Santana Moss: Kyle Shanahan ‘one of the young great coaches of this league’

Many Redskins fans will watch with interest as Kyle Shanahan takes over the mediocre Browns offense next season. If Shanahan and the Browns prosper, there will be unhappy grumbling. If Shanahan and the Browns struggle, there will be satisfied gloating.

Santana Moss, who spent the last four years with Shanahan in Washington, appears confident that Shanahan will succeed.

“I think it’s great, honestly,” Moss told Cleveland’s 92.3 The Fan when asked about the Shanahan hiring. “It’s tough what we all had to go through these past couple of years together. And just to see one of the youngest coaches – to me, I think, one of the young great coaches of this league – not have a chance to really shine with the offense that he had, it was tough seeing us not be as good as we’re supposed to be.

“But I think Cleveland has a great coach,” he continued. “The offensive players should all get real amped about what he’s going to bring to their offense. … If you’re really rolling in that offense, everyone should be able to eat and have fun with it. We had our share of years where we all got a chance to see that. It’s just last year was a tough one for us. But I think the players up there in Cleveland should be amped up, knowing what kind of offense is coming to their team.”
Moss was then asked how much offensive control the younger Shanahan had as the situation in Washington spiraled downward in 2013.

“Honestly, as a player, you don’t always know what’s going on,” Moss said. “Coaches put you in place to go out there and have an opportunity to perform, and I think every week that’s what he gave us. Every week he came up with a way that we can run different concepts with our offense that we should be able to get open. And as a receiver, we had those chances a lot.

“There wasn’t a week that I could go out into a game and say that the defense could cover what we’re running, as long as you hit the right guy that’s open,” he said. “Every week, he brought that for us. And he was the guy that you’re gonna love. He gets right to the point. He’s a young guy, so at the end of the day he’s just like a player. He has the same mindset. He’s going to go out there, and if he’s allowed to, he’s gonna run the score up if he has the right kind of guys, as far as running those plays he’s calling. I think no player on that Cleveland team is gonna be disappointed with the kind of coach they got, because he’s gonna be out there for them. He only wants them to do better and do good, because if they do good, then it’s gonna make him look great.”


(washingtonpost.com)