Mike Shanahan's Monday press conference was either amusing or infuriating, depending on how outraged you tend to get with coach press conferences (I mostly find them amusing). The Washington Redskins' coach challenged two reporters who asked him whether he would characterize his team as "rebuilding," given the amount of rookies playing right now.
"What do you consider rebuilding?" Shanahan asked Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan. "The reason young guys are getting opportunity is that the older guys have gotten hurt."
Then, after Shanahan let the word slip when describing a conversation he had with Kyle Shanahan two years ago ("We're going to have to rebuild this football team, starting on offense. He understood that," was the direct quote), a different reporter chose to bring up the topic again. Shanahan's response was equally curt.
What is rebuilding? Playing with a young player?" Shanahan asked Mike Jones of the Washington Post. "Is that what you call rebuilding? Most of the teams nowadays have young players with the way the salary cap is."
Well then. This verbal gymnastics is entertaining, but there are other ways for Shanahan to follow the golden unwritten rule of coach press conferences: never say "rebuilding," even when it's completely obvious you're doing that. Here are 30 other words Shanahan could use in the future.
- Rejuvinating
- Retooling
- Improving
- Reforming
- Fixing
- Curing
- Healing
- Renovating
- Refitting
- Refurbishing
- Rectifying
- Perking up
- Altering
- Tinkering
- Changing
- Mending
- Attending
- Reconditioning
- Revamping
- Repairing
- Treating
- Revising
- Recuperating
- Addressing
- Re-evaluating
- Evaluating
- Patching up
- Healing
- Medicating
- Making better (really simple, but hey, it's something)
Mike, if you use any of these words, feel free to give me a hat tip. And reporters: sorry in advance.