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The Washington Redskins have fired coach Jay Gruden and issued the following statement:
‘Through the first five games of the 2019 season, the team has clearly not performed up to expectations, and we all share in that responsibility. Moving forward we are committed to doing all that we can collectively as an organization to turn things around and give our Redskins fans and alumni a team they can be proud of in 2019 and beyond.’
The move should come as no surprise as the Redskins and Gruden have been engulfed in turmoil the likes that have not been seen in the six years of the coach’s tenure.
Gruden departs with an overall record of 35-49-1. He did secure an NFC East Divisional title back in 2015 but is more remembered for his development of current Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins and his non-development of Robert Griffin III and current Redskins QB Dwayne Haskins. With the two latter, Gruden was seen as the “guru” who would finally groom a true franchise signal-caller but instead went with Cousins and to a lesser extent, Colt McCoy and Case Keenum.
A disparaging video of Gruden surfaced over the past few days and that could have been what sealed his fate as coach of the Redskins.
Gruden was the longest-tenured coach of the franchise under team owner Dan Snyder and he also was the only coach to be offered an extension in the last 20 years.
Under Snyders ownership, the Redskins now have a record of 139-185-1. The next interim coach to replace Gruden will be the teams’ eighth head coach under Snyder.
Now fans will turn their sights to team president Bruce Allen and perhaps defensive coordinator Greg Manusky. There is a growing sentiment among fans that Allen is also responsible for the team’s demise and they have been calling for his ouster as well for a long time.
Will Snyder, officially start a reboot of the Redskins front office since a new coach will have to be named after the season?
For a franchise that had backed off of firing coaches with the rate they did in the past, the time is now to finally make a full assessment from within to see who needs to stay and who needs to go.
Manusky’s defenses have not lived up to their billings and this year had expectations to be among the NFL’s best units.
Yesterday against the New England Patriots, the defense had perhaps their best outing of the season but still were victimized by penalties and big plays. The talent is evident on defense and an effort to add to the unit over the past three drafts has been invested. Players such as Jonathan Allen, Daron Payne, and Montez Sweat have all been selected in the first round of those drafts.
It will be interesting to see if Snyder continues to purge the Redskins or if the firing of Gruden will be the only bold move he makes.