National Football League

Redskins coaches side with owners in labor dispute

Published May. 26, 2011 10:40 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Washington Redskins coaching staff distanced itself from other coaches Thursday by siding with ownership - and not the players - in the NFL's labor dispute.

The Redskins released a statement signed by all 17 of the team's assistant coaches. The statement was a response to a court brief in support of the players filed Wednesday by the NFL Coaches Association.

''We stand united with our ownership, and the brief does not reflect our thoughts on the matter,'' the statement said. ''We, like everyone else, are hopeful that we can return to playing football. We look forward to a new (collective bargaining agreement), and welcoming back our players as soon as possible.''

Head coach Mike Shanahan did not sign the statement. He is also the team's executive vice president and therefore considered to be part of management.

The Redskins assistants say they were not consulted by the NFLCA before the brief was field. The team's representative to the NFLCA, Kirk Olivadotti, left the staff in February to become a linebackers coach at the University of Georgia.

The NFLCA did not identify any individual coaches in its brief to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

''Owners and fans increasingly demand immediate success,'' the NFLCA lawyers wrote in the brief, ''and coaches whose teams cannot fulfill such severe expectations face likely dismissal, which means the uprooting of families, economic dislocation, and a significantly less promising career path.''