Sherman Smith
The Washington Redskins informed offensive coordinator Sherman Smith that he would not be back for the 2010 season on Wednesday.
The move was somewhat inevitable with the arrival of Mike Shanahan’s son Kyle as well as his long-time Broncos assistant Bobby Turner.
Still, Smith was hoping to stay.
“I appreciate the way Mike handled the situation,” Smith told Jason Reid of the Washington Post on Thursday. “I definitely would have liked to have been part of Mike staff’s because I think he’s going to do a great job, but his decision shows his loyalty to [Turner]. I understand that and I respect it.
I wanted to stay because I believe Mike and [new General Manager] Bruce Allen are going to do a great job together for the Redskins. I really think Dan Snyder has made some excellent choices in the people he picked to run the organization. The Redskins have a chance now. I believe that.”
Much like the dismissed head coach Jim Zorn, Smith was well liked by the players.
“I’m definitely sorry to see him go,” Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell said of the release. “Coach Sherman Smith is a great guy. He’s a guy full of character. When he spoke, he spoke with a lot of knowledge.”
Smith is under contract through next season and will be paid out, but is open to taking another job for next season.