The Washington Redskins have fired Mike Shanahan after posting a 24-40 record over four seasons.

"Redskins fans deserve a better result," owner Dan Snyder said in a statement released by the team. "We thank Mike for his efforts on behalf of the Redskins. We will focus on what it takes to build a winning team, and my pledge to this organization and to this community is to continue to commit the resources and talent necessary to put this team back in the playoffs."

"When we first came here, we knew we were in some tough situations relative to the salary cap," Shanahan said. "When we first came in as a staff, we knew we had to make tough decisions."