Robert Griffin III Uses ESPN Platform To Call For Kyle Shanahan's Job Over Personal Issues

Tonight, Robert Griffin III replaces Steve Young as the lead former QB on ESPN's Monday Night Football pregame show.

The move is questionable. For one, Young is a Hall of Fame QB and frequently ranked among the 10 best of all time. RGIII is neither. He was a bust in the NFL. He spent most of his career as a backup.

But playing credentials aside, Griffin's credibility as an analyst is in doubt.

Last month, RGIII trended on social media for a bizarre post suggesting Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch should be on the hot seat, if not fired.

According to Griffin, the 49ers would have fired them both if it weren't for Brock Purdy's unexpected success last year:

The post didn't hold weight. Shanahan and Lynch are two of the best at their respective positions, coach and general manager. They have assembled what many analysts consider the best roster in the NFL.

Purdy or no Purdy, Shanahan has proven he can take a team deep into the playoffs, even to the Super Bowl, with below-average play at the QB position. See Jimmy Garoppolo.

Kyle Shanahan has as much security as any coach in the NFL except for Andy Reid.

Therefore, people tried to make sense of Griffin's post, thinking he may have been trying to memoryhole the last time a team traded three first-round picks for a bust that was later replaced by a Day 3 QB:

Awkward.

But the oddity of the post might run deeper than Washington replacing Griffin with Kirk Cousins.

It appears that RGIII, whom ESPN positioned to be a lead analyst, is calling for Shanahan's job out of spite. He is using his platform to settle a personal difference.

Perhaps unbeknownst of Griffin's tweet, ESPN promoted a video last week titled "RGIII on why he has an issue with Kyle Shanahan." The interview contains the following description:

"RGIII discusses his own relationship with Kyle Shanahan, what went wrong for the two of them in Washington."

You can watch the conversation in full below:

In the clip, Griffin blames Shanahan for his failures in the NFL. He claims Shanahan, his offensive coordinator in Washington, wants simple-minded, predictable QBs like Matt Ryan, Cousins, Purdy and Jimmy G.

He says Shanahan is intimidated by "creative" QBs like himself, Trey Lance, Jalen Hurts and Patrick Mahomes.

One could deduce Griffin was subtly accusing Shanahan of preferring white QBs, particularly on the heels of articles accusing the 49ers of a racial bias on the position.

And he probably was.

Either way, he openly accused Shanahan of stroking his own ego by starting less talented players:

"Coaches, players ... everyone has some bit of an ego. Everyone wants to take credit. It's a lot harder for a coach to take credit for what Patrick Mahomes is doing, who is super creative, than it is for taking Matt Schaub, Matt Ryan, or Jimmy Garoppolo to the NFC Championship Game."

Not so subtly, RGIII blames Kyle Shanahan's ego for his role as a backup QB.

Griffin III Plays Blame Game

Obviously, Griffin's commentary is off-base. Cousins started over him because Cousins was better than him.

The Redskins benched Griffin because, after his rookie season, he held an average passer rating of 54.0. Washington lost games because of his poor performance. He also couldn't stay healthy, never in his career playing a full season.

Moreover, Cousins improved the team immediately.

Likewise, Brock Purdy is better than Trey Lance. Purdy has yet to lose a game in which he's started and finished.

Lance failed to develop into a starting QB. And the rest of the NFL agrees.

Had any team thought higher of him than third on the depth chart, they would have offered a better trade package for him than Dallas did.

No one did.

LANDOVER, MD - AUGUST 20: Quarterback Robert Griffin III #10 of the Washington Redskins looks to make a pass during a preseason game against the Detroit Lions at FedEx Field on August 20, 2015 in Landover, Maryland. (Photo by Matt Hazlett/Getty Images)

RGIII's analysis of Shanahan would be worthless but for it undermining the credibility of ESPN's NFL coverage.

ESPN promoted Griffin to the Monday Night Football pregame show, enabling him to represent the network's football coverage. Yet he is using the position to express personal grievances.

That is completely unprofessional and inappropriate.

Could you imagine if Tom Brady uses his role at Fox Sports next season to call for Bill Belichick's job, citing only personal issues with the coach?

Brady would be met with immediate backlash from the media, Fox and the NFL.

That's not to say Griffin can't criticize Shanahan when need be. But to call for his job suggests Griffin is not emotionally mature enough to handle a platform like MNF.

OutKick asked ESPN what it thought about his coverage of Shanahan. The network said it was unaware of his remarks and provided no further comment.

Robert Griffin did not respond to a request for comment.

We understand Steve Young is white and was expensive, and thus laid off in June. But Young added credibility and prestige to Monday Night Football. He took emotions out of his coverage. He was objective and informed.

Robert Griffin III is none of that. He's a bitter and failed backup QB, targeting one of the best coaches in the NFL. 

ROBERT GRIFFIN III EXPOSES HIMSELF AS AN IDIOT WITH BRETT FAVRE-DAVANTE ADAMS COMPARISONS