Reports: Mike Shanahan agrees to coach Washington Redskins

Reports: Shanahan agrees to coach Redskins

ASHBURN, Va. — Mike Shanahan agreed Tuesday night to become the Washington Redskins’ next coach, according to multiple reports.

The Denver Post reported on its Web site that Shanahan received a five-year deal from the Redskins, who fired Jim Zorn following a 4-12 season. Shanahan won two Super Bowls in 14 seasons with Denver but was fired a year ago after the Broncos missed the playoffs for the third straight season.

Shanahan will be Washington’s seventh coach since Dan Snyder bought the team in 1999. He is expected to be introduced at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

Redskins general manager Bruce Allen was hired last month, but Shanahan will have the final authority on football decisions, according to ESPN.com.

Zorn went 12-20 over two seasons, but he lost 18 of his last 24 games after a 6-2 start in 2008. The Redskins struggled early despite a weak schedule this season and finished with their worst record since 1994.

While the Redskins awaited official word about their future coach, Clinton Portis went about rehashing the past — including his thoughts on quarterback Jason Campbell’s leadership skills.

During his weekly appearance on a local radio station, Portis talked about what it’s like to play for Shanahan — something the running back did for two seasons with the Broncos — and what it’s like to play with Campbell.

Asked on ESPN980 why Campbell was a team captain and he wasn’t, Portis replied: “I wonder the same thing. It’s no disrespect to Jason, but everybody in that locker room will tell you — you will never see Jason mad, you will never see Jason’s tempo change.”

Portis continued: “(He’s) going to give you everything (he’s) got. But as a leader … it was always, ‘Jason couldn’t take control of the huddle,’ or ‘He didn’t do this’ or ‘He didn’t do that.’ That wasn’t Jason’s character. … I think Jason, you can’t place so much on somebody who’s not ready for that situation. I think Jason has enough trouble in getting the plays in and worrying about this, compared to controlling the huddle.”

Portis told ESPN980 Campbell isn’t the type of player who would go to a coach and say, “‘Well, we need to do this or we need to do that,’ or ‘This is how the players want it.’”

Campbell responded by criticizing Portis’ work ethic, saying “there’s a reason guys don’t get selected as captains.”

“For those things to be said, questioning my character and questioning my leadership, I think that’s not the way to go, especially when you’re supposed to be a team guy,” Campbell told the Washington Post in a telephone interview. “Is that being a good teammate? If that’s the case, why is no one questioning my leadership and everyone is questioning his work ethic?”

It’s quite possible neither player will be with the Redskins next season.

Campbell can become a free agent. Portis missed the last half of the season after getting a concussion against Atlanta on Nov. 8, and he’ll turn 29 in September.

Portis also took exception to comments made by some teammates Monday about a lack of discipline this season and preferential treatment given to some players.

“Don’t wait for the season over to say that’s what the problem was. They could’ve came out and addressed those players and tried to stop it,” Portis told the radio station. “But you wait until the season’s over — and then it’s like a tell-all book came out.”

Although other players didn’t call out Portis specifically, he said before Campbell’s comments: “You would think out of everything that came out, probably the first name that come to mind would be me. I never missed curfew. I ain’t never left the hotel. I never did any of that. I think the only thing we did, there was a group of us that set up and played poker, and they broke that game up at 11 o’clock.”

As for Shanahan, Portis described the coach as “the perfect guy for the job” and a “straight shooter.”

“If you’re doing the stuff you’re supposed to be doing, you’re fine with him,” Portis told the radio station. “If you’re not, no matter how much you’re getting paid, he’s going to get you up out of there.”