurance" excuse that he used to defend his decision to bench McNabb in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

"I wish I would have handled the one in Detroit a little differently," Shanahan said. "I should have been a little more honest than I was. Sometimes, you do things to protect players, but you end up hurting them, so I wish I would have handled that differently.'

(Audio via 106.7 The Fan)

Donovan McNabb Benched: McNabb Reacts To His Agent's Negative Comments About The Shanahan's On His Radio Show

2010-12-28T18:03:42Z

In his final radio show of the year, Donovan McNabb spent most of it reacting to his agent Fletcher Smith's statements from last week about Mike and Kyle Shanahan.

Here are his comments, via twitter from various Skins beat reporters:

Chris Russell:

Donovan "I support my agent." #redskins "We're on the same page"

Rick Maese:

He also says that any conversations he's had with coaches "stays behind closed doors"

McNabb: "Things would obviously have to change. Relationship would have to be better. Conversations would have to be better"

McNabb says he didnt read release from his agent until after it was released last week. Says repeatedly he supports his agents' thoughts

McNabb: "I guess as you read in the article, he put his thoughts into the whole deal, not Donovan’s thoughts."

McNabb says he hasnt talked with either Bruce Allen or Dan Snyder since the benching.

McNabb says he's not upset about the contract extension he signed in November. "Not at all"

Rich Campbell:

McNabb on Smith's statement: "When I read the whole thing, I didn't see nothing wrong with it."

McNabb on his recent convo with Kyle: "We got things out there on the table and we were able to move on."

Redskins blogger Matt Terl:

McNabb: "Would I like to be the quarterback here next year? Yes."

John Keim:

mcnabb on asking for release: "No, that's false."

So the main point that can be taken from this interview is that Donovan had no issue with that his agent said last week, and has no clue whether or not he will be back next season. Other than that, it's another round of "he said, he said" drama that no one wants to hear about anymore. And unfortunately for the Redskins and McNabb, this situation has become nothing more than high school level drama. One thing is for sure in the McNabb camp, and it's that he wants this situation to be over with regardless of how it ends.

And like many Redskins fans, he probably wants this saga to end quickly rather than it becoming another slow, painful drama in Ashburn.

Donovan McNabb Benched: McNabb Will Reportedly Ask For Release At The End Of The Season

2010-12-26T17:23:21Z

Since it's quite clear that Donovan McNabb will not be apart of the Washington Redskins future, and with his agent firing off statement after statement, it was only obvious that McNabb would eventually try to get out of D.C.

And according to an ESPN report, it looks like McNabb will ask to be released in the offseason:

Being that Donovan McNabb no longer is a part of the Washington Redskins' game plans, he has his own game plan in place for after this season, according to one person close to the quarterback.

After the season, McNabb is planning to meet with the Redskins and ask them for his release. McNabb wants to be in a position where he can pick the place to finish his career, not have it dictated to him as was the case last season when Philadelphia traded him to Washington.

It's highly unlikely the Redskins initially would release McNabb, not when they believe he still has some trade value. Washington would want to recoup as much as possible for the player whom they surrendered second- and fourth-round picks.

It looks like the Redskins will have traded multiple draft picks for another one and done-er. The key here is how much they will work with Donovan in getting him out of here. They really don't want to release him and get nothing for him, despite how they diminished his value by the way they treated him this year.

The Redskins may want to pull an Andy Reid and "do right by Donovan" and try and deal him to a team like Arizona (a place where McNabb calls home) or Minnesota (a team who could be a quarterback away from contending), while still trying to get whatever they can for another wasted investment. Either way, it looks like this will spell the end for McNabb's short, drama filled tenure here in D.C.

Donovan McNabb Benched: Agent Fletcher Smith Says He Is 'On The Same Page' As McNabb

2010-12-25T03:40:46Z

After Kyle Shanahan responded to claims made by Fletcher Smith, Donovan McNabb's agent, the quarterback declined comment. Rather than speaking for himself, the well-respected Redskins offensive captain is letting his agent do the talking for him.

Fletcher Smith issued another short statement tonight, and Rich Campbell of the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star has all the details.

Donovan and I talk constantly and have done so with more frequency during this season ... We are absolutely on the same page. I stand by my statement. I will reserve any further comments until after I have had ... a chance to speak, directly, with coach Shanahan.

