Donovan McNabb Extension: What Does It Mean For Mike Shanahan?

Donovan McNabb and the Washington Redskins shocked the NFL world today by  agreeing to a contract extension of five years worth $78 million. This decision comes two weeks after the two-minute debacle involving McNabb and Mike Shanahan in a loss to the Detroit Lions.

In case you forgot the situation, McNabb was pulled out of the game by Shanahan at the two-minute warning. In the two days following the media was told McNabb was unable to play effectively and was unable to have enough cardiovascular endurance.

The next week was turmoil in Redskin country. The future of Donovan McNabb as a Redskin seemed uncertain, especially with a few teams in need of a quarterback come this offseason.

However, apparently the Redskins found it right to squash any of the rumors involving Donovan by giving him an extension today.

The question that now remains is the future of Mike Shanahan as the coach of the Redskins. It was clear that owner Dan Snyder pushed for the extension of McNabb, wanting to lock up his quarterback for a period of time.

But are we so sure that Shanahan wanted to make this extension right now? After all, if he is already having issues with McNabb midway through his first season as coach, maybe his plan was to bring in a quarterback of his own that he can develop.

The Washington Redskins organization is known for wanting results right away, and rightfully so. I don't disagree with not extending McNabb. In order for him to be the most effective, other weapons need to be around him. However, McNabb isn't the problem.

Instead, a few weeks ago Shanahan attempted to put the blame on McNabb, instead of himself. In recent years we have come to know Shanahan as one who wants to have power within the organization.

My gut feeling is the head coach wasn't fully on board with this decision. If the Redskins finish within the middle of the pack of the NFC, could he be a one-and-done in Washington?

It may be unlikely, but with plenty of teams expecting to search for head coaches next season, Shanahan may be able to gain more control with another organization.

Time will tell how the McNabb-Shanahan relationship works out in Washington. We know for sure that the quarterback will be here for the next few years, something we can't say for certain about the head coach.

Matt Miselis is an NFL Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com.

Follow me on twitter: twitter.com/MattMiselis.