[KI Skins Fan]

The following are excerpts from Thomas Boswell's column in today's Washington Post. In Boswell's opinion, the primary issue to consider in the decision to keep Mike Shanahan or let him go is not his management of the offense or his relationship with and development of RGIII. It is his record in managing the other parts of the team, primarily the defense.

Do you agree?

Boswell writes:

"How good is Mike Shanahan? Not how good does he think he is. How good really?

Not just as an offensive theorist, but as builder of all parts of a team, since that’s his job description. How good is he at picking coaches for all three units, then, as de facto general manager, guiding selection of every player? As he says, 'You are your record.'

Mike Shanahan has overseen franchise’s worst defense in 50 years, which counts for something.

Here’s the appetizer. In his fourth year, Shanahan has built the worst Washington defense in 50 seasons. This defense is so awful that if it slashed the number of points it allows by 40 percent in its past six games, it would still be the worst in D.C. since ’64.

In his past six seasons, two in Denver and now four in D.C., Shanahan has been the architect of defenses that look like a bridge collapse. Whether you keep him, and for how long, or fire him, depends on whether you think he can fix this problem.

Since 1954, only two Washington teams have been so bad on defense that they allowed 400 points — 412 and 421 under Norv Turner . This year’s Redskins may give up 500 points. That’s f-i-v-e h-u-n-d-r-e-d. After 10 games, they’re on pace for 498.

Because Shanahan makes every important decision, he’s responsible for every important result. In his years, Washington has ranked 20th, 22nd, 22nd and now 30th in points allowed . That’s an average ranking of 24th in a 32-team league. That’s the worst defensive standing, relative to the whole league, in the reign of any Redskins coach since Otto Graham in the ’60s.

The Redskins are currently giving up 31.1 points per game. Only one Washington team in history has been worse — it was in 1954 . In the past 50 years, the worst mark was 26.3 points. Yes, offense is up a tad in the NFL this year to 23.4 points per game versus 21.3 for the past 20 years. But even with that adjustment, the Redskins are awful in absolute terms, and also relative to the league as a whole.

In 20 years of NFL coaching, Shanahan has only had one top five defense. A half-dozen of his Denver defenses were good. He hasn’t always been bad. But for his entire career, his average rank in points allowed has been 16th — middle of the league.

It’s the trend of his past half-dozen teams, especially this one, that’s most worrisome. In Shanahan’s final two years in Denver, his Broncos ranked 28th and 30th in points allowed (409 and 448). In other words, his last two Broncos teams gave up more points than the two worst Redskins teams of the entire 16-game-season NFL era of the past 35 years.

What’s sunk this season, with their playoff odds now at 1.4 percent, has been awful defense, as well as atrocious special teams that are last or next-to-last in the NFL in kicking field goals or returning any ball that’s punted or kicked.

The Redskins allowed an average of 314 points in the three years before Shanahan arrived. That’s the baseline. Since he brought in Jim Haslett as coordinator and replaced a functional 4-3 defense with a generally inept 3-4, the number of points allowed, per full season, has skyrocketed to 398.

Nothing, except a franchise quarterback, means as much in the NFL as picking your coach. And nothing raises unexpected hell more than switching one. At least debate the issue along the right lines. With complete control, and without any major injuries this season, Shanahan has overseen the construction of the worst Washington defense in 50 years. That’s where you start.

That’s the 500-point elephant in the room."