Not quite as strong a statement as his comments from earlier in the week. It looks like the McNabb clan and the Shanahans are going to try to sort this out under the radar screen. But shots have already been fired, and its pretty hard to put them back in the pistol.

Donovan McNabb Benched: Kyle Shanahan Calls McNabb's Agent's Statement 'Disturbing'

2010-12-24T18:27:33Z

In a statement released yesterday, Donovan McNabb's agent Fletcher Smith had some strong allegations directed toward Mike and Kyle Shanahan for the way they handled the benching of his client. Mike Shanahan responded in a statement late last night, and now, Kyle Shanahan has responded. Kyle's response, however, was much stronger.

In an interview with CSN Washington's Kelli Johnson at Redskins Park, Kyle Shanahan called Smith's words "disturbing." He said that he met with McNabb last night, and McNabb told him that the claims made by Smith were no true.

Kyle Shanahan also denied saying that McNabb will never take a snap for him again, as Smith alleged he did. He also denied that the team switched to a different offense with Rex Grossman, taking issue with another one of Smith's claims.

"To hear we had a different offense for Rex was a joke."

Kyle Shanahan also said he never had a confrontation with McNabb. In essence, Kyle Shanahan is saying that McNabb's agent did this on his own without consulting McNabb. Kyle Shanahan said he and McNabb had a face-to-face meeting to clear everything up earlier Friday.

Mike Shanahan declined to comment, other than to say he would talk to Smith. McNabb also declined to comment.

Donovan McNabb Benched: Mike Shanahan Responds To Fletcher Smith's Statements

2010-12-24T14:42:07Z

Last night Donovan McNabb's agent Fletcher Smith released a statement in which he called the Shanahan's decision to bench his client "beyond disrespectful. This isn't really anything new, as Smith came out with a similar comment last week when the benching first happened. After that statement was released, the Redskins released a statement from Mike Shanahan responding to Smith's claim. Here it is in its entirety.

“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.”

Again, this isn't really anything different than what Shanahan has said in the past. Shanahan continues to contend that it was purely a football decision, and those who think McNabb hasn't played very well this year tend to agree with him. Meanwhile, those who are in McNabb's corner continue to side with Fletcher Smith. Either way you see it, this seems like a relationship beyond repair. We might have to wait until after the season though to see how it plays out.

Donovan McNabb Benched: Agent Releases Statement Saying Mike And Kyle Shanahan Have Been 'Beyond Disrespectful' To His Client

2010-12-23T20:48:19Z

It's been a rough season for Donovan McNabb, and has become even rougher after being benched prior to last Sunday's game against the Dallas Cowboys. He said he was bothered by the fact that he learned a lot of information through the media, prompting Mike Shanahan to say that he felt something got misinterpreted. McNabb's relationship with Kyle Shanahan, the team's offensive coordinator, has also not been good.

All this has finally prompted a strong response from McNabb's agent, Fletcher Smith. In a strongly-worded statement just released to media, Smith said that the behavior by Mike and Kyle Shanahan has been "beyond disrespectful" and suggests that they were the sources of various leaks that have surfaced. Via CSN Washington:

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.

Smith's statement says that there has been "tension" between McNabb and Kyle Shanahan all season, stemming from McNabb's "suggestions" to tinker with Shanahan's offensive philosophy.

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.

The full statement is available at CSN Washington.

Donovan McNabb Benched: Daniel Snyder Reportedly "Not Happy" With Handling Of McNabb Situation

2010-12-19T18:01:24Z

There has certainly been a fair share of disappointment within the Redskins organization with how the Donovan McNabb benching was handled.

Unfortunately for the coaching staff, it looks like owner Daniel Snyder may be the most disappointed, according to Jay Glazer of FoxSports (via Red Zone):

Jay Glazer of FOXSports reports that Dan Snyder is not happy as he was out of the country when it was decided that QB Donovan McNabb would be benched. After an efficient game against Tampa Bay, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said that he was upset with McNabb's performance and that it was the last snap that McNabb would take this season. Shanahan pushed and eventually got the benching to occur. Glazer reports that Snyder may make major coaching changes however as he is not happy with the way this situation was handled.

Uh oh.

If any of this proves to be true, Redskins fans may have to brace for offensive coaching changes in the coming offseason. With it being highly unlikely that Snyder would get rid of Mike Shanahan after one season, it would seem that his son Kyle could be in the cross hairs of the owner.

And we all know what happens when that's the case.