Take a look at the NFL playoff picture right now. On Saturday night, the San Francisco 49ers, vying for their second Super Bowl appearance in three years, will head to Lambeau Field to take on the top-seeded Green Bay Packers. On Sunday afternoon, the Rams look to finally take down Tom Brady, a franchise stumbling block since 2002. Led by Kyle Shanahan, Matt LaFluer, and Sean McVay, these teams highlight the NFL’s new generation of genius coaches—three offensive warlocks who promise to rule the league for years to come.
Now, what if we told you they were once all on the same team and that that team showed each and every one of them the door? Would you be able to guess what proud football franchise was stupid enough to do that?
In the immortal words of Elaine Benes, we are speechless, we are without speech. A great many things have summed up the plight of the Washington Football Team in recent years. Janky railings. Leaky pipes. Heinous front-office allegations and an owner who wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving in January. Hell, even the fact they’re still calling themselves the “Washington Football Team” nearly two years after scrapping their former racist name. But when it comes to the actual on-field product, nothing embodies the staggering levels of incompetence quite likes this. As Sharp points out, they hired Jay Gruden instead of retaining these guys. JAY GRUDEN! Gruden spent over five years with the team, went 35-49-1, allegedly benched a running back because they were sleeping with the same woman, and spent the last several months of his tenure all but begging to be fired. Eventually he was, becoming the first Gruden brother to be blacklisted by the NFL, which is saying a lot.
There’s no guarantee that keeping LaFleur, McVay, or Shanahan on staff would have made a lick of difference. Incompetent organizations make everyone look like a bust because they can’t develop talent; because they set up their employees to fail before they ever take the field. Ask Robert Griffin III about that one. In fact, as football fans, we should be thanking our lucky stars that these guys got the hell out of D.C. and are now plying their trade at legacy franchises deep in the postseason. If you’re a Washington Football Team fan, however, feel free to go throw up. No one would blame you.
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