2010 marks a new year but the same old story for the Washington Redskins. Dan Snyder is hot under the collar about his basement-dwelling organization, he's got a "plan," and Redskins One is racking up frequent flyer miles. Should Redskins Nation be pumped about the Mike Shanahan signing? Will he lead the Skins back to the promised land and keep us all from putting bags over our heads? Not so fast my friend.

After almost twenty years of fandom (and I'm twenty-four, if that tells you how I feel about the Redskins), I cannot live in a fantasy world any longer. Even with simple signings, I've tried to temper my enthusiasm publicly, but I've felt deep down that the Redskins were moving in the right direction. After seeing so many teams rise from out of nowhere to go to (or in some cases win) the Super Bowl, I've secretly thought that the Redskins could do the same. No longer...I have to see to believe from this point forward.

As Mike Shanahan is formally introduced as the next head coach of the Washington Redskins, he will stand up behind those three Super Bowl trophies that send us all into a nostalgic daze. So many other men have stood behind those trophies over the last ten years that don't deserve to polish them, let alone talk about the tradition and greatness of the Redskins organization. Guys like Adam Archuleta, Brandon Lloyd, Deion Sanders, Mark Carrier, Steve Spurrier, Jim Zorn, Albert Haynesworth, and Jeremiah Trotter have been paraded in front of the Burgandy and Gold faithful only to disappoint and frustrate...only to fall short of the expectations set in front of them. Why should I feel any different about Mike Shanahan?

Shanny has two Super Bowl rings, and no one can argue with how great his teams were under John Elway. However, since #7 hung up his cleats, Shanahan has only been a consistent regular season winner. His teams have only won a SINGLE playoff game since Elway. The disaster that has been the 2000s Redskins have won two (both coming over Tampa Bay). Shanahan is now the fifth head coach that Dan Snyder wooed to Ashburn in the last decade (Terry Robiskie and Norv Turner don't count), and the fourth that has come in being dubbed a savior of the franchise (Jim Zorn doesn't count here). There's absolutely no way that I'll buy that this guy will be able to succeed until I see him produce on a consistent basis. I'm just not prepared to anoint him anything more than a new face until I see some results.

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