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Remembering Jay Gruden's Time in Washington
Jay Gruden was officially named the new offensive coordinator for the Jacksonville Jaguars on Wednesday.
Gruden was the head coach for the Washington Redskins (2014-2019) compiling a record of 35 wins, 49 losses and one tie.
Previously the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals (2011-13), Gruden’s teams improved offensively in yards gained and points scored.
The Redskins had finished 2013 at (3-13), resulting in Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan and Matt LaFleur being fired.
Having seen the improvement of Bengals’ quarterback Andy Dalton, Gruden was hired and brought to the Redskins to work his wizardry with Robert Griffin.
The 2014 season was a bumpy start for Gruden as Griffin was injured, the team started (1-5) and Kirk Cousins was struggling.
Trailing 10-6 at halftime of the next game against the Tennessee Titans, Gruden pulled Cousins in favor of Colt McCoy.
McCoy responded completing 11-of-12 passes for 128 yards, a touchdown, a QB rating of 138.9 and the Redskins won 19-17.
The next week the Redskins had the daunting task of a Monday Night Football game in Dallas against the (6-1) Cowboys.
McCoy was sensational, completing 25-of-30 passes for 299 yards, scoring on a quarterback draw, as the Redskins upset the Cowboys 20-17 in overtime.
Soon Griffin was back in the lineup, and after a 27-7 loss to Tampa Bay in which Griffin had open receivers but held on to the ball too long, was sacked six times, throwing two interceptions, Griffin responded,“great quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning don't play well if their guys don't play well."
Gruden revealed his frustration, commented on Griffin’s poor footwork and bad reads, saying,“Robert needs to understand he needs to worry about himself, No. 1, and not everybody else."
National sports pundits and personalities piled all over Gruden.
However, perhaps was it even more telling that not one Redskins player spoke out defending Griffin?
In the 2015 preseason, Griffin again was having difficulty pulling the trigger to get the ball to open receivers.
Gruden announced Cousins would start, and when asked by a reporter if Cousins was starting week one, Gruden surprised everyone stating, “Kirk Cousins will be the starter for 2015, moving forward,” Gruden said. “It’s Kirk’s team.”
When the Skins were (2-4) and down 24-0 to Tampa Bay in a game Gruden had called a “code red” game, Cousins brought the Skins back to win 31-30.
Cousins responded with confidence playing greatly down the stretch as the Redskins won their last four games, finishing 9-7 and winning Gruden’s only division title.
Gruden had been vindicated as Cousins completed 69.8 percent of his passes, throwing for 4,166 yards and 29 touchdowns.
The next season Trent Williams was suspended by the NFL for four games with the Redskins at (4-3-1).
The Redskins rallied to defeat Minnesota 26-20 and then in a nationally televised game, Cousins passed for 375 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and the Redskins blasted the Packers 42-24, and were (6-3-1).
But Gruden and the Redskins disappointed, losing four of their final six games to finish (8-7-1).
Cousins did not play well in two crucial home losses to the Panthers (26-15) and the Giants (19-10), and the Skins missed the playoffs.
2017 saw the Redskins defeat the Rams on the road 27-20 and follow that game with a home win over the Raiders 27-10 as the Redskins were their most impressive under Gruden.
Expectations were rising, but Gruden’s team would never equal that intensity again in the season.
They blew a large lead to New Orleans, were killed by the Cowboys twice, completely embarrassed by the Chargers and finished the season (7-9).
Gruden lost his quarterback when the Redskins offered Cousins a contract that would have ranked only 21 among current QB salaries.
Bruce Allen traded the Redskins highest-graded corner Kendall Fuller and a round three choice to the Chiefs for 33-year old quarterback Alex Smith.
The Redskins passing game limped along in 2018; yet the defense and running of Adrian Peterson carried the Redskins to a surprising (6-3) record.
Against the Texans, Smith was horrifically injured and two games later his backup Colt McCoy suffered a broken leg as well.
The Redskins with Mark Sanchez and Josh Johnson behind center lost six of their final seven games.
Gruden’s final season (2019) was atrocious, and may have been over before it actually started.
Adrian Peterson was declared inactive by Gruden for the first game; and veteran players were upset.
In a 24-3 thumping by the Giants the team was clearly out played, and when quarterback Dwayne Haskins played, he was not even close to prepared for the NFL.
After a final loss (33-7) to the Patriots, Gruden was fired the next morning and Bruce Allen announced “the culture was _ _ _ _ good”.
It is probably good for Gruden to have been quickly hired by the Jaguars, where he can start over anew.
I sincerely hope Gruden can learn from his time with the Redskins and succeed and living in Florida is not a bad thing!
Ivan Lambert is a lifelong die-hard Washington Redskins fan, raised in Berryville, Virginia. He is married and the father of two fine young men. He is currently a sports correspondent for The Ledger in Lakeland, Florida and can be found on Twitter @IvanLambert18
