[SFREDSKIN]

Yep, "The Rat" has arrived at Dulles.

Shanahan lands at Dulles

Updated at 3:48 p.m.

The unveiling of Mike Shanahan as the Redskins' new head coach could be imminent. On the same day that Jim Zorn was relieved of his head coaching duties, Shanahan arrived in Washington, where he's expected to conclude negotiations with the Redskins to fill their coaching vacancy.

Owner Daniel Snyder's plane departed Washington earlier this morning, just a couple of hours after General Manager Bruce Allen fired Zorn, and returned to Dulles International around 3 o'clock this afternoon with Shanahan -- long coveted by Snyder -- in tow.

Snyder's jet was spotted on the runway by Post reporter Zach Berman before quickly disappearing into a private hangar. NBC4's Dan Hellie found Shanahan at the airport, but the former Denver coach declined to comment. Hellie said he asked Shanahan if he'd like to talk. "No, not right now," Shanahan responded to Hellie.

Shanahan went from plane to car in short order and was whisked away to an unknown destination.

Allen said at today's news conference that he had no timetable for replacing Zorn, but promised that the search would be an aggressive one.

Citing an unnamed source, the Associated Press also reported that Allen and Shanahan spoke on the phone early this morning. Many in the organization and across the league have said for weeks that the hiring of Shanahan was inevitable. The Redskins' lost their
season finale, 23-30 Sunday, fired Zorn shortly after returning to Ashburn, making Shanahan's hiring imminent.

League sources say Shanahan has been quietly assembling a coaching staff for weeks and a major overhaul is expected.

Shanahan was fired as Denver head coach following the 2008 season and spent much of 2009 hearing his name attached to several head coaching jobs. But his options appeared to dry up quickly, according to sources. Though he interviewed for a position with the Buffalo Bills, and privately expressed interest in potentially joining the Dallas
Cowboys and Chicago Bears, those organizations were not interested in him, according to sources. If Shanahan is hired, as expected, he'd become the team's seventh head coach under Snyder -- and likely the league's highest-paid.