Something I saw on a skins board.
Posted by Mike Florio on December 17, 2009 1:04 PM ET
With the Washington Commanders successfully making a mockery of the Rooney Rule by announcing via e-mail the hiring of General Manager Bruce Allen exactly 114 minutes after announcing via e-mail that the job had become vacant, there's another fairly significant step in this remaking of the franchise.
Per a league source with knowledge of the current dynamics of the organization, former Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has been targeted by the Commanders as the next head coach.
And even though Allen currently is getting the press, the guy who'll be running the show is Shanahan.
The Commanders quietly have been pursuing Shanahan for months. Reports emerged earlier in the season that Shanahan twice rejected offers to become the team's new coach. The thinking was that Shanahan wanted to survey other possible vacancies before making a commitment.
And while he has made no commitment to the Commanders, we're told that the resignation of Cerrato and the hiring of Allen is the first tangible step in the process.
So even though Allen and Shanahan have no history of collaboration and despite more obvious ties between Allen and former Bucs and Raiders coach Jon Gruden, the source predicts very confidently that coach Jim Zorn eventually will quit or be fired -- and that Shanahan will get the job.
The only remaining question is whether the announcements will be made 114 minutes apart.
Craig
Crikey!
