The Redskins are inching closer to hiring a new head coach, pushing hard to bring Mike Shanahan into the fold, even as the current owner of that position continues to work overtime to keep his team focused on winning games this year.

According to Mike Klis of the Denver Post, Washington owner Dan Snyder and newly hired vice president/general manager Bruce Allen have begun negotiations with Shanahan to take over the team at the season’s end. Shanahan apparently is the main proponent of a partnership between himself and Allen, and pushed for a similar pairing to take place in Buffalo when he discussed their coaching vacancy last month.

Hiring Shanahan would be a blockbuster move for the Redskins, who have struggled immensely to take the next step into the playoffs since Snyder took ownership of the team in 1999, due to incompetent leadership both on the field and in the front office. A Shanahan-Allen cabal would not be without its potential pitfalls, as the two have certainly missed on plenty of draft picks and free agents, but there is little doubt that they would bring with them a much needed culture change to the nation’s capital.

Jim Zorn is currently serving as the team’s head coach and is widely expected to be relieved of his position with the club as soon as the regular season comes to a close. The Redskins have underachieved all season long and have a dismal 4-9 record to show for it.

As always, we’ll be here to bring you the latest news on this story as it breaks.

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2. Zorn the first to go; Shanahan on the way?
3. Bills looking to Shanahan as new head coach?
4. Discussion: Hot seat coaches beginning to take shape
5. Bills coaching update – Shanahan meets with Brandon