The final season of Mike Shanahan's legendary coaching career came in 2013 with Washington.
The team was coming off a 10-6 season in Shanahan's third season in town. Washington had made the playoffs but lost to Russell Wilson's Seahawks in a game during which star quarterback Robert Griffin III suffered a torn ACL in his knee.
There was hope that Griffin would take a step forward in 2013 once he recovered from the procedure. However, he never looked fully healthy and struggled during the season as a result. So too did his replacement, Kirk Cousins, when Griffin missed time, so that resulted in Washington posting a record of 4-12 on the season.
That was enough for then-owner Daniel Snyder to dismiss Shanahan.
While Shanahan didn't get another chance to coach in the NFL, plenty of his assistants from that 2013 Washington coaching staff have. In fact, five are currently NFL head coaches while another one could be hired for coaching job in the near future.
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Here's a look at the stars from that Washington coaching staff more than a decade after it disbanded following the 2013 season.
Washington 2013 coaching staff
Mike Shanahan
- Role: Head coach
- Current role: Retired
Shanahan was the architect of the 2013 Washington staff in what was, ironically, his last season with the team. He had constructed the staff over his four years with the team, bringing together the pieces and making some key promotions that allowed him to hire other high-upside coaches for his staff.
Things didn't go well for Shanahan despite his loaded staff. He posted just a 24-40 record as head coach in Washington and was best known for his decision to keep Robert Griffin III in a playoff game where he suffered a devastating knee injury that altered his career.
The 2013 season marked a bitter end to Shanahan's coaching career, which saw him win two Super Bowl rings and post a 170-138 record over 300 games with the Raiders, Broncos and Washington.
Kyle Shanahan
- Role: Offensive coordinator
- Current role: 49ers head coach
Yes, Kyle Shanahan was a part of his father's staff in Washington. However, it wasn't his first coaching job at the NFL level, as he had actually served as the Texans' offensive coordinator for two years before joining his father for four seasons.
The younger Shanahan helped turn Griffin into the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012, a season during which Washington's offense ranked fifth in yards per game and fourth in scoring. His success in running the read option opened doors to him after his time in Washington, as he worked for the Browns and Falcons before getting the head coaching job in San Francisco.
Since joining the 49ers, Shanahan has led the team to a 66-53 record and brought them to the Super Bowl in 2020. The 49ers posted a 12-5 mark under his watch in 2023 and are the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He has clearly established himself as one of the NF's best coaches, and at just 44 years old, he still has bright future ahead of him.
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Sean McVay
- Role: Tight ends coach
- Current role: Rams head coach
McVay was the next member of Washington's staff who earned a head coaching job. He became the youngest coach in NFL history when the Rams hired him in 2017 when he was just 30 years old. The move panned out for Los Angeles.
He was the tight ends coach from 2011-13, and after Shanahan was let go, he stayed on the staff as offensive coordinator under Jay Gruden. McVay then developed Kirk Cousins into a quality starter in Washington and improved the team's offense from a middling unit to the No. 3-ranked team in total yards by the end of his time there, which came after the 2016 season. He brought that offensive expertise over to Los Angeles and turned Jared Goff from a bust to a capable starting quarterback.
The Rams have gone 70-45 under McVay and have made it to two Super Bowls. They won Super Bowl 56 with Matthew Stafford, Cooper Kupp, Odell Beckham Jr. and Aaron Donald leading the charge but were unable to beat the Patriots in Super Bowl 53, a 13-3 defensive slog.
McVay has done well to develop talent on offense and has built some of the deepest and most impressive coaching staffs in the NFL. His coaching tree has become an impressive one, and it only figures to grow as the now 37-year-old continues to be the NFL's youngest coach.
Matt LaFleur
- Role: Quarterbacks coach
- Current role: Packers head coach
LaFleur was hired after McVay, but he was actually in a more prominent role on Washington's staff in 2013. He spent time as a quarterbacks coach for the team and played a part in the success of Robert Griffin III during his first couple of seasons in the NFL.
LaFleur followed up on that success while with the Falcons under Kyle Shanahan. He worked as the team's quarterbacks coach at that point and oversaw Matt Ryan's MVP season, which helped Atlanta reach the Super Bowl. That was enough to get him offensive coordinator jobs with the Rams (under McVay) and Titans (under Mike Vrabel) before becoming the Packers' successor to Mike McCarthy in 2019.
Since joining the Packers, LaFleur has posted a record of 58-29. Green Bay won 13 games in each of his first three seasons and has never had fewer than eight wins in a season. The Packers have made the playoffs four times under his watch, and he will look to improve upon his 2-3 playoff record in 2024.
Aaron Rodgers won two MVP awards under LaFleur, meaning the coach has worked on three MVP-winning staffs during his 15-year NFL career. The 44-year-old's work in developing Jordan Love should further cement that he is among the best quarterback whisperers in the NFL.
