Anyone expecting a rousing show of support for their head coach from the Redskins on Sunday was left disappointed.
The Redskins showed very little enthusiasm while playing in a constant rain during a season-ending 20-6 loss to the Giants. They turned the ball over four times, dropped passes and lost sight of wide receiver Jerrel Jernigan twice, which was a real negative since he was the only Giant making things happen on offense.
Now that the 3-13 season has reached a dreary end, Mike Shanahan is expected to be relieved of his duties as head coach. That would be the first step of what promises to be a busy offseason in Washington now that their salary cap penalties are out of the way.
It was a disappointing season on the other side of the field as well, of course, but there’s no expectation of a house cleaning with the Giants. They finished the year with seven wins in their final 10 games and didn’t quit on Tom Coughlin, although that effort needs to be joined with better talent in several areas for the team to improve in the standings. There are also several key veterans hitting free agency -- wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and defensive end Justin Tuck, to name two -- whose departures could lead to a very different looking Giants team next year.
More immediately, they’ll make sure that quarterback Eli Manning’s injured ankle isn’t anything that will impact his offseason work and figure out a rehab timeline for Will Beatty after the left tackle broke his right leg.