It started as an homage to George Costanza’s effort to get fired by the Yankees. It quickly became an homage to Costanza’s effort to get fired by Play Now.
It’s now become an homage to Costanza’s refusal to stop driving his former future in-laws to a non-existent house in the Hamptons.
With Redskins coach Mike Shanahan suggesting on Monday that he may shut down quarterback Robert Griffin III for the season and owner Daniel Snyder leaking word that benching his alleged BFF won’t cause Snyder to fire Shanahan or violate Shanahan’s contract by overriding the decision, Shanahan reportedly plans to sit Griffin and go with Cousins -- unless Griffin can convince Shanahan otherwise.
The situation has been explained in a series of tweets from Jay Glazer of FOX, who reports that it appears Cousins will get the start this week, but that it won’t be a done deal until practice starts on Wednesday. Glazer adds that Shanahan could change his mind, if Griffin convinces Shanahan otherwise.
If, as Shanahan explained it on Monday, the goal of shutting down Griffin would be to protect him for the 2014 offseason program, what could Griffin say to change Shanahan’s mind? I strenuously object?
This is now about making Griffin more than a passive pawn in the head coach’s power play. Shanahan apparently hopes that Griffin will go to Snyder and complain about the manner in which Shanahan is disrespecting the quarterback who, after Shanahan recklessly left him in a January playoff game with an injured knee that eventually imploded, has busted his ass to get healthy and make a positive contribution.
While the blame for the current fiasco lands in the laps of Shanahan, Snyder, and Griffin, it’s now becoming obvious that Shanahan is simply pushing buttons in the hopes of getting fired -- and getting paid. And that could push Snyder to fire Shanahan for cause, hopeful that Commissioner Roger Goodell eventually would agree that Shanahan has placed the interests of the team behind his own desire to leave Washington with an extra $7 million.