The selection of coordinators says a lot about what a head coach is looking for. It appears Kyle Shanahan is a lock to be offensive coordinator. Mike Shanahan is targeting Mike Zimmer to run his defense. 

Kyle Shanahan – If apples do not fall far from the tree then the Kyle and Mike Shanahan combo will do great things in Washington. Mike has long been considered an offensive mastermind so does it really surprise that Kyle Shanahan goes to Houston and produces the #1 ranked pass offense and the 4^th ranked offense overall? To be fair Kyle has the 30^th ranked run offense in Houston but that can be contributed to injuries at the RB position.  The Good news for Kyle is his dad loves to pound the rock so they should form a pretty lethal tandem in terms of balanced production.

Houston Texans 2009 Passing offense – 290.9 yards per game - 1st Ranked

Houston Texans 2009 Running Offense 92.2 yards per game - 30^th Ranked

Offensive Philosophy – West Coast Vertical

Mike Zimmer – In two seasons in Cincinnati Zimmer has done a nice job improving what was a God-awful Bengals defense.  Zimmer brings the ability to successfully implement both 4-3 and 3-4 schemes. Another benefit of Zimmer’s defenses is they produce playmakers.  Some notables include DeMarcus Ware, Keith Rivers, Leon Hall and Jonathan Joseph.  His Cincinnati Bengals defense has some big challenges headed into the playoffs but Zimmer can be credited for righting the ship on that side of the ball. Coach Shanahan took his season out of football to travel around to different teams and study them. He stated that he prefers the 3-4 schemes but Washington’s defensive roster is full of 4-3 players. It should not surprise that Shanahan targeted Zimmer who can coach both schemes pretty well.

Cincinnati Bengals 2009 passing defense - 203.1 yards per game allowed – 6^th Ranked

Cincinnati Bengals 2009 rushing defense – 98.3 yards per game allowed – 7^th Ranked

Defensive Philosophy – Multiple Schemes – Bend but don’t break

Based on the numbers Shanahan would like to develop a very potent offense and a play making defense that bends but does not break.