Redskins fire Mike Shanahan after disastrous 3-13 season

Black Monday got off to an early start with the Browns canning first-year coach Rob Chudzinski Sunday night, but there were three other casualties to report Monday morning.

The Redskins, Buccaneers and Vikings announced the firings of Mike Shanahan, Greg Schiano and Leslie Frazier.

One year removed from an NFC East championship, Shanahan, who was also the executive vice president, was let go after he finishing his fourth season with the team at 3-13. Shanahan had one year left on his contract which was set to pay him $7 million next season. The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach with Denver finishes his Washington tenure 24-40.

“Redskins fans deserve a better result,” Redskins owner Dan Snyder said in a statement. “We thank Mike for his efforts on behalf of the Redskins. We will focus on what it takes to build a winning team, and my pledge to this organization and to this community is to continue to commit the resources and talent necessary to put this team back in the playoffs.”

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Greg Schiano's fate is sealed with the Buccaneers after a second straight losing season.

It became clear in recent weeks that Shanahan’s firing was imminent as news leaked regarding his crumbling relationship with Snyder, which centered on the treatment of franchise quarterback, Robert Griffin III. A report earlier this month said Shanahan was ready to quit after Washington’s playoff game against Seattle last season because of what he believed to be preferential treatment given by Snyder to Griffin, who tore two knee ligaments in that playoff contest. Snyder reportedly would send security detail with Griffin went he went out in Washington and had his personal driver pick up Griffin’s then-fiancee at road games.

The tension reportedly grew this season and it culminated with Shanahan benching Griffin late in a blowout loss to the Chiefs three weeks ago. Griffin was benched for the rest of the season for Kirk Cousins, which Shanahan said was to protect Griffin from injury. However, Shanahan decision reportedly was performance-based. Griffin clearly wasn’t the same player this year as he was in his breakout rookie campaign.

Griffin declined to speak with the media Monday morning.

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After a promising 2012 with the Vikings, it all goes falls apart for Leslie Frazier this season.

“We’re better off today than we were four years ago,” Shanahan said Monday after his firing.

Greg Schiano's controversial reign as Buccaneers coach also came to an end on Monday via a statement by team co-chairman Bryan Glazer.

"The results over the past two years have not lived up to our standards and we believe the time has come to find a new direction."

Rick Osentoski/AP

Jim Schwartz reportedly is out of a job after five years with the Detroit Lions.

Schiano finished a disappointing 4-12 this season after putting together a 7-9 record in 2012, but poor results were allegedly only part of the reason he got the boot. Multiple reports of locker room strife filtered through the press this season, including a damning article in NFL.com that quoted a former Buccaneers player who claimed that playing for Schiano was 'like being in Cuba."

In addition to Schiano, Tampa Bay also got rid of GM Mark Dominik.

Frazier was axed after his third full season as Vikings head coach. He led the team to a 10-6 record and a wild-card berth last season but it went 5-10-1 this year. He finishes with a 21-32-1 record in three-plus years as the coach. He originally joined the Vikings as defensive coordinator in 2007.

“We have tremendous respect and appreciation for Leslie and what he has done for the Minnesota Vikings,” Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said in a statement. “He stepped in and established a strong positive culture here and he has been the consummate professional as our head coach and in this community. Making this change is difficult, but what we determined is best for the organization.”

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Rob Chudzinski is done after just one season in Cleveland.

Jim Schwartz was also out of a job as of Monday after the Detroit Lions fired their coach of five years.

"I know the way this business is, we all do, but we can't worry about decisions that we don't make," Schwartz said after Sunday's 14-13 loss to the Vikings that doomed the 7-9 Lions to a second straight season without a playoff berth.

Detroit got off to a 6-3 start and was poised to compete for its first division title in 20 years, but a late-season meltdown was enough for the team brass to eat the two years and nearly $12 million remaining on Schwartz's contract in order to start over at head coach.

Cleveland barely waited after their 2013 season ended with a 20-7 loss to the Steelers to fire Rob Chudzinski, who was given his walking papers Sunday night after just one season.

Chudzinski was let go with three years left on his contract.

- With the Associated Press