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ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders have moved quickly in their pursuit of Mike Shanahan.
The former Denver Broncos coach flew to Washington on Dan Snyder's plane Monday, hours after the team fired Jim Zorn.
Shanahan was talking to the Commanders' owner Monday afternoon, a meeting that was scheduled to go into the night, with Commanders general manager Bruce Allen joining them later.
Snyder's plane, dubbed Commanders One, landed at Dulles International Airport near Commanders Park in midafternoon, and Shanahan was driven away in a limousine.
One Commanders assistant coach told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Allen informed the staff that Shanahan was indeed the team's No. 1 target, but at least one other team also was interested in him.
Monday's meetings were to encompass organizational philosophy, and no deal was expected to be completed.
Zorn was fired early Monday morning after the team returned from a loss at San Diego, which capped a 4-12 season.
Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Broncos. He was fired a year ago after Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Allen had interviewed Shanahan via phone Monday morning, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Schefter. The Commanders and Shanahan reportedly began talks last month, a day after Allen was hired.
But with Zorn out of the picture, the Commanders' focus has shifted to whether Snyder can do enough to lure Shanahan to Washington.
"We're in the process of talking to people," Allen said at a news conference Monday. "We have a good game plan of what we're going to do."
It's no secret that Snyder admires Shanahan. The two men have known each other since the late 1990s, when they attended the same Pro Bowl, stayed in the same hotel in Hawaii, and wound up having dinner together one night. Since then, the two men have remained in contact and have had a friendly relationship.
Shanahan would represent a higher-profile coach than Zorn, who was hired as the Commanders' offensive coordinator before being promoted before he had coached an NFL game.
"No one in the organization is satisfied with our record over the last two years," Snyder said in a statement Monday. "And I am sure that Jim would concur with that statement. It has been painful for him, too. I certainly accept responsibility for mistakes that I have made. I am hopeful that our fans will accept my commitment and pledge to deliver a franchise that can compete in the NFC East every season."
Zorn left team headquarters with a security escort around 4:45 a.m. without commenting, according to The Washington Post.
"I just know that last place is not Commanders football," Allen said. "Last place two years in a row is not Commanders football."
After two years of watching Zorn go through on-the-job training, the prospect of a coach with a winning profile -- such as Shanahan -- sounded like an enticing prospect to the players.
"It's kind of hard to envision yourself trying to get somewhere when the person who's talking to you has never been there personally," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. "That's probably the only thing that I want. I want to go to the Super Bowl."
Zorn appeared to be on the brink of being fired in October, when play-calling responsibilities were taken from him after a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped the Commanders to 2-4.
Those responsibilities were given to consultant Sherman Lewis, who had been retired and was calling bingo games at a senior center and delivering Meals on Wheels two weeks earlier.
At the time, Zorn stopped short of saying he was given an ultimatum, but said he would comply with the request "because I want to stay here and win."
Days later, then-executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said Zorn would finish out the season. Cerrato abruptly resigned last month.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was used in this report.
ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Commanders have moved quickly in their pursuit of Mike Shanahan.
The former Denver Broncos coach flew to Washington on Dan Snyder's plane Monday, hours after the team fired Jim Zorn.
Shanahan was talking to the Commanders' owner Monday afternoon, a meeting that was scheduled to go into the night, with Commanders general manager Bruce Allen joining them later.
Snyder's plane, dubbed Commanders One, landed at Dulles International Airport near Commanders Park in midafternoon, and Shanahan was driven away in a limousine.
One Commanders assistant coach told ESPN's Adam Schefter that Allen informed the staff that Shanahan was indeed the team's No. 1 target, but at least one other team also was interested in him.
Monday's meetings were to encompass organizational philosophy, and no deal was expected to be completed.
Zorn was fired early Monday morning after the team returned from a loss at San Diego, which capped a 4-12 season.
Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with the Broncos. He was fired a year ago after Denver missed the playoffs for the third straight season.
Allen had interviewed Shanahan via phone Monday morning, a source close to the situation told ESPN's Schefter. The Commanders and Shanahan reportedly began talks last month, a day after Allen was hired.
But with Zorn out of the picture, the Commanders' focus has shifted to whether Snyder can do enough to lure Shanahan to Washington.
"We're in the process of talking to people," Allen said at a news conference Monday. "We have a good game plan of what we're going to do."
It's no secret that Snyder admires Shanahan. The two men have known each other since the late 1990s, when they attended the same Pro Bowl, stayed in the same hotel in Hawaii, and wound up having dinner together one night. Since then, the two men have remained in contact and have had a friendly relationship.
Shanahan would represent a higher-profile coach than Zorn, who was hired as the Commanders' offensive coordinator before being promoted before he had coached an NFL game.
"No one in the organization is satisfied with our record over the last two years," Snyder said in a statement Monday. "And I am sure that Jim would concur with that statement. It has been painful for him, too. I certainly accept responsibility for mistakes that I have made. I am hopeful that our fans will accept my commitment and pledge to deliver a franchise that can compete in the NFC East every season."
Zorn left team headquarters with a security escort around 4:45 a.m. without commenting, according to The Washington Post.
"I just know that last place is not Commanders football," Allen said. "Last place two years in a row is not Commanders football."
After two years of watching Zorn go through on-the-job training, the prospect of a coach with a winning profile -- such as Shanahan -- sounded like an enticing prospect to the players.
"It's kind of hard to envision yourself trying to get somewhere when the person who's talking to you has never been there personally," cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. "That's probably the only thing that I want. I want to go to the Super Bowl."
Zorn appeared to be on the brink of being fired in October, when play-calling responsibilities were taken from him after a loss to the Kansas City Chiefs dropped the Commanders to 2-4.
Those responsibilities were given to consultant Sherman Lewis, who had been retired and was calling bingo games at a senior center and delivering Meals on Wheels two weeks earlier.
At the time, Zorn stopped short of saying he was given an ultimatum, but said he would comply with the request "because I want to stay here and win."
Days later, then-executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato said Zorn would finish out the season. Cerrato abruptly resigned last month.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter was used in this report.
