Former Falcons receiver Roddy White said offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan “mismanaged things” last season, cost the team victories, and the offense was better before the assistant coach arrived.
The Falcons released their all-time leading receiver Wednesday after 11 seasons with the only pro team he’s ever played for.
White's agent continues the saga, says team had to choose between receiver and Shanahan.
White spoke to ESPN.com while attending the Alabama-Birmingham alumni game Saturday in Birmingham.
In Shanahan’s first season directing the Falcons’ offense, the four-time Pro Bowl selection finished with just 43 catches, only fourth best on the team.
"What (Shanahan) expected from me and what I expected from him was totally different," White told ESPN.com. "I expected to play a bigger role in the offense, and that's what I wanted to do. But he didn't have that in his desires. He had other people that he wanted to play my role, so he wanted me to be out of the (offense)."
The Falcons started the season 5-0 under new head coach Dan Quinn but lost 8 of their last 11 games and finished 8-8.
White believes some of the blame for the skid goes to Shanahan.
“We weren’t going out there and averaging over 20 points per game, which is bad. Prior to him being there, we could score 20 points sitting down. Our offense was never really a problem before,” White said.
White was asked Saturday if he thought the new offense was too complex.
"No it wasn't, besides the things (Shanahan) was doing in making six variations to one route," White told ESPN.com. "It was just episodes throughout the game where I think he mismanaged things and screwed up and we didn't have the opportunity to win the game, which, I thought, was on him as the offensive coordinator. It wasn't sound football, but it was things that he was used to doing and things we weren't used to doing as an offense, and it literally cost us like two games."
White, 34, said he was not surprised by the team’s decision to release him. “They showed no indication that I was going to be there, so I kind of expected it already.”
White was out of the country Wednesday and notified of the move by text message. Quinn has said he looks forward to talking to White in person.
But White doesn’t see a need for that.
“I’m literally done with that situation," he said. "I understand that Coach wants to sit down and talk but for me, we’re past that situation now. We really have nothing to talk about. You just move forward. They’re going in a different direction, and I’m going in a different direction, so no need to cross that bridge again and talk about, what, the good times we had?”
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