A year after the Redskins' coaching staff led the South Team in the 2012 Senior Bowl, the coaches are keeping away from Mobile, Ala., deferring to the scouts to cover the annual senior All-Star game.
Head coach Mike Shanahan told the media in his final press conference of the season that the coaching staff has worked hard this season and needs to recharge during this point of the offseason.
"With the Senior Bowl, I kind of encourage our coaches not to go," Shanahan said. "I think they've been hitting it pretty hard for all these weeks."
The Redskins are well-represented in Mobile, as the team's scouts will spend the week evaluating the players on and off the field in advance of February's Scouting Combine and April's NFL Draft.
The film collected at the Senior Bowl will be returned to Redskins Park, where the Redskins' brass will have a chance to review.
This film study paid off last year, as the Redskins added four participants from the 2012 Senior Bowl to the organization: quarterback Kirk Cousins, running back Alfred Morris, linebacker Keenan Robinson and practice squad tight end DeAngelo Peterson.
"We look at every film that they have at the Senior Bowl and all our scouts are there," Shanahan explained. "They've talked to all these players individually. When we get back here, we can study all those tapes."
The 2013 squads will be coached by the Detroit Lions and Oakland Raiders, who will be looking to mimic the success of the 2012 coaching staffs.
Behind one of the strongest draft classes in franchise history, the Redskins improved five wins over 2011 and won the NFC East title for the first time since 1999.
One of only two teams to improve more than the Redskins was the Minnesota Vikings, who coached last year's North squad, and improved seven wins over 2011.
"I like to coach [the Senior Bowl] because you get the chance to really know [the players]," Shanahan explained. "But to me when I go to the Senior Bowl, it's more like a coaching convention. I would rather have [my coaches] spend a little time with their families and doing the things that they need to do."
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