Mike McDaniel
- Role: Wide receivers coach
- Current role: Dolphins head coach
McDaniel spent three years on Shanahan's staff in Washington and served as the team's receivers coach during his final season with the team. He oversaw the best season of Pierre Garcon's career during which the receiver logged a career-high 113 catches for 1,346 yards and five touchdowns.
However, McDaniel endured some bumps in the road in the early stages of his NFL career. He battled alcoholism that nearly brought his coaching career to a halt before he managed to get help while with the Falcons. He has remained sober since and has developed into one of the NFL's most respected offensive minds as a result.
McDaniel coached under Kyle Shanahan for four years in San Francisco before earning the Dolphins' coaching job. Tua Tagovailoa became an MVP candidate under his watch and so has Tyreek Hill, who was on pace for 2,000 receiving yards before a late-season injury denied his quest to reach those heights.
During his time in Miami, McDaniel has posted a 21-17 record and has made the playoffs twice. The Dolphins had the NFL's top-ranked offense in yards per game and ranked second in points per game in 2023, so as long as the 41-year-old remains in charge, Miami will be a big-time offensive threat.
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Bobby Slowik
- Role: Linebackers coach
- Current role: Texans offensive coordinator
Slowik is one of the hottest names on the NFL's coaching market during the 2024 offseason. His work with C.J. Stroud — who looks like an Offensive Rookie of the Year shoo-in after recording 4,108 yards, 23 touchdowns and just five interceptions as a rookie — has earned him a lot of attention.
The 36-year-old's success should soon allow him to become one of the NFL's youngest head coaches and the latest branch of the 2013 Washington coaching staff to find high-level NFL success.
Interestingly, Slowik spent his time in Washington as a defensive assistant and worked with the linebackers during the 2013 season. He spent three years out of the NFL while working for Pro Football Focus before returning to the 49ers as a defensive quality control coach in 2017.
In 2019, Slowik switched to the offensive side of the ball and eventually climbed the ladder until he was the team's passing game coordinator. He helped Brock Purdy to succeed as a fill-in starter in 2022 before thriving in Houston alongside Stroud and DeMeco Ryans.
Slowik is entering into his second season of full-time play-calling under his belt, so there's plenty more for him to learn in his quest to become a head coach. Still, he isn't far from becoming the fifth member of the 2013 Washington staff that has already produced four high-end, offensive-minded coaches.
Raheem Morris
- Role: Defensive backs coach
- Current role: Falcons head coach
Like Slowik, Morris was in the mix for a head coaching job during the 2024 NFL offseason. He ended up landing a permanent gig with the Falcons, taking charge of a side teeming with young talent, including Drake London, Kyle Pitts and Bijan Robinson.
The 47-year-old was once the NFL's youngest head coach when he ran the Buccaneers from 2009 to 2011. He posted a record of 17-31 during that time, but that included a 10-6 season in 2010 when Tampa Bay barely failed to qualify for the postseason.
After that, Morris came to Washington as a defensive backs coach to try to rebuild his stock. He did well in that role and was one of the few assistants to survive Shanahan's ouster, staying in Washington through the 2014 season, after which he became the Falcons' assistant head coach, among a variety of other roles with the team.
Morris is a well-respected leader whose experience helped him to land a full-time coaching job. His four-years as a receivers coach, coupled with his defensive prowess, should provide a healthy foundation for him as he attempts to take Atlanta to new heights in 2024 and beyond.
Chris Foerster
- Role: Offensive line coach
- Current role: 49ers run game coordinator/offensive line coach
Foerster is probably best known for the scandalous end to his tenure with the Dolphins, when he resigned after a video of him snorting an unidentified white powder surfaced. However, the 62-year-old has rebuilt his stock since Kyle Shanahan gave him a second chance with the 49ers in 2019.
During that period, Foerster has moved up from an offensive consultant role to the team's run-game coordinator. That marks the highest title he has held since he was the Dolphins' offensive coordinator back in 2004; it also makes him Shanahan's highest-ranking offensive assistant on a staff that doesn't have an official offensive coordinator.
Thus, while Foerster hasn't earned any head coaching looks, his status as a prominent assistant for the best team in the NFC makes him another feather in the cap of Washington's 2013 coaching staff.
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Aubrey Pleasant
- Role: Offensive assistant
- Current role: Rams assistant head coach/passing game coordinator
Pleasant has been viewed in recent seasons as a rising defensive coordinator candidate. He has plenty of experience coaching defensive backs in the NFL and has recently taken on passing game coordinator jobs with the Lions (2021-22) and Rams (2023). He earned another feather in his cap ahead of the 2024 season, being promoted to the role of assistant head coach in McVay's staff.
Pleasant has fared well with the Rams, helping to develop young players Cobie Durant, Derion Kendrick and Quinton Lake into solid role players on a playoff team. Like Foerster, he may not be earning head coaching looks, but he is still another well-respected assistant who worked on Mike Shanahan's staff in Washington.
