Clinton Portis said this week that Mike Shanahan would be “the perfect guy for the job” of Redskins head coach.

Perfection, at least in Portis’s eyes, has arrived in Washington.

The Redskins officially named Shanahan the team’s 28th head coach in franchise history, as well as executive vice president, on Wednesday.

In 2002, Portis was drafted by Shanahan, then the head coach of the Denver Broncos, in the second round (51st overall) of the NFL Draft.

Portis would go on to have a pair of 1,500-yard rushing seasons with the Broncos and totaled 29 rushing touchdowns. He became the third running back in NFL history to rush for 1,500 yards in his first two seasons, joining Eric Dickerson and Edgerrin James.

In 2004, Shanahan traded Portis to the Redskins--in exchange for cornerback Champ Bailey and a second-round draft pick--after Portis asked to renegotiate his contract after two seasons.

Now Shanahan and Portis are reunited in Washington--at least for the time being.

Shanahan is expected to have final say over the Redskins’ roster and there’s no guarantee he wants to retain Portis, who is 28 years old and has 9,696 career rushing yards.

In the years since they last were together, Portis has developed an outspoken personality.

During his introductory press conference on Wednesday, Shanahan said he needed to re-evaluate Portis now by watching him on film.

He also suggested that he needed to see Portis make a commitment to the team’s off-season workout program.

"I think for all players as they get older, the key is how they work in the offseason program and what they do to make themselves better," Shanahan said. "I’ve been around some veterans who have been very successful and all of a sudden they quit working out, and a running back [who does that] can fall off a cliff.

"If you can make a commitment that you can be the best that you can possibly be, if you’ve got passion and work ethic to be as good as you can possibly be, you have a chance to be something special.

"Looking at Clinton a year ago [in 2008], in the first half of the season, you could see how well he played. To say that right now, with the injuries and what’s happened, would be obviously premature at this time. I do love his toughness."

In a radio interview on ESPN 980 on Tuesday, Portis said he felt he had a good relationship with Shanahan when they were both in Denver.

He talked about the traits that define Shanahan.

“Coach Shanahan is one of those guys who you are either going to play for or you’re going to be gone,” Portis said. “It’s not going to be any in-between. It’s not going to be like the situations we have now where people didn’t know where they stood or who was getting in trouble. I think Coach Shanahan will expose that.

“You’re either going to do what you’re supposed to be doing or you’re not going to be here. It’s that simple.”

What changes would Shanahan bring to the Redskins locker room?

“I think with Coach Shanahan, he’s a straight shooter,” Portis said. “I think he’ll change the accountability. I think Coach Shanahan gives you an opportunity to be a man. He’s not going to come in with many rules and many guidelines...but there’s not going to be second, third or fourth chance.

“He’s going to tell you what he expects, what he’s looking for, and you’re either going to do it or you’re going to be done. He’s not going to run around and go out of his way to make sure you’re doing this right and doing that right.

“I think with that kind of attitude, you can be a man. You accept those responsibilities because you know the consequences. There isn’t a gray area, like ‘Well, if you don’t do it, you’ll be okay.’ It’s straight down the line. Everything applies to everybody.

“So you either get in line or you get gone.”

Meantime, Portis is coming off a concussion suffered on Nov. 8 in a game in Atlanta. The concussion sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

Portis continued to see a concussion specialist through November and December. He said he is scheduled to see a doctor again on Jan. 12.

“I pretty much feel great,” Portis said. “I’m going to start up exercising and getting myself prepared for the upcoming season.”

Also during the ESPN 980 interview, Portis addressed comments by teammates about a lack of discipline during the 2009 season and made some pointed comments about Jason Campbell’s leadership skills.

Now it’s Shanahan’s job to help smooth things over between Portis, Campbell and the rest of the team. If players aren’t receptive, then--as Portis suggested--they may not be back in 2010.

Shanahan said on Wednesday he was aware of Portis’s comments, as well as Campbell’s angry reply in a Washington Post report.

In the future, these kind of issues should be kept "in house," Shanahan said.

"What I’ll do is, I’ll talk to the football team and say, ‘Hey, if we have some problems or some business, we’ll keep it inside the organization,’" he said. "I understand how it happens. But what you have to do is talk about these problems before they happen. And they happen all the time. Some organizations they don’t happen, some organizations they do.

"I think our players will get the message and that our players will stay together."