Robert Griffin III says he never asked Shanahan to change Redskins offense
Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III says he never asked former head coach Mike Shanahan to change his offense after the 2012 season.
On a recent Redskins-produced television segment, Griffin addressed the two-year-old controversy in response to a fan question, according to The Washington Post. Griffin and Shanahan's up-and-down relationship was well-documented during the latter's tenure as the team's head coach.
Shanahan said on a radio program in February that Griffin told him after the 2012 season which plays were “unacceptable” for the team to run. He said that Griffin, known for his mobility, wanted to play as more of a drop-back quarterback. Shanahan was fired after the 2013 season.
Griffin addressed the issue again this week. “Is it true you went to Coach Shanahan after your first year and requested the offense be changed?” the question read. Griffin chuckled before offering his response, at first calling it an “urban legend.”
“Actually, just like any coach-quarterback combination, we had healthy conversations about everything, evolving as a player,” Griffin said, according to The Washington Post. “There’s a lot of dark things that are talked about with Mike and Kyle and those things, but it was never a wholesale ‘This is what we’re gonna run, this is what we’re not gonna run’ [demand].
“You know, I’m a player,” Griffin added. “I’m here to play. As we like to say, I just work here. Open discussion. Coaches get to call the plays, and players have to run them.”
You can watch the full video of Griffin's Q&A here.
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- Jeremy Woo
